Harrington in the frame

Padraig Harrington made a point of playing down his chances in the build-up to the £700,000 Malaysian Open, but an opening round of 70 put him well in the frame, three shots behind leader Maarten Lafeber. US Masters champion Vijay Singh and England's Robert Coles both carded 68s for a share of second place.

Harrington stood at four-under-par with three holes to play, just one shot off the lead, but inevitable rustiness after a four-week lay-off eventually caught up with the Ryder Cup player and two bogeys in his last three holes meant he had to settle for a first round 70, two-under-par.

"It's not a bad start and I would probably have taken it before the start, but I was five under through 10 and that was easily the worst I could have been," said Harrington, who spent four weeks practising at home and in Scotland with coach Bob Torrance after losing in the first round of the World Matchplay in Melbourne.

"It was different from practising in the snow but it wasn't down to that, I just hit a few clumsy shots and whenever I got out of position I struggled. I feel like I left a few shots out there."

Singh was understandably happier with his opening effort that contained four birdies and no dropped shots. "I played very solidly and did not miss too many shots," the Fijian said. "I hit every green and I'm very pleased with the way I started.

"It could have been one or two more under quite comfortably but it's only the first day. I'm not really worried about the leaderboard right now, I only start looking at that at the weekend.

"There were a lot of chances but the greens are very difficult. There was nothing wrong with my putting, it was misreading the greens. You have to know them well to see the undulations and the grain and you have to be very patient." Holland's Lafeber had an outward half of 37, coming home in 30 with six birdies in eight holes to set the pace on five-under-par.

The 26-year-old from Eindhoven, who sold 7,500 shares in himself at £30 apiece in 1998 to finance his golf, said: "You don't have to be really long off the tee but you need to be in the right position on the greens to make birdies."

Double major winner John Daly started steadily with three straight pars while in-form Kiwi Michael Campbell eagled the par four fourth to move to two-under-par. But Seve Ballesteros' struggles continued, the Spaniard carding a six and a triple bogey seven in an inward half of 42 in his 78 to be six-over-par, the 43-year-old's new Callaway clubs failing to help rediscover the old magic.