Irish contingent off the pace as putting problems surface

PUTTING woes were the story of the day for the Irish in the opening round of the Deutsche Bank TPC of Europe at St Leon-Rot yesterday.

Defending champion Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke admitted their work on the greens was short of the required standard and their rounds of 70 leave them with ground to make up over the next three days.

They are already five strokes off the pace, while it will be tougher for Peter Lawrie and Gary Murphy to make an impression after both shot 71.

Graeme McDowell could do no better than 73 while Damien McGrane is well out on 75.

"I took 35 putts and the longest I holed was from six feet," Harrington lamented.

"I'm not seeing the lines. I'm hitting the ball nicely and while I'm hitting a lot of nice putts, I'm not holing enough of them.

"I was fidgeting around out there but I'll have to be patient. I've been leading the putting stats for years so I'm satisfied there's nothing seriously wrong and it can all change with one good putt."

Harrington is probably very close to finding his best form. Yesterday's round was commendably steady, four of the five gains coming at the long holes and the other at the 15th where his approach was inches from the cup.

There were low points, however, like at the short 6th where he pushed his tee shot a good 40 yards right of the flag, while he missed what was little more than a tap-in in for birdie after a majestic iron shot at the 8th.

"I have just turned a 65 into a 70," groaned Darren Clarke as he departed the 18th, where he made a pretty feeble effort for birdie after drilling a delightful long iron to 15 feet.

"I hit it close at every hole on the back nine and two-putted all of them. Tee to green, everything is fine, but I'm off to the putting green to find a stroke I hope is lurking in there."

Clarke began the year with a public declaration that his ambition was to finish the year in the top five players in the world. He is now 14th and, if anything, going backwards after a series of moderate performances.

That all appeared to be changing yesterday as he began with three straight birdies and another at the 5th.

That was the end of the magic. On the debit side, there were bogeys at the 7th and 14th, along with the failure to pick up any further strokes, most notably at the long 12th and 17th which were comfortably within reach of two shots.

Murphy and Lawrie were out early in the day when there wasn't a puff of wind and the beautiful greens were putting as good as any of the pros had encountered all year.

However, in spite of the spate of low scores, St Leot is a long and testing course with accuracy off the tee a vital requisite.

Lawrie played the back nine first and after a bogey at the 10th, got things moving nicely with birdies at the 12th and 14th to turn one under.

Gains at the 3rd, 6th and 8th were offset by three bogeys and the Dubliner will need to score no worse than level par this afternoon if he is to survive into the weekend.

The same, of course, applies to Murphy who shipped a double bogey at the 8th, his 17th, and whose round was featured by three twos in the course of a good ball-striking day.

Graeme McDowell never got going and a bogey at the 18th saw him finish on one over. Wexford's Damien McGrane was out in the last match of the day and after taking 40 to the turn, battled gamely for 35 home and a 75.