A MIXTURE of raw courage and profound disappointment characterised the Irish performances in the US Open yesterday. Darren Clarke led the trio with an undistinguished 73 while Paul McGinley and Padraig Harrington both shot 75.

McGinley, however, gained the distinction of leading the championship, as he did in the British Open at Royal Lytham last July.

With three birdies on the opening five holes, the 30-year-old Dubliner swept to the top of the leaderboard at three-under-par in this, his US Open debut. So, it was a crushing blow to drop eight strokes over the remaining 13 holes, largely around the greens.

Harrington, playing three groups behind him, was so ill on Wednesday night that his prospects of actually making the first tee appeared decidedly slim at that stage, despite the attention of two doctors. "I had a terrible night," he said. "I couldn't believe I was shaking so violently."

Indeed the reaction to serious dehydration was evident as Harrington yawned repeatedly after signing his card. "I still have very severe stomach cramps so I don't intend to do much more today," he added. "I'll just hit 30 or 40 balls and then go back to my hotel to rest."

His problems stemmed from over-zealous preparation on Tuesday. After spending five hours on the course under a torrid sun, he then worked for two And a half hours on his short game. By that stage, an intake of two beakers of water on every tee had not been enough to save him from sunstroke.

In the circumstances, his round was an heroic effort and he knew it, even if he expressed understandable disappointment. "I'm in good company," he said with a grin.

Effectively, Harrington didn't hit the ball straight enough off the tee to set up realistic birdies chances. This was reflected in the fact that his only two birdies of the round came at par threes. These were at the 174-yard seventh where he hit a six-iron to three-feet and the controversial 18th, where a 20-footer found the target.

"Going out, I was prepared to settle for a 72 or 73," he said. Such a score appeared to be well within his capabilities until midway through the homeward journey - when he dropped four strokes in three holes, starting with a double-bogey at the 13th.

Clarke also came to grief on the home stretch of a round that promised to put him right up with the leaders. After eight straight pars, he hit a wedge dead for a birdie on the lone ninth and remained at one under par for the championship - until the 14th.

"My concentration began to falter on the 13th, where I had to sink a 35-footer to save par," he admitted afterwards. In the event, a bunkered seven-iron approach cost him a stroke at the next and he then carded a wretched seven at the long 15th.

There, with 91-yards to the pin, he made heavy contact with a sandwedge into a front trap from where he recovered to 15 feet and then three-putted. "I had a golden opportunity to break par and I let it slip away," said Clarke, who dropped a further stroke at the 17th.

Meanwhile, for the opening five holes, McGinley was totally in control of his game, particularly in the critical area of course management. "Everything was fine at that stage," he said afterwards. "My only thought was to keep the momentum going."

But the momentum stopped abruptly at the 475-yard sixth, where he pulled a three-iron second shot of 225 yards, badly wide of the green. Bogey.