Ireland trail superb Sweden by seven shots

Those horror, Ryder Cup stories from 1991 are going to lose much of their impact after the dramatic scoring in the opening round of the 43rd World Cup, here on the Ocean Course yesterday. Ireland seemed to set a respectable target of seven under par, but Sweden later emerged as comfortable leaders with an amazing 14 under.

In between, second-placed Germany, on 11-under, proved that there is golfing life after Bernhard Langer, as Alexander Cejka set a course-record 63. And remarkably, this was only a stroke better that the next-best score of the day, an exemplary 64 from Per-Ulrik Johansson. He fainted in the clubhouse afterwards, apparently suffering from dehydration.

"Three of the par fives are on and we're hitting wedges to par fours, so the course is yielding a lot of birdies," said Paul McGinley, whose 66 was supported by a steady 71 from Padraig Harrington. "There's a long way to go and I'm satisfied to have made a solid start."

As if to order, there was warm sunshine for the first time this week and a fresh breeze became a factor only on the finishing holes. That, and the concession of forward tees, went some way towards explaining the blitz on par by a field of mixed quality.

But there was also some very fine golf, not least from Cejka, ironically against the background of a moderate European Tour season in which he finished in 59th position. On the way, he experimented with the long putter for almost three months, only to abandon it after horrendous fortunes in the Alfred Dunhill Cup.

So, with a standard putter and a weaker right-hand grip - "I'm no longer hooking the ball" - Cejka hit every fairway and every green and with a total of 27 putts, carded nine birdies.

Almost embarrassed by his good fortune and Germany's elevated position, he said afterwards: "Sure I'm surprised to make a score like this around here, but my game feels a lot more solid now." Then he added: "I was one of those people who watched the wind blow during the 1991 Ryder Cup on television and I think to myself `that is not a nice place to be."'

Kiawah also proved to be equally delightful for the splendid Swedes. Johansson, who captured the World Cup with Anders Forsbrand in Rome in 1991, saw their score as the product of a well-balanced side.

Three years older than his partner, he was 17 when he met Haeggman for the first time. "He was a high-energy guy even then," he said. "We have become good friends and I came here believing that we were capable of doing really well." That assessment was enhanced, no doubt, by Haeggman's astonishing outward nine of 27 during the Dunhill Cup last month.

With the most balanced performance of any of the leading sides - Johannson's 64 was complemented by a 66 - the Swedes carded a total of 13 birdies and an eagle three. Their lone bogey came from Haeggman at the short 14th, where he made the costly error of missing the green on the left.

Those exploits inevitably knocked some of the gloss off the Irish performance but a share of sixth place was still a welcome improvement on last year when Darren Clarke and Harrington shot a combined 145 in the opening round in Capetown. Indeed, McGinley struck the ball so well that he would not have been flattered by Cejka's standard of scoring.

This can be gauged from the fact that he had three bogeys through sloppy approach play. But he also carded four birdies in a row from the third, with an 18foot putt, a 15-yard chip-in and putts of five feet and four feet. It meant that the side were a combined four under par at the turn.

Then came the shot of McGinley's round. From a perfect drive down the middle of the fairway at the 545-yard 11th, he hit a glorious three-wood second shot. Giving it the full treatment to carry it 256 yards onto the elevated green, the ball came to rest little more than two feet from the flag for an eagle.

This was followed by birdies at the 12th, where he wedged to six feet, and the 13th where a 20-foot putt found the target. So, turning back into the wind at the short 14th, the Irish pair were eight under with five holes to play. And they stayed that way, when a three-putt bogey by McGinley on the long 16th was balanced by a birdie from Harrington, who hit a majestic eight-iron of 125 yards to three feet behind the hole.

At 195 yards, the infamous 17th was playing a lot easier than it did in the Ryder Cup when it was a two-iron shot of 220 yards. On this occasion it became a solid five-iron into a right to left breeze.

In the event, Harrington failed to make sufficient allowance for the wind and his shot drifted into the rough on the left from where he failed to get up and down. "Obviously that was a disappointment," he said. "I struggled with my five and six-foot putts all day."

But he added with a grin: "I hope Paul shoots six under in every round. After the opening few holes today, I had the feeling I was going to have a supportive role but it's the team that matters. I could be the one doing the scoring tomorrow."

And Colin Montgomerie was "happy to follow Raymond (Russell) around," as the Scottish pair shot a combined 10 under to claim third place. And Russell certainly responded admirably with a 66 that contained a run of five birdies from the fourth.

Meanwhile, a moderate 73 from Wayne Westner pushed the holders from South Africa down the order at three under. And there was disappointment for the host country when a 65 from Davis Love failed to lift his out-of-form partner, Justin Leonard.

The World Cup, which had its beginnings as the Canada Cup back in 1953, is to become the World Cup Team, sanctioned by the five main international tours. The change to a new format will take place in the year 2000 at a site yet to be chosen.