Harrington plays safe to dip under par

Momentum can be a strange thing. If Padraig Harrington expected to breeze up the 160 miles from Fota Island to The K Club and just carry on with his birdie feast without any cares in the world, then he got a rude awakening on the practice ground on Monday morning.

His swing just wasn't right, and so a couple of days work with coach Bob Torrance was required before heading into the European Open.

"He got me hitting it better," remarked Harrington, "but, over the first few holes, I was still distracted by my swing.

"I was thinking about my set-up and about how I'm swinging the club rather than just getting on with it." So, at that early stage in yesterday's first round, Harrington took the decision to "keep an eye on safety all the way home."

Such an approach had its rewards as the Dubliner turned what, he estimated, "could have easily been a 74 or a 75" into a two-under-par 70. "It's certainly not the end of the world. If I play well over the next three days, then this will be a great score," he added.

On a generally poor day for the Irish contingent - only Darren Clarke, with a 68, and Harrington managed to be among the 57 players to break par while Paul McGinley finished up on level-par - there was at least some solace for Harrington in the way he managed to turn a potentially disastrous round into an acceptable one.

"The way I played those first seven holes, I could have been heading for a three or four-over par round.

"It is easier said than done to turn around and stop thinking about everything that is going on in your head, thinking about your swing, but it is nice to come in with a 70.

"It keeps me in the tournament and, to be honest, I am surprised that I am not more than three shots back of the leaders," he said.

Ironically, enough, Harrington had a great start to the round with two 20 foot birdie putts on the second and fourth but back-to-back bogeys on the fifth and sixth made him aware that his game wasn't quite as he wanted and, so, the safety first approach was brought in.

He reached the greenside trap on the 584 yards 10th with two drivers and splashed out to six feet for birdie before putting his tee-shot at the 11th behind a tree and giving back that shot.

However, a six-iron to 12 feet on the 12th brought him back under par and, after failing to convert some genuine chances on the 13th, 16th and 17th, he hit a huge drive on the last and, with 217 yards to the front of the green, hit a five-wood approach to greenside and chipped and putted for a closing birdie.

McGinley paid a heavy price for a poorly struck five-iron tee-shot on the eighth which tailed off into the River Liffey and meant he signed for a double-bogey five, to turn in two-over 37.

However, his homeward run started off in a blaze of glory when he recorded three straight birdies from the 10th - his longest putt coming on the 12th where he rolled in a 30 footer - before dropping another shot on the 14th, where he pushed his three-iron tee-shot.

"The course is playing tough, which is the way it should be. It is not a mickey mouse golf course and the scoring around here in previous years has been ridiculous. Players have no excuses if they complain the course is too tough because they cut it up every other year," insisted McGinley.

Ely Callaway, the man who revolutionised golf for professionals and weekend hackers alike with Big Bertha brand clubs, died yesterday. He was 82 and had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in April. Callaway, who purchased a small company that made speciality golf equipment and turned it into the world's biggest golf club maker, founded the company in 1982 and retired as its president and chief executive in May.