Harrington feels right at home as he sets the pace
ONE day after ridiculing the idea that odds of 100-1 represented any sort of value on him winning the irish open, Padraig Harrington opened with a marvellous 63 for a one-stroke lead after the first round.
Perhaps there are a few canny punters out there who know the Ryder Cup captain better than he knows himself.
Harrington’s reasoning for dismissing his chances seemed logical enough, given he has barely played this year as he recovers from a slow-healing wrist injury, and consequently feels it’s more like January in terms of where his game is at rather than July. it is also just the first round and, as he showed last year when he shot 68-78 to miss the halfway cut by one, it is wise not to read too much into the opening 18 holes.
But the two-time open Champion has always been a different golfer when beside the sea and there is a spring in the turf and his stride — and this funky links course is right up his alley.
What a delight on a day of soft breezes to see him call on that still majestic short game and an array of shots that were both a tribute to his skill-set and imagination. The 48-year-old dubliner remains so popular in these parts that, when he went to a port-a-loo during his round, there were 20 people waiting for him to emerge to pat him on the back.
‘The crowd were really into the round, that’s for sure,’ said Harrington. ‘i began hoping to give them something to cheer and then had to try to calm them down. i just wish it was sunday and i’d shot 63.
‘ian Poulter and i were pretty relaxed and chatting most of the way round and it was a stroll in the
park for 63. i’ve worked a lot harder to shoot 73, that’s for sure. ‘Because of the broken wrist, i have been trying to find my game and get a good bearing on where i stand and all this does is create a number of scenarios where i can go on and win this tournament.’ on a crowded leaderboard, Poulter finished with three straight birdies to match the 66 shot by another local favourite, shane Lowry.
in-form scot Robert Macintyre (left) and countryman Russell Knox, who is the defending irish open champion, are also well in contention, with rounds of 66 and 67, respectively.
Tommy Fleetwood sits on three under after carding five birdies and a double bogey on the 15th.
‘Apart from one hole i felt like i was really clinical out there and doing a lot of good stuff,’ said Fleetwood.
‘Just one hole was a little hiccup but apart from that it was really good.’