Should the BellSouth Classic in Atlanta drag on until Monday or even Tuesday because of inclement weather, it will not worry Jean van de Velde. Not only is the Frenchman not qualified for the Masters, and so in no hurry to rush up Highway I20 to Augusta, but he also recorded an ugly 83, 11 over par, in his first round at the TPC at Sugarloaf yesterday and is highly unlikely to make the cut.

"I'm still alive and I'll be back tomorrow," Van de Velde shrugged, with characteristic insouciance, when he emerged from signing for the damage. "Why wouldn't I be? You're here when you shoot 65. When you have a 'mare, you just have to forget about it."

Van de Velde's nightmare began at the short 11th, his second hole, where he was a little left with his tee-shot, found the water and ran up a double bogey. Out in 40, four over par, he dropped further shots at the first and third.

At the long fourth, he tangled with another bunker and a hazard to take a double-bogey seven, and he finished his dire day with a double-bogey six at the ninth.

Ian Woosnam bemoaned his chipping and putting woes and claimed he "hardly hit a bad shot really - and I'm three over." There was confusion when his score was then posted as 74, not 75, and inquiries revealed that his counting was as accurate as his putting.

At the top end of the leaderboard, Marco Dawson, playing in only his third event of the season, was the early leader on 67, one shot ahead of his fellow American Steve Flesch.

Ireland's Richie Coughlan birdied the second and then promptly gave the shot back at the next to lie level after three.