Harrington off pace as Stenson sets early target

World Target Challenge: Padraig Harrington discovered that golf is a rollercoaster as a promising start turned to frustration in the first round of the $5.75 million Target World Challenge at stunning Sherwood Country Club in California.

The Dubliner played the first seven holes on auto pilot, cruising to two under par for his round before a distraction on the par-three eighth led to the first of three bogeys in the space of six holes.

As a result, Harrington dropped to the back end of the 16-man field on one over and five shots adrift of clubhouse leader Tiger Woods, who fired a four-under-par 68 on a scorching December morning in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Playing with former US Open champion Michael Campbell, Harrington hardly put a foot wrong for the first half of his round, hitting every fairway and missing just one green in regulation in the first seven holes. Then came the sting in the tail.

He dipped under par for the first time at the par-five second, skimming a superb chip to four feet and tapping in for birdie and moving to two under when he flew a rescue wood to 40 feet at the par five-fifth and two putted to get to within one shot of Woods, who birdied three of the first five.

But after leaving an slippery eight foot birdie chance in the jaws at the seventh, Harrington lost all his momentum at 232-yard eighth where he was distracted by some movement behind the tee and pulled his three-iron tee shot into a deep bunker and bogeyed.

A wedge to eight feet at the next left him with a quick downhill birdie putt but his effort horseshoed out, leaving him two adrift of Woods and big John Daly at the turn.

The Dubliner then saved an amazing par four at the 10th, holing from 25 feet after being a poor drive forced him to fire his approach to a difficult spot at the front of the green, some 90 feet from the pin.

But he lost any momentum gained there when he bogeyed the 11th and 13th holes to drop out of contention and finished with a double bogey six for 75 - nine shots behind leader Henrik Stenson, who cruised to six-under-par 66.

Geoff Ogilvy led on the course with one to play but double bogeyed the last to end in a tie with Woods for second place on four-under-par.