Day of contrasts for home hopefuls

Golf European OpenJust as the safecracker will somehow determine the combination, or a mathematician will discover the art of encryption, professional golfers invariably find a way to conquer even the toughest of courses. So it was in the first round of the Smurfit European Open at the K Club yesterday, where South Africa's Trevor Immelman assumed the first-round lead, albeit one of a potentially fragile nature.

On a grey, overcast day, the course played soft and long; and, by day's end, the greens got a tad bumpy to add to the frustrations of the later starters.

Immelman, a 25-year-old with three wins on the European Tour, was one of 28 players to break par, shooting an opening round of six-under-par 66. It left him one stroke clear of compatriot Retief Goosen and Frenchman Francois Delamontagne, with Gary Murphy - leading the home challenge - and Jonathan Lomas a shot further back.

Conversely, though, the course also showed it had plenty of bite. No fewer than five players either retired mid-round or withdrew afterwards and the par-five 16th and par-four 17th holes were ranked as the toughest of all, averaging 5.53 and 4.46 respectfully.

Which should only serve to whet the appetite for the matchplay format of the Ryder Cup when it is played here next year.

Overall, too, it was a day of contrasts for many of the home players. Murphy finished with an eagle on the 18th - firing in a two iron approach of 238 yards to eight feet - for a 68, while Darren Clarke finished with a 69. However, for Paul McGinley and Padraig Harrington it was a day best forgotten. McGinley had three three-putts in a 78, and Harrington had five three-putts in a 79. While Michael Campbell admitted to a post-US Open come down. "I just wasn't there, my mind was flashing back to what happened two weeks ago (in Pinehurst). I just wasn't on the job," said the Kiwi.

Harrington, with even fresher memories of a win, could empathise. "I didn't have any fight in me," conceded the Dubliner. "It was a day for fighting and I wasn't seeing the ball going in. I'm mentally drained."

Harrington attributed his poor performance to a consequence of coming down from the high of winning the Barclays Westchester Classic earlier in the week.

"I'd zero preparation. I probably only hit a total of 50 balls in two days on the range and I was just hoping I'd get away with it," he said, "but there was no chance in the world I wasn't going to play this week. Hoping to get away with it doesn't always cut it."

It would require a considerable improvement in the second round for Harrington to even make the cut, let alone fight his way back into contention. "I could probably do with the weekend off, but pride will make me go out and try my very best."

Whatever about Harrington's salvage operation, Murphy is on the heels of the leader. "I rode my luck a little bit," he conceded, "but also played some great shots coming in."

The luck element was emphasised on the 16th, where he pulled his approach into a greenside bunker and proceeded to hole out with the sand shot. "It came out a bit hot, it was like Sonia O'Sullivan running across the green but hit the flag and went in," was his candid assessment.

Twenty one strokes separated the best score of the day and the worst recorded score (an 87 recorded by Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, who subsequently withdrew).

Immelman's most notable win came in last season's Deutsche Bank TPC of Europe. He's unquestionably a player of quality, his fifth-placed finish in the US Masters at Augusta in April confirmed his ability to mix with the best. Since then, however, Immelman's best finish was tied-20th in the Johnnie Walker Classic and, having slipped out of the world's top 50, he failed to earn a place in last month's US Open field.

All of which came as something of a wake-up call to a player with serious ambitions, one of which is to play full-time on the US Tour. Ironically, Immelman's start to his round yesterday didn't hold out too much promise. "I hit a very good tee shot into the trees on the left," he caustically recalled of his drive down the 10th, his first hole.

But, just as he signalled to his caddie for a ball to reload, the marshals down the fairway signalled they had found his ball. He made par. "I just kind of gathered myself and tried to hit a few good shots from there," said Immelman.

What transpired was a round of considerable merit.

Playing alongside Goosen and McGinley, who was overshadowed by their scoring feats, Immelman's only bogey came on the fifth hole. However, more notably, he finished with a birdie on the ninth, his 18th, where he hit a wedge approach in to 12 feet.

Prior to coming to the K Club, Immelman spent two weeks in America - where he has a house - and focused on working on his putting. "I've been taking more than one putt per round this season than what I have in the three previous years. I identified that as my weakness."

Yesterday, it worked. But a glance over his shoulder will confirm some heavyweights, including Goosen, are lurking.