It was a day when the pupils turned the tables on the master, as Nick Faldo protégées, James Heath and Nick Dougherty outscored the great man to move into a strong position after the first round of The Celtic Manor Wales Open at The Celtic Manor Resort in Newport.
After the opening day in which Faldo fired a frustrating three over par 72, Heath slipped effortlessly into a six-way tie for the lead alongside after a six under par 63 while Dougherty weighed in with a 65 over the Roman Road course.
Local hero Ian Woosnam, only the third Welshman to Captain Europe’s Ryder Cup Team in Ireland next September, kept the home crowds thrilled with a fine round of 64 to lie one stroke off the pace along with England’s Stuart Little.
Heath, 22, who won the Faldo Series Under-21 event in 2002 and 2004, took full advantage of an invitation to play in Wales at the specific request of his mentor. A professional for only seven months, he opened with a bogey but hit back with seven birdies.
His 63 was matched by fellow Englishmen, Gary Emerson and David Lynn, Spanish Ryder Cup player Miguel Angel Jiménez, Frenchman Benoit Teilleria and Australian veteran, Peter Senior.
Joint leader Heath, who gave up the chance of a Walker Cup place in a burgeoning amateur career to join Faldo's management stable last November, praised the six-time Major Champion who had asked for his player to be included in the field.
"Obviously, he has got quite a lot of pull, and a phone call from Nick Faldo goes a long way," said a delighted Heath. Showing similar determination to Faldo, Heath birdied the last to make his first impact in a full European Tour event.
Role model Faldo won in his second year on Tour in 1977 and Heath is already drawing on his mentor's experience. He added: "I was getting frustrated with finishing 40th and 50th in tournaments so I spoke to Nick last week and he cleared a few things up for me. It's nice to know you can make a call to him, he's a cool guy. It was just tiny stuff he told me but all that tiny stuff makes a big thing."
Dougherty, drawn to play alongside Faldo in the first and second rounds, praised the six-time Major Champion and also the less experienced Heath. He said: “I love to compete again Nick. He has given me so much over the years. He is a great bloke. A fun guy. He is the best player to come out of Britain in my opinion.
“It’s a good start for James. He hasn’t had much chance to play out here so it would be good if he can have a nice solid week. He works pretty hard and played solidly.”
Lynn bettered a career record by birdieing all five par threes for his 63, having never birdied even four short holes in a round before.The par threes make the Roman Road course one of the shortest played on The European Tour at 6,743 yards.
However, joint leader Jiménez said that was no reason to expect the magic 59 to be shot this week, a score so far unattained officially on The European Tour.
"You'd have to play very, very, well to make 59 on a par 69," said the Spaniard. "With only two par fives, and the par threes all very good tests, it will always be very difficult. I used all 14 clubs, par 69 or not."
Senior, who threw in a double bogey but still finished in that leading group on 63, said: “The last couple of weeks have been a nightmare. I made four birdies in two weeks then all of a sudden I make eight in one day. Quite a turnaround.”
Teilleria, the last man to join the gang of six at the top, commented: “I am very happy with that because the season has been very bad so far. I haven’t played well but today I did.”
Woosnam, who would love nothing better than to win the title in his homeland, admitted that he had been held back recently by some edgy driving and twitchy putting. If both those aspects could be sorted, admitted Woosnam, things could start to happen.
