Murphy's Irish Open: Clarke off to a flyer

Darren Clarke's bid to become the first home winner of the Irish Open since 1982 got off to a fine start at Fota Island near Cork today.

Three birdies in a back nine 32, and then another at the 409-yard first swept the Ulsterman into a share of the lead with Australian Richard Green.

Incredibly, Clarke has never finished higher than 15th in the £1m event, but he did not have to wait long to make his presence felt at the new venue.

After a huge drive down the 500-yard 10th he was disappointed to miss the green, but a chip to five feet brought him his first birdie and after another at the 16th he gave himself a 14-foot eagle chance on the 507-yard 18th, but two-putted.

In the mixture of sunshine and rain, Green was having a ding-dong battle with playing partner David Howell, like him a former Dubai Desert Classic champion.

Howell, the Swindon player beaten in a play-off at the British Masters four weeks ago, turned in 32 and Green in 33, but they exchanged places at the top when Green birdied the 10th and Howell bogeyed the short 11th.

That dropped the Englishman into a tie for third with Swede Fredrik Henge, Norwegian Henrik Bjornstad, Frenchman Jean-Francois Remesy and Eamonn Darcy.

Two months short of his 49th birthday, Darcy was trying not only to be the first home player to lift the crown since John O'Leary 19 years ago, but also the oldest winner in European tour history.

Des Smyth holds that record, having won the Madeira Island Open in March a month after his 48th birthday, and he was going well too at two under with six to play.

Favourite Colin Montgomerie was among the later starters, but Ryder Cup hopefuls Jose Maria Olazabal and Mathias Gronberg - 10th and 11th in the points race - were struggling at one over and two over respectively.

Olazabal double-bogeyed the short 13th and Gronberg, like Howell defeated by France's Thomas Levet in the Woburn play-off, double-bogeyed the 428-yard 12th after pulling his drive.