Harrington and Woods at it again

GOLF USPGA CHAMPIONSHIP:YER MAN and the other guy were back at it yesterday. Tiger Woods took the lead in the first round of the 91st USPGA Championship and Pádraig Harrington matched him – virtually – shot for shot, blow for blow. And, slowly, we're beginning to understand what a rivalry borne out of mutual respect can do: it produces a heart-pumping adrenalin rush, inside and outside the ropes, and it confirms that the majors belong in a class all alone.

Yesterday, in sunny and humid conditions, the fear that this longest course in major championship history – albeit one that had a couple of tees pushed forward to alleviate the full pain – would become a slog was allayed as the world’s elite, as they do, found a way to reduce pure length to just another irksome hazard to be faced and overcome.

Nobody did it better than Woods, his missed cut in last month’s British Open a forgotten inconvenience. Coming here on the back of two successive wins, in the Buick Open and the Bridgestone Invitational, Woods shot an opening round of 67 that featured five birdies and no bogeys that gave him the clubhouse lead over Harrington, the defending champion and a man who has suddenly and dramatically rediscovered the key to this game. He opened with a 68. Man, this was good!

Yet, nobody needed to remind Woods or Harrington that a major is never won on a Thursday. The two have been around the block long enough to know that the first day is all about getting into position; they haven’t separated themselves from the rest of the field by any means, with Robert Allenby – the man who almost unnoticed slipped into a share of second with Harrington at Akron – shooting a 69 of his own to show his well-being.

Overall, it was a strong start from the Irish contingent: apart from Harrington’s 68, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy – who decided that a trip to the Mall of America on Wednesday represented better use of his time than any more tiring work on the range – again showed their major credentials. McDowell hit 16 greens in regulation in a 70, while McIlroy felt his 71 was the most he could have scored.

“The last three tournaments I’ve played have been a really big grind, just trying to make pars and to shoot somewhere around level par. I actually feel after today I can go around this golf course and shoot a low number,” said McIlroy. In fact, after opening with a birdie on the 10th, McIlroy turned to his caddie, JP Fitzgerald, and said: “It’s nice to see a red number by my name again.”

Afterwards, a relaxed McIlroy remarked: “Hopefully it’s a sign of things to come . . . I’m going to take it one day at a time and see what happens.”

The roars that reverberated around the course, though, were mainly to do with two men: Woods and Harrington, both of whom seemed more at ease with each other than at any other time in past pairings. But, as Woods reminded us, this was only Thursday. “The situation was not the same (as Sunday in Akron). This is just the first round, you’re trying to play your way into position. Yeah, last Sunday we didn’t say much. I think Pádraig said, ‘I have a Titleist’ and I said, ‘I have a Nike, good luck’. That was pretty much it.”

Woods’s birdies came on the 12th (20 feet), 15th (two feet), second (20 feet), third (30 feet) and seventh (two-putt birdie from 30 feet) for a bogey-free round of 67 that equalled his closing round in the 2002 PGA here where he finished runner-up to Rich Beem.

“It’s always nice to get off to a quick start. You can play yourself out of a tournament (in the first round), but you certainly cannot win the golf tournament. You don’t have to be eight shots ahead after the first round. That’s not it. You’ve got to keep plodding along, and major championships are set up so they’re difficult. They beat you into making mistakes.”

Harrington – who had led from the first round in Akron until losing out at the death to Woods – felt so drained and tired since his arrival here that he had to walk in off the golf course on Tuesday during his practice round. “I am drained, there’s no question about that. That’s something I have to be aware of this week. Last week took an awful lot out of me.”

By yesterday, he had managed to get his mind and body revitalised; and his only real concern after his opening 68 was with the quality of his bunker shots, which led to a missed birdie chance on the 15th (where he was in a greenside bunker in two on the par five) and a bogey on the first, his 10th.

But the Irishman did manage five birdies in his round, the highlight coming with a five-iron approach to eight feet for birdie on the 12th (his third hole). His other birdies came on the 16th – an eight-iron to eight feet – and the second, third and sixth.

In an ideal world, he would prefer if the intensity returned as the week progressed. “I like to get into the zone. I need more nerves and more hype . . . (playing with Tiger on Sundays) brings its own intensity, there are more nerves involved, more adrenalin. And if they’re used properly, it can help you perform even to a greater standard.”