Scott Jamieson bounces back with strong start to Italian Open

Jamieson, who sunk his eagle at the par-5 11th, was delighted to pick up five shots in four holes at the start of his back nine.

"I couldn't have asked for a better start to the back nine - birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie - and that got me going," he said.

"My form disappeared for a couple of weeks but nice to get back into the swing of things and I hope I can kick on. It happens when you are trying to swing a club around your head at 100mph and half a degree here or there can make a big difference. My coach was with me (at the Wales Open] and hopefully this is the start of another run of form."

Richie Ramsay also started strongly, and his five-under 67 puts him in a tie for 13th on a tightly-packed leaderboard. On an overall good day for the Scots in the field, Peter Whiteford and David Drysdale were a shot further back after 68s, while Alastair Forysth shot a 69 and the Saltman brothers - Elliot and Lloyd - both carded two-under 70s, along with George Murray.

Colin Montgomerie, who finished 15 over at the Wales Open at Celtic Manor then missed out at Open qualifying at Sunningdale on Monday, ended the first day a long way down the field, signing for a three-over-par 75 in a opening round which included a double bogey at the 13th.

The other Scots in the field are Marc Warren, Gary Orr and Jack Doherty who all broke par with rounds of 71, and Steven O'Hara who slumped to a six-over 78.

At the top of the leaderboard Wood, a 23-year-old Bristolian who was named the tour's 'Rookie of the Year' two years ago, briefly took over at the top of the leaderboard on his own with an eagle at the 17th.

He was joined soon after by Rock, and when the 34-year-old from Rugeley managed a fifth successive birdie on the last it put him on top of the leaderboard on his own.

However, Wood - who reported back problems afterwards - was not to be outdone, holing a three-foot putt on the final hole soon after to make sure of a share of the clubhouse lead on a morning of good scoring at Roveri's Royal Park club.

"It was good playing with Rocky and we seemed to fire off each other. It was a good round without a bogey - always nice to play that way," said Wood.

Wood was denied a maiden European Tour victory last month when Darren Clarke surpassed his four shot final-round lead in Mallorca, and the tall Englishman revealed that he has been suffering with a back injury since that disappointment.

"I wasn't expecting to go that low," said the World No 111, who has shown his liking for this course before by finishing third in Turin last year."I withdrew last week with a little injury and had been struggling a little bit but sometimes it pays not to do a lot of practice. It took me a while to get going with eight pars in a row and then a birdie on the 18th then 29 on the back nine.

"I've been struggling with my back for a while, a little on-going problem that I have at the moment - I am feeling it."

Rock added: "Nine birdies and one bogey was good. I love this course and it was good to be in a group where someone else was knocking them in and I enjoyed playing with Chris. I holed quite a lot of putts today, which is something that has been testing me over the last couple of months."

Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark and Spaniard Rafael Cabrera-Bello both enjoyed bogey-free rounds of 65 to sit alongside Jamieson.

Seven players finished tied for sixth on six under, including Italian pair Matteo Manassero and Francesco Molinari, and Welshman Rhys Davies. Teenager Manassero, who made his professional debut at this event last year, carded five birdies and an eagle at the par-5 11th while Molinari also sank an eagle at the same hole.

Davies recovered from a dropped shot on the opening hole by hitting eight birdies, including four in succession between the fifth and eighth holes.

Fredrik Andersson Hed will also need to make impressive progress over the next few days if he is to successfully defend his title, after an opening-round 70 left him six shots off the pace on two under.