Japanese pair take Europeans by surprise

First into action on perfectly-prepared greens, the Japanese duo reaped a rich dividend with their trusty blades to lead the opening round of the 44th World Cup in delightful sunshine here at Gulf Harbour yesterday. In the process, Yasuharu Imano, a name unfamiliar to all but his own, set a new course record of 64 - eight under par.

Whether he and Mitsutake Kusakabe, another unknown to European observers, manage to remain at the top of the leaderboard over the next three days, is highly questionable. But then the Europeans didn't expect much from Nakamura and Ono, when they went on to capture this trophy in 1957.

From an Irish standpoint, there were fears that the holders might be caught in freshening winds at the end of the field. Conditions remained largely unchanged throughout the day, however, though there were signs that the wind was gradually moving to its prevailing direction.

The turn-out from sports-mad New Zealanders didn't quite measure up to expectations, but the organisers were still more than pleased with an attendance of 10,600. And, predictably, most of them seemed to be concentrated on the second-last group in which Frank Nobilo (72) and Greg Turner (73), finished a disappointing 11 strokes behind the leaders.

Those who hung back for the final group of the day, witnessed better quality play from Paul McGinley (67) and Padraig Harrington (72) whose share of fifth place represented a spirited defence of the title. And there was spectacle from the accompanying Colombians when Gustavo Mendoza had an eagle two at the 425yard fourth, where he holed a seven-iron second shot of 166 yards.

Meanwhile, a measure of how well the Japanese complemented each other was their better-ball score of 11 under par. "Putting was very good today," was the somewhat superfluous comment from Imano, while his partner added: "There were no spike marks out there and the wind was less than the last couple of days."

But a major surprise was the decidedly tame start by the highly-fancied Scots for whom Colin Montgomerie could manage only a level-par 72 to complement Andrew Coltart's 70. And the US duo sparkled only sporadically for matching 70s.

"Now we're off to the races," thought John Daly after an eagle three at the 522-yard sixth, where he needed only a seven-iron second shot to reach the green. But there was no real consistency in Daly's play, especially in a back nine that contained a double-bogey at the 14th. And Scott Verplank conceded: "I've got a lot of room for improvement."

In view of Nick Faldo's torment over the last 18 months, his 68 was undoubtedly one of the day's most interesting performances. And in matching his best effort for England in this event, one could sense the relief in his voice as he said: "That's the highest I could have shot."

Faldo went on: "I've got the right swing thoughts now and with my putting, I'm making sure that the shoulders rock well and remain square." Then, by way of emphasising his determination to seek his own salvation without the help of erstwhile guru David Leadbetter, he added: "There are faults and it's a case of identifying them by looking, looking and looking and then working on one drill.

"Where that's concerned, it's been good here because the wind exaggerates faults. All in all, I'm very happy with the round."

So well he might be. There was rich evidence of a revitalised Faldo in a sparkling front nine of 31 which contained birdies at the first, second, fifth, sixth and eighth. At the two par fives, he was on in two for two-putt birdies, but the other three birdies were the product of putts ranging from eight to 15 feet.

A feature of a sparkling 65 by Costantino Rocca was four successive birdies from the 10th, all of which exemplified the Italian's mastery of short irons. Rocca looked remarkably fresh, given his involvement in the Shark Shoot-Out last weekend and he is set to play in the Hong Kong Open next week.

With the exception of the Japanese, the only major surprise on the leaderboard at this stage is the lowly position of the Scots. But with six individual rounds still to be played, there is ample time for Montgomerie to impose his stamp.