Davis recovery can be completed with tour win

He was only found because he had promised to ring his mother and when he failed to, she alerted reception staff. He spent a week in intensive care in the US hospital and was then forced off the tour for seven weeks to recuperate.

Yesterday, Lazarus-like, he prised out eight birdies - six of them on the back nine - for a 67, to lie one stroke off the lead in the opening round of the Volvo PGA Championship at Wentworth.

''I was in a very bad state after catching chickenpox from a young boy on a plane from South Africa,'' revealed Davis, who is in his second year on the tour. ''The illness can be increasingly dangerous as you get older. I was severely dehydrated and had seriously high blood clot levels. That is a very dangerous combination.

''I was also delirious. Fortunately, my mother phoned the hotel and I was taken to hospital in time looking like the Elephant Man.

''Once in hospital I was put on drips and there was no problem. But when I left I couldn't walk.''

Before the traumas of his illness, Davis has had set a target of winning his first event but this was subsequently lowered to just keeping his card.

''It is like starting out all over again,'' admitted Davis, whose only experience of the course was when pressed into service to carry Clive Clark's clubs at the World Match-Play, where he had come to spectate as a youngster. ''I still don't expect too much but it is nice to get back and be in contention.''

Swede Michael Jonzon took the lead with a 66 in which he did not drop a stroke to par. His consistency was in contrast to recent performances in which elementary mistakes and mediocre form on the greens affected his confidence.

Indeed, many among the 156-strong field struggled on the greens and Scots Colin Montgomerie and Sam Torrance suffered more than most.

After another frustrating day, when 70 was the worst he could have possibly posted, Europe's No.1 remonstrated with a tour official in the mistaken belief that he had laughed at his putting woes.

''I am trying to do my job the best I can,'' he insisted, still showing how sensitive he has become about the Achilles heel in his game. ''I think the greens are difficult to read. After 13 holes I had had 26 putts and you cannot compete like that. From tee to green I am playing well enough to win, but right now I have lost the knack of scoring.''

Torrance had the same score and a similar verdict. However, his re-dedication was rewarded by the most solid ball-striking round of the year, but he still needed two chip-ins to get into red figures.

Watched by one of the biggest galleries of the day, Sandy Lyle did not disappoint. Assisted by two eagles, on the fourth and eighteenth, he soared through the field and rolled back the years with a 69.

Lyle, twice runner-up in this event and with 13 top-10 finishes and his World Match-Play exploits, has enjoyed a life-long love affair with Wentworth. Wife Jolande, acting as caddie, played her part with a well-timed pep-talk after a sticky start, urging him to ''show the old Sandy Lyle.''

This he certainly did, thriving on the new-found control and accuracy provided by his Orlimar driver.

A decent day for the Tartan Brigade was rounded off by Paisley's Dean Robertson. Buoyed by his showing in last week's Benson & Hedges International Open he fashioned four birdies in his 70.

Robert Allenby added to his catalogue of misfortune when suffering his third disqualification. The Australian, still not fully recovered from a car crash 18 months ago, was reported by spectators for using an incorrect relief procedure from an immovable obstruction.

His ball was dropped a few inches out of place, which incurred a two-shot penalty. He was disqualified for not including the penalty.

Countryman Greg Chalmers was penalised two shots for holing out when his ball was still moving on the fifth.