Harrington in the hunt but Daly pays a harsh penalty

SPARE a thought for Wild Thing John Daly. After being on his best behaviour and battling with a wayward swing to come back with a 69 when the Volvo Scandinavian Masters began yesterday, he was handed a two stroke penalty after being reported by a Swedish spectator.

The American was deemed by the tournament director John Paramor to have broken rule 13-2 when he removed a small heap of sand from in front of his ball before he played his fourth stroke from just off the green at the ninth. The regulation only permits a golfer to do so when he is on the putting surface. When Daly admitted his actions, his bogey five became a triple bogey Seven, and his 69 turned into a 71.

"The spectator reported what he saw to an official referee and I was informed," said Paramor, "but John was not happy about it. He said he was not even aware of the rule, and that neither was his marker, Anders Forsbrand."

Daly, who shot 89 in the second round of last week's Dutch Open, did not linger to dwell on the small print of the Royal and Ancient regulations. Instead of a top 10 place, two shots behind joint leaders Santiago Luna of Spain and Thomas Bjorn of Denmark, he starts today's second stage in a share of 28th place.

Daly made such a fast getaway that he left his manager, John Moscatello, stranded. "That was a pity," said the latter. "John had played well and made five birdies."

Favourites Cot in Montgomerie and Ian Woosnam had legitimate 69s, as did leading Irishman Padraig Harrington, who got off to a good start by holing from 10 feet to birdie the short 14th. But at the 17th he was continually disturbed by the gallery over an awkward chip, and eventually played it poorly to drop a stroke.

His response was a birdie into the wind at the 449 yard 18th, where his three iron approach put him 15 feet from the flag to turn in 35. He holed another from the same distance to start the inward half.

Harrington capped a fine performance with a second two at the eighth, where he hit his nine iron tee shot only eight feet from the hole.

"My chipping was not that good because I have not been practising it much lately," he said, "so in the circumstances I am reasonably happy."

He had every reason to be, because his three under par effort put him alongside Montgomerie, and only half a dozen were better placed at the end of the first day.

No Irish were amongst them, because David Feherty took 75, "Philip Walton struggled to an outward 39 and 77, and the others either had difficulty with club selection or finding the firm greens in the boisterous breeze.

Feherty had an emergency lesson from freelance coach Simon Holmes after his unsatisfactory outing, in the hope of salvaging something from an event that represents his last chance of earn.ing a Dunhill Cup place at St Andrews in the autumn. But it was his work on the greens that depressed him most.

"I missed a lot of makable putts for birdies and pars because I kept hitting the rim of the hole," he said. "It looks as though the novelty of the long putter has worn off."

Ronan Rafferty and David Higgins took 73, as did Des Smyth, but only after a superb, 15 yard bunker recovery at the last which left him the formality of a two foot par putt.

Smyth had started with a birdie three from 12 feet and gone two under par with another at the fifth. But three putts on the next green, and mis directed tee shots at the short eighth and 12th cost valuable strokes, as did a wayward four iron to the 16th.

Raymond Burns was set to improve on that when he was level par on the 16th tee, but then took the first of two successive sixes to slip to 75. First he pulled his drive under a bush and had to take a penalty stroke, then, at the 17th, he overshot the green so badly that his ball flew over the grandstand into a hazard.

Burns was denied line of sight relief by a referee, and was forced into a blind pitch from the hazard back over the stand. He was not helped in his accuracy around the greens because he had left two of his favourite wedges at home.

"I forgot to put them back in the bag after playing some holiday golf," he said, "and though I borrowed two from the trade van here, they were not the same. Being forgetful cost me quite a few shots."

David McMiillan, a 19 year old locksmith, opened the door to success for Cairndhu yesterday in the Ulster section of the Irish club youth championship.

Former boy international McMullan returned a one under par 71 to help the County Antrim club to a team score of 143 and a three shots win over Bangor. The two handicapper was two over par after four holes but then chipped in for birdie at the sixth and made birdie four at the ninth, to turn in regulation.

He lost a stroke at the 10th, made birdie three at 15 and then holed a tram line putt from 90 feet for another birdie at 16 and an inward run of one under par.

Simon Humphries added a 72 having birdies at the eighth, ninth and par four 15th where he hit the flag with his eight iron approach. The third member of the team is Simon Lyttle, whose score of 75 did not count. It was the second year running that Bangor were squeezed into second spot up North and missed out on the All Ireland finals which will be played at Galway on August 26th.