Clarke and Harrington struggling to make cut
And after yesterday’s very disappointing six over 76 in the opening round of the US PGA Championship at Baltusrol, it looks like he won’t do so this time either.
Even worse than that, the chances are that Harrington is now on his way to missing the cut in each of the three majors he has contested in 2005.
Nor is the picture a whole lot brighter for Darren Clarke who also seems to have lost the knack of performing on the biggest occasions of all. A three over par 73 shouldn’t rule him out of contention but he was quick to agree that it won’t happen unless there is a major improvement in his ball striking over the next three rounds.
On his good days, Darren can be a bit of a birdie machine but yesterday he made only one - at the 1st, his 10th, which ironically happens to be one of the hardest holes on the course.
“I managed to three putt three of the last five greens,” said a disgusted Clarke.
“Those greens were too tough for me. I was shocking. I played very poorly so three over wasn’t that bad. It had little to do with a lack of recent competition but more a continuation of how I’ve done all year. It has been just another one of those days.”
The consensus was that Paul McGinley would struggle because the Baltusrol course stretches to 7,392 yards. But he is a fighter - as he proved when finishing sixth last year at Whistling Straits - and he was one under after his first nine holes in spite of starting with a bogey at the 10th. However, he birdied both par fives, the 17th and 18th, to turn in 35.
It was a lot more trying for Graeme McDowell who decided to play in spite of the whiplash he continues to suffer from after a recent car accident. He was four over after 10 having double bogeyed the 3rd and 7th and parred the remainder.
Harrington began at the 10th and while he managed a couple of birdies over his first nine, he made a series of concessions, largely due to a wayward driver.
“Yeah, I drove it very badly until the last six or so when there was definite improvement so hopefully I can take something from that,” he mused.
“It was always going to be a difficult task to make the weekend but that score didn’t help. What more can I say?”
It was a decent day for a number of European players with Bernhard Langer demonstrating how there’s life left in the old dog as he eagled the 18th to finish on two under par. He was one of those bemused by the sight of the greens staff watering the greens from an early part of the day.
“What threw me off is that they started watering the greens slightly so they don’t burn and that slowed them down just a tad,” he commented.
“So I left a couple of putts short. But I’m very happy with two under. I’ve been playing pretty good of late. I finished fifth in my last two tournaments, the British Open and the Deutsche Bank TPC in Europe. That’s given me a lot of confidence and I also got a few breaks and see no reason why I shouldn’t be there on Sunday. I was pretty solid.”
Ian Poulter made his best start to a major with a fine 69 to lend further credence to the belief that he may well have what it takes on the big occasion.
“It was easy to let the golf course get to you but I’m learning to stick at it. I’m not saying the golf course is easy but if you do put your ball in play, then it is very playable out there.”
The 87th PGA Championship is already as good as over for Colin Montgomerie. Just when he hoped the controversy of the incorrect ball drop in Indonesia might have passed, it was dredged up all over again yesterday after alleged but unmade comments by Darren Clarke. Monty pushed that issue aside. And to his credit, he didn’t attempt to blame his hand injury for a round of 77.
“I just didn’t have the timing today from the word go,” he accepted.
“Although I was one under after five, I didn’t have any timing. I didn’t have any rhythm. If it doesn’t work tomorrow, we go on to next week and try again. That is the beauty of this game, if it doesn’t work one week, it might work the next.”
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