The ghosts of last month's Irish Open were unceremoniously banished. Neither Padraig Harrington nor Paul McGinley survived to the weekend the last time they played a PGA European Tour event in Ireland, but yesterday the World Cup winning duo displayed their true colours in the first round of the European Open at The K Club.
To do so, the two Dubliners were forced to overcome horrendous starts. Harrington started bogeybogey and McGinley went one worse, commencing his round bogey-bogey-bogey. Rather than buckle, however, the pair rose to the challenge; and, indeed, Harrington's name actually went to the top of the leaderboard after a purple patch in mid-round that yielded three birdies and an eagle in the space of four holes.
"It was tough out there," said Harrington, who shot an opening 71, "but I'm glad they've toughened up the course. Once you miss the fairway you are in trouble. If you find yourself anywhere in the rough, you can't hit it more than 80 yards safely."
Having started on the 10th, Harrington's opening two bogeys resulted from loose drives. There was no sigh of dejection. He responded with a birdie at the 13th before unleashing his private assault on the course: he sank a 40 footer on the notorious 16th; grabbed another birdie at the 17th - "I must have almost holed out with the eight iron tee shot, judging by the crowd's reaction around the green," he said - where he hit an eight iron to two and a half feet, then hit a three iron approach to four feet for an eagle at the 18th.
Harrington continued the streak with another birdie at the first but the wheels came off at the second where a gust of wind "blew me back" as he struck his approach and he had further bogeys at the sixth and eighth after putting his drives into the rough. "I'm not disappointed with the score, just with the finish," said Harrington.
One of those responsible for the course's increased toughness this year is actually McGinley, the club's touring professional, who recommended the rough be toughened and pin positions made more difficult. He must have wondered for a time if he should have played "Mystic Meg" when he endured a terrible start, three putting the 10th (his first hole), then taking three to get down from just off the green at the next and under-clubbing for his third successive bogey at the 12th.
"I was in real trouble before I knew where I was," said McGinley, "but I knew I hadn't played a really bad shot, so mentally that helped. I just had to improve my short game," he said. Improve he did, grabbing birdies at the 16th, 17th, first and third and his only other dropped shot came at the eighth where he drove into the rough to finish with a level par 72 that leaves him in the thick of the hunt.
