Dougherty sets the pace

Nick Dougherty and Zane Scotland, two 22-year-olds with high hopes of earning fame and fortune in golf, had vastly different tales to tell in the €1.9m Heritage tournament at Woburn today.

While Liverpudlian Dougherty posted the early clubhouse target with a four under par 68 Scotland was penalised two strokes before he even teed off – and was a minute away from disqualification.

The Surrey player, invited to take part in the new event only on Tuesday, made the mistake of going to the 10th tee rather than the first.

On many courses that would not be a major problem, but at the Duke’s Course they are miles apart and by the time Scotland got the shuttle bus back playing partners James Heath and American Casey Wittenberg had already hit off.

Scotland, who first grabbed the sporting headlines when he qualified for the 1999 Open at Carnoustie, was given the two-shot penalty because he was more than two minutes late and would have been thrown out if he had not shown up in the following three minutes. But he made it with 60 seconds to spare.

Not surprisingly in the circumstances, Scotland then bogeyed the hole, so a triple bogey seven went on his card and after eight holes he was four over.

Dougherty, in the first group to tee off at 7.30am, raced to five under par either side of an hour-long delay for heavy rain, but then bogeyed the 15th and 17th before leaving an eagle attempt on the 514-yard last just short.

The former Walker Cup player had his best finish for over a year last time out, a sixth place in the German Masters two weeks ago which eased his worries about a return to the qualifying school at the end of the year.

He stood one ahead of Scot Raymond Russell, Spain’s Jose Manuel Lara, Australian Jarrod Moseley and French Open champion Jean-Francois Remesy, all of whom were still out on the course.

Leaderboards around the course displayed “Well Done Europe” messages to the four Ryder Cup players in the field.

Padraig Harrington and Ian Poulter were the first two into action, but with six to play Harrington stood one over par and Poulter two over.

Colin Montgomerie and David Howell were the other two players from Oakland Hills in the tournament, but were not teeing off until the afternoon.