Philip Reidwatched as Kilkenny's finest soloed up the leaderboard until he was brought back to earth at the 14th

For a time in yesterday's first round, Kilkenny's Gary Murphy got into a zone not dissimilar to that which Henry Shefflin and his team-mates regularly occupy on the hurling pitch. Murphy could do no wrong, stringing together a sequence of four successive birdies that had him charging up the leaderboard and within tantalising reach of the first-round pacesetter, Maarten Lafeber.

Then, on the par four 14th, Murphy - who had spent all Wednesday in his sick bed and much of yesterday, as he put it, "looking for portaloos" - was brought back to earth, recording a double-bogey six that stopped him in his tracks. Still, when his signature had been scribbled on to his scorecard, the 34-year-old Heritage-attached professional finished up as the leading Irish player after an opening round 68.

Having turned in 35, one under, Murphy started for home on the par five 10th by striking two drivers to the edge of the green and pitching stone dead for a birdie. It was the catalyst for a charge that saw him leapfrog up the board.

On the 12th, he hit a lob wedge approach to 12 feet and sank the putt; on the 13th, he hit a four iron to eight feet and, again, holed the birdie putt; and he completed his fourth birdie in a row on the 13th, hitting a five iron approach to three feet.

On the 14th, though, he "collapsed" his drive and the ball plugged in the rough. Entitled to relief, the free drop finished in the rough but, rather than play out sideways on to the fairway and take his chances from there, Murphy attempted to hit an eight-iron approach. The ball moved barely a foot forward, finding a new home in thick rough. Murphy took his medicine this time, and played out on to the fairway but failed to get up and down and registered a double-bogey six.

Then, he dropped a further shot on the par three 17th, where he chose the wrong club off the tee and flew the green, failing to get up and down to save par.

"I played lovely, except for that silly mistake on the 14th. I went for a stupid second shot in hindsight. I should have come out sideways instead of trying to be a hero. It's a disappointing finish, but I played well for most of the round, pretty much as I have been playing all season except that I holed some putts," said Murphy.

Murphy finished the first round as the leading Irishman - in tied-17th position - and one of only two players (along with Graeme McDowell, who had a 69) from the home contingent to break par. Philip Walton, playing on a sponsor's invite, recorded a level-par 70, a considerable improvement on his 89 in the first round of last week's French Open. "I was depressed after that score (in France) and, when I was two over through six holes today, I thought, 'here we go again'. But I was determined to stay relaxed and that paid off," said Walton.

Paul McGinley had a roller-coaster round that included six birdies and seven bogeys in a 71. "It was a combination of everything, too many bad shots and too many bad decisions. It's frustrating, because when you get things going, you should be able to take advantage of it. I suppose you could say it was the good, the bad and the ugly. I've just got to keep going, to persevere and battle through it."