One-Armed Championships at the sprawling Royal Forrest and Dean Golf Course in Gloucestershire, England yesterday.

Talbot shot an 80 to lead the field after the first round of qualifying and appears certain to earn a space among the field for the match play competition which starts on Thursday.

Under trying conditions, where rain, winds and low temperatures made for quite an adventure for many of the golfers, Talbot remained calm and if not for a bogey and double-bogey at the 16th and 17th holes his advantage could have been even larger.

"I got a little careless late, but I did pretty good considering the weather and small greens,'' said Talbot, who leads by a single stroke. "I hit the ball good, but it was very hard to adjust to the wind, judge distances or make the ball stay on any sort of line.

"It's pretty tough, but I feel confident about my chances.''