Roller-coaster ride for McDowell

In a way, yesterday's first round was a microcosm of Graeme McDowell's inconsistent season. "I don't think I've ever had a round quite like that," he remarked shortly after an opening level-par 72 that was anything but smooth. In truth, it was a roller-coaster of a ride, featuring every score between an albatross and a double-bogey on his card.

Certainly, the 25-year-old from Portrush took an adventurous route to getting back to where he started the day at even par. McDowell's round consisted of an albatross, an eagle, two birdies, eight pars, five bogeys and a double-bogey. Nobody could accuse the world's 44th-ranked player of playing boring golf, that's for sure.

The arrival of the albatross couldn't have been better timed, coming as it did after a potentially disastrous start that saw McDowell bogey the opening hole and, then, incur a double-bogey on the second where he drove his tee-shot under a tree and had a restricted back swing on his recovery shot. Attempting to chip back to the fairway, he didn't quite make it and ran up an ugly six.

Walking down the fourth fairway, player and caddie had a wee chat. McDowell and bagman Matt Harbour agreed that he had to free up his swing, to let it go.

The fourth hole is a par five of 568 yards with overhanging trees to the right of the green that can be intimidating for those seeking to find the putting surface in two. McDowell had 267 yards to the flag, and couldn't decide between hitting a five-wood or a three-wood. In the end, he settled for a three-wood.

The result was a thing of pure beauty. McDowell cut the three-wood and initially thought that the ball had rolled off the back edge of the green, only for the crowd at greenside to let him know by their reaction that he had holed out for the second albatross of his career. The first had come at the French Open in 2003.

This was the fifth albatross of the season on the European Tour, the feat previously being achieved by Philip Archer (Heineken Classic), Andrew Coltart (Madeira Island Open), Darren Clarke (British Masters) and Soren Hansen (Dutch Open).

"It came out pretty much the way I envisaged it," admitted McDowell, adding: "You can hit as good a shot as you like, but you need a serious amount of luck to find the hole from that distance. I'd have been perfectly content if the ball was on the back edge, but the crowd went pretty nuts and I knew it had gone in."

While Simon Wakefield got a Renault cabriolet for acing the eighth, McDowell's reward was a bottle of champagne and a weekend's break at the K Club hotel.

And when McDowell holed out from 60 yards with a sand wedge on the 10th - moving to three-under for his round - it seemed as if it would be his day.

Not surprisingly, as he walked down the 11th hole, a spectator inquired if he'd bought a lotto ticket.

Unfortunately for McDowell, the momentum was lost over the closing stretch and three bogeys in his final five holes brought him back to where he had started out.

"All in all, I'm content enough to be even par. I didn't feel good on the short putts and actually feel like I'm more dangerous from 15 feet than five. I'd 29 putts with two zeros . . . that says a lot," said McDowell, who at least will have pure greens with a morning start to his second round as he attempts to regain ground.