Rory on fire but Harry is rooting for Maybin
Harrington bogeyed the closing hole of the suburban Fanling course for a one-over-par 71 to end day one seven strokes adrift of the trio of McIlroy, Spain’s Alvaro Quiros and England’s David Horsey, who was a teammate to McIlroy in the 2007 GB&I Walker Cup side at Royal Co Down.
McIlroy had been out in the morning half of the draw when the decidedly cooler and windy conditions were at their toughest to record a six-under-par 66.
Harrington, winner of the 2004 Hong Kong Open, needs to finish in the top five to be assured of contesting next week’s season-ending Dubai World Championship.
After taking 31 putts in that round of 71, Harrington was asked his thoughts on seeing McIlroy’s name atop of the board.
“Actually, I am more pleased to see Gareth Maybin’s name up there at four under par and that’s a better story,” said Harrington.
“We know that Gareth is battling to retain his Tour card and it’s great to see him play well today. I’ve spoken to him this week and trying to encourage him, so I’m pleased to see him playing well.”
Ballyclare’s famed golfing son is lying 120th on the current Race to Dubai leaderboards and needs to improve by five places to keep hold of his Tour card.
“I am fairly relaxed with what I need to do and besides no one is going to die if I don’t retain my card,” he said.
Leader McIlroy confessed he’s counting the days to the end of the season despite producing what he described as a “best ever” round in Hong Kong.
The reigning US Open champion was in a class of his own in the morning to set a new record on the revamped Eden course.
“The would be the best score I’ve shot ever in this event given the conditions this morning and while I’ve shot 63 before, this is the best by far,” he said. “But it didn’t come easy today as most would expect because if you had seen me hit balls on the range this morning it wasn’t all that good.
“Then when I got out onto the golf course it was a completely different matter.
“I have played so much this year that you just get into the groove and just do your thing and all I am trying to do now in these next few weeks is keep it going. So it’s nice to be able to produce scores like today given how much golf I have played in this Asian stretch.
“But I am a little tired as it’s been a long season and I just have to make sure I get a lot of rest and sleep well and keep my energy levels at a decent level. So in many ways I am looking forward to the end of the season but also to go out on a high with another win.
“I am thinking to myself that another round I play is another round closer to the end of my season.”
McIlroy revealed he has been discussing with his new manager, Conor Ridge, and caddie JP Fitzgerald what he needs to do to end the season on a winning note.
“We’ve been talking about how I should be converting all the seconds and thirds I’ve been recording of late into more victories,” he said.
“So it is something I really need to focus on again and go through the process of hitting good shots and good putts, and if I can do that then hopefully the score at the end of 72 holes will be better than everyone else.
Meanwhile England’s Lee Westwood shares the lead with Masters champion Charl Schwartzel after round one of the Nedbank Golf Challenge in Sun City, South Africa.
Westwood and Schwartzel carded four-under-par 68s to finish the day one shot clear of Sweden’s Robert Karlsson.
World number one Luke Donald is two under, along with fellow Englishman Simon Dyson, Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell and Germany's Martin Kaymer. Open champion Darren Clarke is bottom of the 12-man field after a 74.
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