It needs something special to take the attention off Greg Norman whenever he plays in Australia. And when the former world No 1, a week away from his 46th birthday, almost makes an albatross on the final hole to grab a share of the lead it requires something very, very special for him not to be the story. It needs something special to take the attention off Greg Norman whenever he plays in Australia. And when the former world No 1, a week away from his 46th birthday, almost makes an albatross on the final hole to grab a share of the lead it requires something very, very special for him not to be the story. At the Heineken Classic here yesterday, Scotland's Dean Robertson found a way.Just as Norman was speaking about how an opening 66 - eight better than playing partner Nick Faldo - had him thinking of his first victory for three years, Robertson was producing an even more sparkling conclusion to his day's work.By holing a 35-foot putt for a birdie and a 103-yard pitch for an eagle at his last two holes it was the 30-year-old out in front with a seven-under-par 65.

And since it is only two weeks ago that he had the round of his life, a 62 on the way to joint third place at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa, Robertson is starting to look like the golfer he always thought he could be."Without being cocky you've got to believe in yourself because otherwise you're on a hiding to nothing," said the former Scottish amateur champion, whose only European Tour victory so far was the Italian Open two years ago. "I feel there's a lot more to come from me than I've shown, but you have to be patient. You can't force it and have a bad temperament."Norman's near-albatross came when his second shot to the 517-yard 18th hit the flagstick, but rolled 10 feet away. He made the eagle putt and only then discovered that even if the ball had gone in for a two there would have been no £200,000 bonus, which is not on offer until the last two rounds.Faldo followed him in from eight feet for eagle, but there was little else they had in common.

"I struggled with everything prior to that," he said.Faldo has a legal battle on his hands over his split from former clubs sponsors Adams. Faldo is waiting to hear the outcome of talks between lawyers representing the two sides this week.Norman, who played his last four holes in four under par, commented: "I had a good feeling coming here. I could easily have walked away after the hip surgery last year, but my internal drive was still there. I have re-committed myself and have been working very hard."The third member of the group, Australian left-hander Nick O'Hern, also shot 66 to share second place with Norman and they were a stroke in front of a group which included Thomas Bjorn of Denmark and Pierre Fulke of Sweden.This is Fulke's first appearance since his second place in the World Match Play championship in Melbourne four weeks ago earned him over £300,000 and secured a Ryder Cup debut.Fulke and Justin Rose were two others to eagle the 18th and for 20-year-old Rose, twice a runner-up this season, it kept his spirits high with a two under 70.HEINEKEN CLASSIC (Perth, Australia, (GB or Irl unless stated, par 72) Leading first-round scores: 65 D Robertson 66 G Norman (Aus), N O'Hern (Aus). 67 T Bjorn (Den), P Fulke (Swe), S Laycock (Aus), S Tait (Aus) 68 I Garrido (Sp).

69 M Campbell (NZ), W Smith (Aus), V Phillips, H Stenson (Swe), R Green (Aus), B King (Aus), P Senior (Aus), S Tinning (Den) 70 J Rose, P Lonard (Aus) 71 C Rocca (It) 72 B Lane 74 P Baker, N Faldo, P Sjoland (Swe), P Broadhurst 76 R Rafferty.. Tiger Woods teed off in the first round of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in California yesterday confident that he could "break 90", just 24 hours after he could have broken his knee in a bizarre accident on the course. Tiger Woods teed off in the first round of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in California yesterday confident that he could "break 90", just 24 hours after he could have broken his knee in a bizarre accident on the course. Woods showed no signs of pain as he hit his driver off the first tee at Spyglass Hill, less than a day after spraining a ligament in his left knee when an autograph hunter tripped him at the end of a practice round.The world No 1 paid a painful price of fame when he was engulfed by a crowd of fans who were as enthusiastic as any major company signing him to an endorsement deal, but a lot less subtle as they went after his signature. One of the throng bowled him over in the mass quest for his autograph after Woods walked off the 18th green.After the accident Woods was limping badly and he thought that he might be unable to play in the tournament at the venue where he won last year's US Open by a record 15 shots.However, Woods was hardly limping at all when he showed up for practice an hour before his scheduled tee time yesterday. He worked on the putting green, flexing his knee once, then went to the driving range, and all seemed well.

Before hitting, Woods reached back with his left leg and tapped the toe of his golf shoe on the ground."It's a little tender but he should be all right," said Butch Harmon, Woods' coach.Woods gave his own verdict "I should be able to break 90 today," he said.. The billionaire businessman Bernie Ecclestone said yesterday he was preparing to give up sole control of Formula One, by selling a 50 per cent stake to a consortium of five major motor manufacturers. The billionaire businessman Bernie Ecclestone said yesterday he was preparing to give up sole control of Formula One, by selling a 50 per cent stake to a consortium of five major motor manufacturers. The 70-year-old has become the sport's supreme power since he first acquired a stake in the now defunct Brabham team in 1971. "The Trust is negotiating with the manufacturers," he said, referring to the family Trust that he set up in the name of his wife, Slavica, that controls the F1 shareholding. "The proposal is that the Trust and the manufacturers should each have a 50/50 share. The only condition is that they want me to stay on to run things."The "Big Five" manufacturers comprise Fiat, Ford, Renault, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, with Fiat's chief executive, Paolo Cantarella, and Mercedes-Benz board member Jürgen Hubbert acting as prime movers. They have had discussions with Ecclestone.The manufacturers have been concerned in recent months by an anti-trust investigation led by the European Commission into the way in which F1 is run.