Players struggle at rain-soaked K Club

New US Open champion Angel Cabrera and four of Europe's Ryder Cup heroes last year found themselves being overshadowed when the spotlight fell back on the K Club near Dublin today.

Dutchman Maarten Lafeber leads after squelching his way through the rain-soaked Smurfit Course - not the one on which the Americans were thrashed - to a six-under-par 64 when the European Open began.