Early bogey blues leave Harrington facing uphill struggle

WHEREAS young guns Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry delighted themselves and the many Irish fans at St Andrews yesterday and others like Darren Clarke, 70, Graeme McDowell, 71 and Colm Moriarty and Gareth Maybin, both 72, were reasonably happy with their scores, it all became something of a trial for two times former winner Pádraig Harrington.

The 2007 and ‘08 champion was out early in the day and was the focus of massive attention within five minutes of leaving the first tee. He hit his approach to the green “fat” and into the Swilcan Burn fronting the green. He dramatically jumped across the six foot wide stretch of the burn, much to the amusement of the BBC television cameras and the apprehension of his many fans looking on. Fortunately, he avoided a second visit to the watery grave but still ran up a double bogey six at one of the easiest holes on the golf course.

He never subsequently got his round going and even though he insisted that he was still happy with the state of his game, it was a claim difficult to understand given that he shot one over par 73 in the most favourable of conditions at a time when virtually everyone else was burning up the Old Course and Rory McIlroy was on his way to a championship record equalling 63. ! Harrington is already 10 shots out of the lead and forced to admit that “I now need three rounds in the 60s.” There’s no arguing with that but it was baffling to hear him maintain that “there were a lot of good shots out there, it was just more a question of I didn’t hole putts and hit a couple of bad chip shots.”