Garcia does it his way again

They sought desperately to catch him, but it was all in vain as "El Nino" was doing it his way - again. The young Spaniard's destructive mood meant an unrelenting birdie assault on a relatively defenceless course in the first round of the Standard Life Loch Lomond tournament yesterday.

"Right now, it's pretty nice to be Sergio Garcia," he said, in that enchantingly disarming way of his, after shooting an opening round of nine-under-par 62. The previous night, Garcia had spent a couple of hours playing his newly acquired Sony Playstation and beat, among others, Nick Faldo and Fred Couples in computer matchplay combat. Yesterday, the teenager did the same on the golf course. He wasn't entirely alone. Several factors meant the course failed to live up to its fearsome reputation, and the consequence was a string of low scores. The absence of any wind and the allowance of placing on the fairways (due to the wet conditions, a result of recent heavy rain) meant players could attack the flag. "They couldn't hide the pins enough," observed Jesper Parnevik.

Indeed, for a time, it appeared as if Garcia would shoot a 59. He covered the outward journey in 30 strokes and claimed later: "I was capable of shooting 28 or 29 easily." In the end, Garcia had to be content with a round of 62 which because of placing didn't qualify as equalling Retief Goosen's course record. Parnevik, for his part, shot an opening 64, while three players - Patrik Sjoland, Mats Lanner and Roger Winchester - finished with 65s.

Darren Clarke had a 69 to be best of the seven-strong Irish contingent, but there was considerable merit in that score given that his front nine included two bogeys and a doublebogey. "I wasn't too pleased with myself at the turn, as you can imagine," he confessed. However, Clarke came home in 31, joint best-of-theday for the inward trip with his playing partner and Ryder Cup captain Mark James and Paul Lawrie.

"That's not too bad, quite okay," said Clarke, who rolled in four birdies - the longest putt from 18 feet at the last - on that back nine to turn his card around. His response to a nightmarish double-bogey six on the ninth, statistically the easiest hole on the course, demonstrated his growing maturity as he stubbornly refused to drop any further shots and grabbed birdies at the 10th, 12th, 16th and 18th.

Clarke was the sole Irish player to break par. John McHenry, in the penultimate three-ball, battled manfully in the worse of the weather to sign for a 72. But Paul McGinley, Padraig Harrington, Philip Walton and Eamonn Darcy all shot 73s, while Des Smyth doubled bogeyed the last for a 74.

Professional golf can be a selfish game, with players only worried about themselves. Garcia, though, is on everyone's lips - and yesterday the Murphy's Irish Open champion was simply magnificent. He didn't drop a single shot to par, and his play was exemplary. There wasn't a fault in his game. "I'm comfortable with every single club in my bag. I am just so confident with my swing," he said. Certainly, Garcia's iron play was enthralling as he took advantage of the more favourable morning conditions. By contrast, the late starters - among them Colin Montgomerie - had to endure consistent heavy rain which eventually made play thoroughly miserable. A run of four successive birdies from the second hole was the high point of Garcia's round, but he also had another hat-trick of birdies later on at the eight, ninth and 10th. In fact, Garcia's birdie at the 10th, the hardest hole on the course, was one of only seven on the day: he reduced the 455 yards par 4 to a drive, six iron and 12 foot putt.

Garcia's continued run of form has brought a more upbeat response to any Ryder Cup queries. "If I win here this week, I'll probably be in the team," he said. "Things have changed and I am trying really hard to get into the team by points. If I keep playing like this I can do it."

Few would disagree. Indeed, Lee Westwood, the defending champion, who showed that he has re-emerged from his mini-slump, shot a 66 that included two birdies on the closing three holes. "I think Sergio's whole game is sound, and it is not likely to break down too much. People like Sergio lift the profile of the European Tour, and I just hope we can hang onto him. At the end of the day, he will always be European, won't he?"

Garcia may be a ray of sunshine onto the European Tour, but poor old Monty was like a drowned rat by the time he completed his round. "Everyone who played after one o'clock was very unlucky," he complained. "We got the bad end of it, the bad end of the draw." A bogeybogey finish, of course, didn't help matters for the Scot who ended with a 69. But, as he is known to say, tournaments aren't won on the first day - there is still quite a distance to travel.