(CNN) -- A new putter helped Retief Goosen roll in eight birdies for a two-stroke lead after the opening round of the BMW International Open in Munich.
A new putter provided Retief Goosen with eight birdies to take a two-stroke lead in Munich.
The 40-year-old South African carded an eight-under-par 64 to lead Englishman Richard Finch -- and then bemoaned the fact he had not changed his putter sooner.
"It would have been nice to have scored like that at the U.S. Open -- I holed nothing there," Goosen, who finished a respectable 16th at Bethpage Black, told Press Association Sport.
"I tested a new putter in the pro-am here and it felt sort of good, so I decided to give it a try," addd the double U.S. Open champion, who is seeking his first European Tour victory for more than two years despite recent wins in Asia, Africa and America.
Goosen avoided the wet conditions that forced play to be suspended for a while, although the weather did not affect Finch, who famously won the Irish Open last year after falling in a river while playing a shot on the final hole.
A group of nine players, including France's Gregory Bourdy, Scotland's Andrew Coltart and Welshman Phillip Price are all a stroke further back on five-under-par.
Another group of nine players lie on four-under-par, including world number five Henrik Stenson and veteran German Bernhard Langer.
From the Blogs: 
Sit tight, we're getting to the good stuff
