Golf:Pádraig Harrington made a fine start to the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston after a four-under par 67 left the three-time major winner inside the top 10 and some three shots better than the world's best player, Tiger Woods.
Having started on the 10th at TPC Boston in Norton, Massachusetts, the Dubliner eased into his round with six straight pars before the first birdie of the day came at the par three 16th.
It would ignite Harrington for he closed-out the nine with an eagle three at the par five 18th to turn in three-under 32. What some wouldn’t give for that score on the closing hole come Monday afternoon.
Further birdies came at the third and fourth but just when it looked like the 38-year-old would keep a bogey off the card, he dropped his only shot of the day at the sixth to drop back to four-under.
Harrington, who earlier in the week said he was done with “tinkering” with his swing, has shown a welcome return to form and is well-placed in this €5.2million event, the second of four in the FedEx Cup play-offs.
Harrington was joined on four-under by the likes of Sweden’s Daniel Chopra and Canada’s Stephen Ames, while Woods could only manage a 70, the same as Spain’s Sergio Garcia and Colombia’s Camilo Villegas.
World number four Steve Stricker was in the driving seat after an eight-under 63 left him two clear of a chasing pack that included Masters champion Angel Cabrera and the American trio of Scott Verplank, Justin Leonard and Matt Kuchar.
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