Harrington makes early exit

Padraig Harrington, the highest-ranked European in the Accenture World Matchplay Championship, failed to survive the opening round for the second year running in Melbourne today.

After losing to Ryder Cup team-mate Jesper Parnevik in California last February, an even longer journey ended in even bigger disappointment when the Dubliner, seeded 10th in the absence of so many star names, went out to American Steve Stricker two and one.