HAVING SPENT their formative years learning their trade on punishing links around Ireland, it was perhaps a little surprising that a three-pronged Irish attack struggled to cope with high winds on the opening day of the WGC-CA Championship.
Pádraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell, fine links exponents one and all, were unable to exploit those skills as gusts of over 20mph added a little extra bite to the Doral’s Blue Monster.
Of the three, Harrington emerged relatively unscathed having battled to a creditable two under courtesy of a rare birdie on the 18th.
That was three adrift of Charl Schwartzel, who reached the sanctuary of the clubhouse with a five-under 67 on his card.
But the South African will have little room for manoeuvre later today with Vijay Singh, Robert Allenby and Ernie Els breathing down his neck.
Allenby finished with mixed emotions after a commanding lead was swallowed up down the Monster’s closing stretch.
Having covered the front nine in 30 shots, the Australian stood on the 15th tee at eight under. But he bogeyed the last four holes to drop back into the pack.
What might kindly be described as a gentle breeze by club players from these shores was enough to nudge the world’s elite out of their comfort zone and McIlroy fared worse than most.
The 20-year-old, who declared earlier this week that a niggling back complaint is now a thing of the past, hasn’t exactly imposed himself since committing to the PGA Tour on a full-time basis.
The world number nine, playing alongside defending champion Phil Mickelson, misfired badly from the tee, hitting just a handful of fairways all day.
When he did manage to find the green in regulation McIlroy was met with a cold putter. Unsurprisingly, with little going his way, it was a case of damage limitation and a four-over-par 76 was the best he could manage.
McDowell, after falling away badly last weekend, had hit the ground running with three birdies in his first five holes. But that good work was undone with three consecutive dropped shots from the 17th (his eighth) and McDowell would drop another two shots on his way home to finish on two over.
With more inclement weather forecast today the organiser have moved the second round tee-times forward by over three hours. Harrington is the first of the Irish in action at 1.31pm (Irish time), McIlroy follows at 2.34pm with McDowell out at 2.55pm.
Preparations gearing up for Woods’s return
PREPARATIONS FOR Tiger Woods’s return are at an advanced stage, it has emerged, amid reports he had hired Ari Fleischer, a former White House press secretary, to help him prepare for the questions he will face in his first confrontation with the media since his car crash last November.
Confirmation of Woods’s return could come as soon as Monday, and it is widely assumed within the sport that the world number one will play on March 22nd-23rd in the Tavistock Cup, a made-for-television event at Isleworth club, where he is a long-time member.
That will be followed by the Bay Hill Invitational, a PGA Tour event hosted by Arnold Palmer, which he has won six times.
Guardian Service
