Steady start for Harrington

Padraig Harrington made a steady start at one under par halfway through his opening round at the Tour Championship.

Harrington, out in the first pairing on a steamy day at East Lake, collected two birdies and one bogey on the front nine.

South African Tim Clark was the early leader, picking up a hat-trick of birdies to go three-under after eight holes, one ahead of Americans Stewart Cink and Charles Howell and Colombian Camilo Villegas.

Harrington hit a fine approach at the par-four first, only to miss his five-foot birdie putt on the high side, apparently reading too much break.

He then hit a shocking tee shot at the par-three second, 20 yards right of the hole, but a deft pitch led to a tap-in par.

He followed with a birdie at the par-four third, sinking a nine-footer after a nice approach shot from the left rough, but gave back the shot with a bogey at the next when he three-putted.

Harrington’s next birdie came at the par-three sixth, where he judged his tee shot beautifully, to six feet and he parred to the turn.

The Irishman is part of a three-man European contingent, along with Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia, in the 30-man field in the final event of the new play-off series.

Americans Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker and Phil Mickelson are battling for a $10m bonus awarded to the play-off points winner, while a separate $7m purse is up for grabs in the tournament itself.