Eagle-eyed Murphy tracks Immelman
Murphy, the tournament professional at the Heritage club near Portlaoise, is also the leading Irishman on four under par, two shots behind Trevor Immelman. South African compatriot and defending champion Retief Goosen is tied for second with the Frenchman Francois Delamontagne.
It was not the most pleasant of summer days at The K Club, even if early morning rain did give way to a dry if blustery and uncertain kind of day.
There were a number of unlikely developments, most notably from Graeme McDowell who featured an albatross two at the 4th and an eagle three at the 10th and yet could finish no better than level par. He was the recipient of a magnum of champagne but that paled in comparison with the Renault Cabriolet car worth €32,500 earned by England's Simon Wakefield for a hole in one at the 8th.
"I wasn't sure about the yardage although I thought it was an eight iron," said an elated Wakefield. "But Pete, my caddy, felt it was nine. I pushed it a fraction but that took it right in line and when I saw it disappear, I thought, 'wow, fantastic'. It's the eighth hole in one I've had but the first on Tour and the first time I've won anything. I will give the car to my mum as she's always supported me and I bought my wife, Denise, a new Z4 BMW a few weeks ago."
Gary Murphy, as yet anyway, hasn't enjoyed such luxuries but after finishing four under for the four par fives, is poised to land the €100,000 solitaire on offer from Applebys jewellers for any player shooting 14 under par for the long holes over the four days. And it might have been even better but for at the 18th, having cracked a superb two iron to eight feet, he missed the eagle putt. Murphy has been working on his long game with the celebrated Scottish coach Bob Torrance and on his putting with Graham Spring, the Traleeman currently attached to the Doha club in Qatar, but home right now on a three week break.
"I've changed my driver and a few things in my short game and I played pretty steadily today", said Murphy, who had every reason to be pleased with his birdie (4), par (4), eagle (3) finish. Back in 1999, when he was struggling desperately to establish himself on the tour, he played the same holes in 7, 4, 7 or as he put it so ruefully, "like a jumbo jet."
"Graham has helped me with the putting green in my garden which means I'm getting a bit of use out of it now", quipped the 33-year-old Kilkenny man. "Mentally, I'm just trying not to hit the perfect shot all the time. Nobody can do that. I got a few breaks today and rode my luck. At the 16th, I bladed a bunker recovery that was going across the green as fast as Sonia O'Sullivan when it crashed into the bottom of the flag and dropped in. I'm trying to learn that I mustn't be greedy Now I'm looking forward to a nice early (8.50) start in the morning. That's when the greens will be at their best."
Retief Goosen, current holder of the title, arrived here fresh and well, having shaken off the effects of his disastrous 81 on the final day of the US Open at Pinehurst. The South African began his defence with a blemish free five under par 67 that included an eagle at the 18th (his 9th) and three birdies.
In contrast, Padraig Harrington hardly had time draw breath after his victory in the Barclays Westchester Classic at the weekend. On turning up at The K-Club on Tuesday he acknowledged that he was "absolutely knackered" and it showed yesterday when he soared to a 79, one of the worst rounds of his professional career. Harrington disappointed the biggest gallery of the day although they had no reason to be surprised or to feel let down given the off course handicaps that he has been struggling with for many months now.
The leaderboard currently shows a South African 1-2 with Goosen a stroke behind the 25-year-old Trevor Immelman, a richly talented golfer who pipped Harrington for last year's TPC of Europe with a final green birdie. Anybody shooting 66 around Arnold Palmer's splendid lay-out needs a stroke of good fortune and Immelman had that in spades at his very first hole, the par five 10th. He said: "I didn't hit a very good tee shot and it went into the trees on the left. I thought it might be lost and I was about to ask for a ruling when guys came running out of the trees to tell me that they had found the ball.
"I managed to hack it out with something before knocking a five iron to five feet. Even though I missed the putt, I felt it would have been the best birdie of my life and I just had to gather myself from there."
He did so in style, enjoying a golden run of birdies at the 15th, 17th, 18th and the 1st. Three more birdies followed, tempered by a single bogie.
