Darren Clarke

Darren Clarke couldn't suppress a smile as he stepped off the first tee at the Dubai Creek course yesterday, realising immediately that no one would give him time to rest on his laurels.

Not 40 yards away, his friend Lee Westwood was putting out on the ninth green, his final hole, for a course record eight-underpar 64 in the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic. As if to rub it in, the alert scoreboard attendant managed to change the red letters by the first fairway leaderboard in time to make the world matchplay champion aware of the fact.

"Someone is going to play well all the time, it happens every week on this tour," remarked a philosophical Clarke, some four hours later, after signing for a 71 and admitting to feeling "lethargic." It was hardly surprising. Apart from travelling back west-to-east through 12 time zones from California to Dubai, matters were made a little worse in the early hours of yesterday morning when an over-eager hotel employee woke him up at one o'clock so that he wouldn't miss his tee-time.

It takes more than that to upset Clarke these days, and the player, who had taken half a sleeping tablet to assist his recuperation, could still manage a laugh in retelling the story.

Indeed, he was more than happy to have broken par, if the truth be known. "I didn't have the energy to swing the club," he admitted, adding: "My timing was not quite there, and I struggled a bit on the greens too."

So, on a day when Westwood - who shared the first round lead with Argentinian Jose Coceres - talked about his on-course eating and increased awareness of nutrition, it was left to two other Irishmen, a pair of M & Ms, to lead the challenge: Paul McGinley played quite beautifully in shooting a five-under-par 67, while tour rookie Gary Murphy was only deprived of the same score by a three-putt bogey on his final hole.

At least they have put themselves into contention. However, mother nature may yet have a role to play in who eventually lifts the Arabian trophy. Those locals who should know these things claim that sand storms - known as the "Shamal" - are due to hit the course for the next two days, which should make things very interesting indeed.

There is even a local recommendation that players' should wear glasses, or some kind of eye protection. But that is something that McGinley, for one, doesn't plan to do.

McGinley has enjoyed a solid start to the season. With two topfive finishes already secured, and playing on a course which he likes (he finished third in the event last year), the Dubliner was suitably upbeat. "A good score, there's no doubt about it," said a bullish McGinley afterwards. "I played solid, aggressive golf. When you're starting the day eight shots behind, that's a long way to climb up but I've made good inroads."

These days, McGinley has, as he put it, "backed up" on the amount of gym work he does. He is, nevertheless, in good shape: the physical exertion has been reduced to four days a week when at home in Sunningdale, two when he's on tour. "I feel good about myself, and I'm playing good golf," he said.

The evidence was provided in a first round that yielded six birdies, including a hat-trick from the third. An indication of his aggressive play was that the longest putts came at the third and 17th, both 15 footers. The one blemish in McGinley's card came at the long 12th - "I'd hate to be playing that hole when the wind picks up," Westwood had remarked earlier in the day - where his approach failed to reach the green.

Was he inspired by what Clarke had achieved? "Not so much inspired," he replied, "but proud of what Darren did." Murphy hasn't had much opportunity to play in such quality fields. Inevitably, it seems, his tour school card has him either out late or up with the dawn chorus. Yesterday, he was, as he suggested, "bringing the flags in with me." The Kilkenny player was in the very last match of the day - reduced to a two-ball halfway through when Frenchman Benoit Teilleria withdrew due to a sore throat - but produced his best play of the season, notching up three birdies in his opening four holes on his way to a 68.

"I'm playing well and really deserve more than I've got so far this season," said Murphy, who had missed three out of four cuts prior to this week.

It wasn't a particularly fruitful day for the remaining three Irish players: Des Smyth finished poorly, with three bogeys in his final four holes, for a 74; Ronan Rafferty fell to a 74, while Eamonn Darcy finished with a 75. With 72 players breaking par, they'll be hoping that they manage the Shamal better than many others do.

Meanwhile, Westwood, who has been struggling with his game in recent weeks, was back to something more like his old self. Out early in the day, the Englishman produced six birdies and an eagle and put it down to "a good key on the practice ground" with his coach Pete Cowen. "I had been losing distance gradually over the last six months, not winding up properly on the backswing. I've just got it back to where it used to be," he said.

Westwood and Coceres finished the day two strokes clear of the trio of Ian Garbutt, Jose Rivero and British Open champion Paul Lawrie, with Thomas Bjorn among a group alongside McGinley on five-under. For Colin Montgomerie, there was only disappointment, mainly with his putting, after an opening round 71. But at least that was better than American raids Justin Leonard (72) and Mark O'Meara (73). Which only provided further proof that the European Tour, these days, has plenty of quality players.