Harrington finds a silver lining

Padraig Harrington came off the course at Bethpage Black delighted at being given a US Open reprieve by the weather. The Dubliner endured a difficult start to his campaign on Long Island, slipping to four over par after six holes before play was suspended.

Playing in a marquee grouping of the current major champions, US Open defending champion Tiger Woods and Masters winner Angel Cabrera, the Irishman bogeyed the par-four first hole after three putting and then bogeyed the par-five fourth after finding rough off the tee before double bogeying the par-four fifth.

“If you’ve started badly, you’re delighted to be going off the golf course,” Harrington said. “I’m starting a new round tomorrow and it doesn’t look like this round was going in a very nice direction for me.”

“It’s all about momentum in the bad weather, starting with a three-putt and then dropping a shot from nowhere,” Harrington added.

“All of a sudden I’m two over par and I haven’t played quite well and I’m trying to figure out ‘how am I going to get back in this’? How am I going to make some birdies and recover? I’m on the back foot, so the best thing for me is to come back fresh tomorrow.

“I know it’s going to be early. It’s a new start but for me, I’ve still got 66 holes of this tournament (to play).

“So if I can get it into my head in some shape or form the 66 holes to go, I am amazed two bogeys and a double bogey won’t really cost me at the end of the day, but that’s hard coming from four over par, too.”

World number one Woods, who came off the course at one over par, two shots behind co-leaders Jeff Brehaut and Ryan Spears of the USA, Canada’s Andrew Parr and Johan Edfors of Sweden, said he was happy to have got his opening round under way, however briefly.

“It was pretty wet and windy, it was a slow day,” Woods said. “We had to get in as many holes as we possibly could and we played more holes than we thought.

“I knew it was a tough day and it was. It was a good decision to start today.”