Harrington overcomes early struggles

Pádraig Harrington holed out from a bunker with his last shot of the day to begin the Ford Championship at Doral in Florida with a four-under-par 68.

The Dubliner, who reached the quarter-finals of the Accenture World Match Play championship despite struggling with his game, three-putted the short fourth from only 18 feet.

But he made up for that with five birdies to be only three behind the early leader, Colombian rookie Camilo Villegas.

Harrington was playing with world number two Vijay Singh and last week’s runner-up Davis Love and they all shone. Love also returned a 68, while Singh finished birdie-eagle-birdie for a 67.

David Howell, Europe’s other quarter-finalist in San Diego, stood five under par with five to play, but bogeyed the 14th after driving into a fairway bunker and dropped another shot on the last after finding the left-hand rough.

Mansfield’s Greg Owen came in with a two-under 70 and Nick Faldo, playing his first tournament in the States since the Masters last April, would have matched that but for bogeys at two of the last three holes.

Faldo still finished ahead of Northern Ireland pair Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke. Both first-round losers at La Costa, McDowell finished bogey-double bogey for a 73 and Clarke slumped to a 75 and then withdrew from the event.

The Ryder Cup star, who abandoned plans to play the Nissan Open in Los Angeles two weeks ago because his wife Heather was undergoing more treatment for cancer, had two birdies in his last five holes of the day, but also two bogeys and a double bogey.

Villegas, already with one runners-up finish this season, was a stroke ahead of Swede Daniel Chopra and Americans David Toms, Scott Verplank and Dean Wilson.

Defending champion Tiger Woods was among the later starters, but quickly made his presence felt with three birdies in the first four. Phil Mickelson, whom Woods pipped to the title last March, was two under after three over on the back nine.

Ernie Els, however, could do no better than a 72.