(Rome, Italy – June 3 2005) Germany’s Martina Eberl seized the lead after the second round of the €300, 000 BMW Ladies Italian Open at Sheraton Golf Parco de’ Medici.

New Zealand’s Lynnette Brooky

“I just hit the shots in close to the hole for easy two putts. The putts I made were all within five or six metres.”

Eberl has been training for two and a half years with the English coach Tim Holroyd, who uses a system called Logical Golf. She credited the sports psychology system known as Trained Brain for her return to form after a difficult start to the season.

“I started do a lot of the mental stuff two months ago and it’s really helped. I put myself under pressure last year after finishing 12th on the Order of Merit and it affected me when I went to Asia, but when I saw my coach I calmed down again,” she said.

When asked if there were any similarities between this week’s course and Parco di Roma GC, where the event was played last year, Eberl said: “Not at all, this course is totally different. There were huge greens and these greens are tiny and really soft, last year they were really hard.

“Everything is totally different but I love Italy. I love the food and I love the people so I play well. And I have my mum with me again, my lucky charm!”

Brooky, who shot 64 yesterday, had a mixed second round with four birdies at the eighth, 11th, 12th and 15th holes and three bogeys at the second, ninth and 13th.

“It was hard to get a rhythm today,” said the three time winner on the Robe di Kappa Ladies European Tour, whose last win came when she successfully defended the French Ladies Open in 2003.

“The pins were in tougher positions, the breeze was swirling a bit but basically I’m happy to still be up there and tomorrow’s another day.”