Dier's 60 equals tour record for lowest score

Tobias Dier of Germany equalled the lowest-ever score on the European Tour with a 60 in the first round of the TNT Open here yesterday.

Dier carded 10 birdies, six of them in an inward half of 29, to card the 10th 60 on the tour at Hilversum, and had a putt on the last to create history with a 59. His long-range eagle attempt slipped past the hole, but the birdie was enough to give him a five-shot lead over the former Ryder Cup players Ronan Rafferty and David Gilford and local favourite Chris Van Der Velde.

"I'm still not on earth, I'm somewhere in orbit," said the 25-year-old from Nuremberg, who has missed the cut in 12 of his last 15 events.

"It will feel great in a few minutes. I've never had a score like this, 60 is a number everybody dreams of."

Dier had also fired an albatross on the 18th in Wednesday's pro-am, a repeat of which would have seen him round in 58 yesterday.

Dier's longest birdie putt was from 25 feet on the 17th, and he missed from just eight feet on the 15th and 16th as he took advantage of the perfect playing conditions.

* Defending champion Colin Montgomerie has decided not to withdraw from next week's Scandinavian Masters in Stockholm. The Scot had threatened to take the next two weeks off after a torrid time at the Open last weekend.