Higgins hits it long and straight for one-shot lead

Liam Higgins delivered accuracy to match his legendary power when carding a three-under-par 69 for the first round lead in the £220,000 AIB Irish Seniors Open at Tulfarris yesterday. But he departed the scene keenly aware of the forbidding figure of Bruce Fleisher only a stroke behind in this 54-hole event.

In a world where the behaviour of certain players tends to reflect their spoiled status, Fleisher has shown himself to be a refreshing exception. Indeed, he is behaving here like a kid in a sweetshop.

"After being a poor journeyman on the regular tour, I'm surprised and delighted at my success," said the winner of 10 US Seniors' events, including three this year.

"But I'm over here because I wanted to have the experience again of people saying `hello'. It doesn't happen where I've come from."

A measure of Fleisher's splendid skills was his birdie on the 417-yard 18th, which became a fearsome prospect into a brisk, northerly wind. As it happened, he was the only player to break par on a hole which inflicted five triple-bogey sevens and quite a few sixes on hapless challengers.

After a typically solid drive, Fleisher had 193 yards to the pin, with an intimidating expanse of water in between. He thought of hitting a five-iron, but his Irish caddie recommended a four.

So it was that he displayed skills alien to the American game by going down the shaft of the four-iron and punching the sweetest of shots to 15 feet from the pin. And it came as no surprise when he finished off the good work by sinking the putt.

In generally testing conditions, only six players broke par, and they included another Irishman, Joe McDermott, the 1998 winner. But it was a disappointing exercise for the defending champion, John Morgan, who started with a double-bogey seven, on the way to a 77, after losing a ball off his second shot at the long first.

Christy O'Connor Jnr also suffered with a 75 which leaves him with an extremely steep hill to climb if he is to realise his ambition of adding this title to his British crown. Though Fleisher seemed to cope, the Galwayman failed to adjust to greens appreciably slower than on the US circuit.

He left a number of putts short of the target and took 37 in all, which was about seven more than a player of his quality might reasonably expect. "It's a pity, because my long game is in great shape," he said. "I'll have to give it a real go tomorrow."

Meanwhile, his illustrious uncle, Christy Senior, put many of the "youngsters" to shame with an admirable 76, only a stroke more than his age. And it was highly significant that he carded nothing worse than a bogey, while shooting birdies at the long seventh, the ninth and the long 15th. And as a bonus, he parred the 18th.

He also found time to help a fellow westerner. "When I was hitting balls beside Christy on the practice ground, he noticed I was swinging too fast," said McDermott. "So he suggested that I should slow down, which I did. And it worked."

Higgins, who joined the Seniors' Tour in 1993, set himself the target of becoming the first Irish winner of this title, only to be be outstripped by McDermott. "But I'll take it any time, preferably this weekend," said the Waterville professional.

There were four birdies and a lone bogey on his card. Almost predictably, three of his birdies came at reachable par fives. Indeed Higgins made so much of wind assistance at the 502-yard 13th that he needed only a wedge to reach the green after an enormous, 360-yard drive.

Fleisher overcame three-putt bogeys at the first and ninth and another at the long 13th, where he failed to recover from a blocked drive into lush rough. "It's tough out there and you've got to be patient."

Mind you, he is probably finding that patience becomes very much easier after having accumulated $983,059 from 12 American events this year.