GOLF: When Gary Murphy, floored by a serious bout of flu, couldn't even lift himself out of bed the other day to play a practice round, it must have seemed like a real case of Murphy's Law.

Having got into the field in the €4.3 million Dunhill links only after receiving a sponsor's invitation, and playing three links courses that are best tackled in the whole of your health, Murphy could only wonder, "Why me? Why now?"

Yesterday, though, on a Carnoustie links whose fearsome reputation had preceded it, Murphy - well wrapped up but still talking through a nasal passage more blocked than the Westlink toll bridge at rush-hour - picked himself up sufficiently to let his golf do the real talking. On a first day which produced an exceptionally strong Irish presence at the business end of the leader board, the 30-year-old Kilkenny man shot a six-under-par 66 to take a share of the lead.

The other co-leaders, Simon Yates, a Scot who plays primarily on the Asian circuit, and Soren Hansen both fired their 66s on the Old Course at St Andrews.

On a day when the winds were not outlandishly strong, the scoring was generally good. Among those to make the most of it were Darren Clarke, whose ball-striking - as it has been for much of the season - was wonderful, who shot a 67 at Carnoustie, and Peter Lawrie, like Murphy making the most of his sponsor's invitation, who recorded a bogey-free 67 at St Andrews.

But one poor shot cost Paul McGinley a heavy price, when he was plugged under the face of a greenside bunker on the 16th where he recorded a triple bogey seven on the way to a one-under-par 71 at St Andrews.

Meanwhile, Padraig Harrington - "I'm not firing on all cylinders, just not bringing my game out onto the course," he said - laboured to a level-par 72 at Carnoustie, where Vijay Singh, the leader of the US Tour moneylist, and Ernie Els, heading the Order of Merit race in Europe, had the same score.

For Murphy, his round epitomised the progress he has made this season. Having earned a sponsor's spot in the field because he led the tour school's mid-season re-rank, he arrived early to gain some knowledge of links he'd only previously seen on television. "I walked Carnoustie on Sunday, and I was a bit scared by what I saw," he conceded.

However, with his plans to play a practice round there on Monday scuttled by his illness, he eventually played on Tuesday, when the course won - "I was one or two over," he said. Then, talking to Harrington in the locker-room yesterday morning before his round only reaffirmed the challenge that awaited.

"It's a tricky course, and you could shoot anything out there if the wind happened to get up," said Murphy.

As days go at Carnoustie, yesterday's was a pet day and the winds, anticipated to be up to 30 miles an hour, were only half that. "The course suited me, to be honest, because you have to lay back and hit longer shots into the greens, which suits my game."

His play of the 570-yard par five sixth hole, his 15th, demonstrated Murphy's sensible philosophy which meant he did not bring fairway bunkers into play. There, he hit two-iron off the tee, laid up with another two-iron, and then hit a four-iron approach to three feet.

In all, Murphy had seven birdies - including holing a sand shot from 30 feet on the eighth - and just one bogey, at the fourth, where he missed the green left with his approach. "It's a great start," he conceded, "and we'll see what we can do from here."

Clarke's round - also at Carnoustie - reaffirmed just how well he has been playing of late. His ball-striking and shaping of shots was wonderful, and he admitted: "I controlled my ball flight very well."

Now €497,332 behind money leader Els, Clarke insisted: "I would love to win the Order of Merit, it has been one of my goals for a long, long time. But I'll have to play exceptionally well to catch Ernie. I can only play as well as I can and see how it finishes up at the end of the year."

Yesterday, the omens were good. The little glitch in his swing that surfaced at last week's German Masters was eradicated on the practice ground on Tuesday - when he made four phone calls inside half an hour to his coach Butch Harmon in the US - and, in this opening round, he had six birdies and just one dropped shot, which came on the short eighth when he hit a six-iron over the back of the green.

Clarke's round could have been even more productive, if two genuine eagle opportunities had dropped.

On the 12th, he hit a four-iron second to five-and-a-half feet, but missed the eagle putt; and, on the 14th, he had only an eight-iron in his hands for the second shot, which he put to 15 feet, only to again miss the eagle putt.

"It's a very good start to the tournament," remarked Clarke, with just enough of a glint in his eye to suggest he means business.

Lawrie hardly put a foot wrong in accumulating his 67 on his first competitive round at the Old Course.

But McGinley, who was cruising along, found a dastardly lie in a greenside bunker on the 16th that ruined much of his good work.

"I was never in trouble all day, and then that happens. St Andrews bit me."

He won't be the last to share that sentiment.