Early penalty dents Harrington hopes

Padraig Harrington suffered a blow to his hopes of being crowned European number one this weekend when he received a two-stroke…

Padraig Harrington suffered a blow to his hopes of being crowned European number one this weekend when he received a two-stroke penalty on the opening hole of the Volvo Masters at Valderrama.

The Ryder Cup player made the mistake of repairing a pitch-mark that was not on the putting surface.

Harrington realised his error virtually the second he committed it and had his worst fears realised when he called referee Paul Carrigill over.

Carrigill, a former tour player himself, had already been in action when Harrington hooked his drive into the trees and into a drainage ditch.

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He was allowed a free drop from that, but his approach came up just left of the green.

In preparing to chip he noticed the pitch mark and bent over and repaired it, but then to his horror he saw that it was on the fringe and not the green.

After being give the penalty he chipped close and tapped in, but it was for a double bogey six while playing partner Goosen, who leads Harrington by less than £15,000 sterling entering this the final counting event, holed a nine-foot birdie putt.

Goosen was immediately only two behind the early pacesetters, English pair Simon Dyson and Brian Davis and Swede Jarmo Sandelin, while Harrington was already five adrift.

Yorkshireman Dyson set the clubhouse target with his three-under 68 and Davis birdied the 16th to catch him.

Sandelin turned in a three-under 32 and birdied the 10th, but then bogeyed two holes later.

PA