Harrington just two off the lead in Barclays

US TOUR:PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON shot a flawless four-under-par 67 to trail the early leaders by just two shots in the first round of the Barclays Classic at Liberty National GC in New Jersey yesterday.

Setting the pace are Spain’s Sergio Garcia and Americans Paul Goydos and Steve Marino after opening rounds of 65 with Tiger Woods five shots off the early pace.

Harrington, who started at the 10th birdied the 11th, 13th and 17th in an outward three-under-par 32 and fired just one birdie on the homeward journey at the third for his 66.

Goydos, who started at the 10th, made five birdies in six holes from the 16th on his way to a six-under-par 65, while Marino posted four birdies on each nine and reached seven-under before a bogey at the last after a wayward drive.

Garcia, who fired seven birdies, had a chance to take the outright lead but bogeyed the last, the ninth, after a wayward drive.

Woods shot a one-under-par 70, dropping a stroke at the seventh after driving into a fairway bunker at the 484-yard par-four on the scenic course laid out on the waterfront across from the Statue of Liberty.

The tournament is the opening leg of the US Tour’s four-event FedExCup series that will pay out a €7 million prize to the overall points leader following the Tour Championship finale next month in Atlanta.

“It’s a long, hard golf course with difficult greens,” said Goydos. “I don’t think it’s meant to be easy.”

One stroke behind the co-leaders on five-under 66 were American Webb Simpson and Fredrik Jacobson of Sweden.

In the clubhouse on three-under 68 were Australians Rod Pampling and Robert Allenby, Sweden’s Richard Johnson and Americans Justin Leonard, Nick Watney and Kevin Streelman.

The short-hitting Goydos had to use metal clubs on many holes to get to the small, undulating greens.

“For the first nine holes, I had to hit four rescues into greens, and I should have hit two more,” he said.