ITALIAN OPEN:TEENAGER MATTEO Manassero lived up to the huge expectations on him with a breath-taking start to his Italian Open campaign yesterday.

His thrilling birdie-eagle-birdie run proved to be the foundation for a six-under-par 66 at Royal Park near Turin which took the Italian to within two strokes of leaders Chris Wood and Robert Rock of England.

Even though the spectator paths were squelching with mud after heavy rain, Manassero (18), had a huge gallery to watch him begin his bid to win his home Open and they were not disappointed.

“It was definitely the best start of my career,” an elated Manassero said. “It was good to be here with people seeing it.”

First he hit a second shot to only six feet, followed it with a chip-in for his eagle and then brought the crowd to fever pitch by spearing in a five-iron approach to less than two feet.

“That kind of start works two ways, though,” he said. “While it makes you confident, it’s not easy to follow that. It wasn’t my day on the greens, really.”

The youngster from Verona has made it his ambition to win the tournament in which he launched his professional career 13 months ago and chalk up his third victory in nine months.

He received useful advice from his playing partner Darren Clarke, the 42-year-old Dungannon man who recently claimed his 13th tour title.

“I’m becoming quite close to Darren and it is good to hear from him how to handle the pressure of trying to win, he’s been there many times,” Manassero said.

Clarke (71) at first stayed with his young partner as he went to the turn four under, but then shanked two shots which cost him three strokes.

Damien McGrane also shot 71, with three birdies, but Simon Thornton (73) and Paul McGinley (75) will need something special today to survive into the weekend.

The woes of Colin Montgomerie, also playing with Clarke and Manassero, continued as he slumped to a 75.

Manassero, ranked 30th in the world, is hoping for a notable US Open debut next week, and so too now is joint leader Rock, who earned his start at the Congressional by qualifying last week.

“I was worried the US Open would be a big battle on the greens but I’m suddenly putting really well,” Rock, who played with Wood, said after posting his 64.

“If I can hold on to that for two weeks it would be nice.”

“It was good playing with Rocky and we seemed to fire off each other,” said Wood, who reported back problems afterwards.

“It was a good round without a bogey – always nice to play that way.”

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.”

Scotland’s Scott Jamieson was among a group of three players a shot further back on seven under par, finishing an impressive round which contained an early eagle with a birdie.

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