Harrington surprised by ‘easy’ course

IT’S all in the perception, really.

Tiger Woods shot 70 in the first round of the US Open at Olympia Fields yesterday while Ireland's Padraig Harrington got round the 7,190 yards, par 70 layout in one stroke less.

Oddly enough, of the two, it was two-times champion Woods who believed the course was of typical US Open difficulty. "If you get too aggressive on some of the pin locations and short sight yourself, you're making bogey," he insisted. "Consequently, I fired away from just about every flag."