Maybin well in the hunt
Pádraig Harrington needed 13 for the same two holes and that’s why the little-known Ulsterman leads the eleven-strong Irish challenge for the €750,000 first prize at three under par and three times major champion Harrington is tied for 46th on level par.
It would have needed a genius to predict the leaderboard at the end of play last night. Danny Willett, six under, is followed by Australian Richard Green at five under, with Scot Richie Ramsay, Indian SSP Chowrasia, England’s Steve Webster and last year’s runner-up Ross Fisher of the host club all on four under.
Maybin is a former Irish amateur international from Ballyclare who struggled when he initially turned professional. He plied his trade on the secondary tours in the US but clicked immediately when trying his luck on the European Challenge Tour where he claimed his Tour card before going on to finish 53rd on the Race to Dubai order of merit last year. He has twice been second, in Johannesburg in 2009 and more recently in the Ballantines Championship in Korea.
Now he is poised for even greater things and will take great encouragement from the manner in which he finished off yesterday’s round. He was just short of both the par 5 17th and 18th but got up and down for birdies each time as if to prove that he has no fears of a stretch that did so much harm to Harrington and many others.
“I was really happy with the finish and the course was really there for the taking today,” he commented. “It’s probably the easiest you will ever get Wentworth. I didn’t feel that great with the driver so I need to go and do a bit of work with that and try and straighten that out, and come back tomorrow morning and get after it.”
Next best of the Irish on two under par 69 was Damien McGrane who, true to form, got his day’s business done without any fuss. He said: “I had a solid start and a good finish to cap it off. There were a lot of good shots even though I still have a lot of hard work to do. We saw the course at its easiest and it was a good reflection on the new design.”
Peter Lawrie and Graeme McDowell, both 70, were the other Irishmen under par and they in turn were followed by Paul McGinley and Harrington, both 71; Irish Open champion Shane Lowry, 72; Rory McIlroy, 74; Michael Hoey and Darren Clarke, 76, and David Higgins, 80.
In the glorious weather conditions, low numbers were there for the taking and in many ways it was surprising that someone didn’t go lower than six under. Which should in no way take any lustre from the 22-year-old Willett, who was a team-mate of Rory McIlroy in the 2007 Walker Cup match at Royal Co Down and who made that point graphically. It was his first competitive round over the Burma Road layout and yet he managed a course record 65 in spite of including three bogeys although they were offset by a couple of golden spells towards the end of each nine.
The youngster from Sheffield had a hat-trick of birdies from the 6th and three more in a row to finish and carded nine in all. He has a veteran caddie on his bag in Malcolm Mason and perhaps it helps that he is also the son of a preacher man! Furthermore, he is a close friend of McIlroy and tries to tell himself that if Rory can do it, he can.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t,” he conceded.
While Willett was overjoyed, McIlroy was quite the opposite after a 74 that contained a double bogey five at the 10th where he was so frustrated that he pushed his wedge into the ground after failing to get out of a bunker and bent it so much that the rules prevented him from using it again.
But don’t run away with the notion that McIlroy was the only distinguished player to feel that he had left a good score behind him. World number six Ian Poulter soared to a 78 although in fairness he continues to suffer from a painful neck. German Martin Kaymer, ranked 11th in the world, could do no better than 76. Lee Westwood, the pre-tournament favourite with McIlroy, got off to a flyer with three birdies in his first five holes, but in the end settled for 70 along with the holder Paul Casey. Both would have hoped for greater things in the prevailing conditions.
You wonder if Ernie Els, the man who masterminded the changes to the course, appreciated the irony of what happened to him at the 18th after signing for a 69 that puts him within four of the lead. He was instrumental in the introduction of a burn running along the front and to the left of the putting surface but undeterred, decided to take on the green on with his second. But he dumped it in the water and took 6.