Having triumphed on the adjoining Smurfit South course last year, Goosen is intent on holding on to his title and observed: "Both courses are very good but this one has the thick rough which makes it more difficult. So accurate driving is more important, although the greens on the other course are a lot better."
66 T Immelman (Rsa)
67 R Goosen (Rsa), F Delamontagne (Fra)
68 J Lomas, Gary Murphy (Irl)
69 Darren Clarke (NIrl), J Donaldson, N O'Hern (Aus), R Chapman, B Rumford (Aus), G Havret (Fra), G Storm
70B Davis, N Fasth (Swe), M Siem (Ger), Damien McGrane (Irl), T Bjorn (Den), A Hansen (Den), J Manuel Lara (Spa), M Foster, R Karlsson (Swe), S Luna (Spa)
71 M Lafeber (Ned), P Lawrie, A Cabrera (Arg), J-F Lima (Por), S Struver (Ger)
72 R Green (Aus), R Jacquelin (Fra), G Owen, M Brier (Aut), P Golding, J Sandelin (Swe), Graeme McDowell (Irl), S Kjeldsen (Den), F Roca (Spa), M Ilonen (Fin)
73 C Schwartzel (Rsa), T Price (Aus), O Wilson, S Wakefield, A Wall, M Olander (Swe), G Bourdy (Fra), R Muntz (Ned), L Westwood, C Montgomerie, S Webster, P Eales, D Fichardt (Rsa), P Hedblom (Swe), G Orr, D Griffiths, B Kennedy (Aus)
74 N Dougherty, M Campbell (Nzl), P Hanson (Swe), J Haeggman(Swe), T Moore (Rsa), W Ormsby (Aus), F Andersson Hed (Swe), P Fowler (Aus), M Eliasson (Swe), S Little, C Rocca (Ita), J Van de Velde (Fra), S Dodd, R Gonzalez (Arg), R Finch, P Archer, S Manley.
75 M King, F Henge (Swe), P Broadhurst, C Cevaer (Fra), H Nystrom (Swe), D Carter, A McLardy (Rsa), B Dredge, D Park, P Senior (Aus), M A Martin (Spa), S Hurd, D Drysdale, L Westerberg (Swe), Stephen Browne (Irl), K Eriksson (Swe), M Vibe-Hastrup (Den), I Garbutt, P Baker, L Slattery, S Hansen (Den), T Lehman (USA), R-J Derksen (Ned), J Bickerton, K Ferrie, A Coltart, Damien Mooney (Irl)
76 J Skold (Swe), A Tadini (Ita), S Khan, G Brand Jnr, S Gallacher, E Romero (Arg), F Molinari (Ita), J Spence, A Forsyth
77 M Fraser (Au), N Cheetham, Colm Moriarty (Irl), J Kingston (Rsa), H Stenson (Swe), C Hanell (Swe), P Gustafsson (Swe), P Edberg (Swe), C Mallon
78 P Sjoland (Swe), Paul McGinley (Irl), P O'Malley (Aus), S Dyson, S O'Hara, I Woosnam, R Bland, Philip Walton (Irl), P Casey, S Lyle, J Axgren (Swe)
79 S Drummond, L Oosthuizen (Rsa), A Oldcorn, R Russell, M Maritz (Rsa), M Tunnicliff, Pádraig Harrington (Irl), D Lynn, S Little, M Mackenzie, M Roe
80 S Scahill (Nzl), T Jaidee (Tha), M Cayeux (Zim), D Gilford, G Emerson, N Zitny (At)
81 I Poulter
82 J Moseley (Aus), A Marshall
83 C Rodiles (Spa), David Higgins (Irl)
84 A Murray, R Coles
85 J-F Lucquin (Fra)
87 G Fernandez-Castano (Spa)
Retired E Canonica (Ita), G Houston, R Sterne (Rsa)
Withdrew Peter Lawrie (Irl)
Note: C Rodiles withdrew after first round.
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