No luck left for Rory McIlroy's Countrymen at St Andrews
There was no luck left for his Irish countrymen after Rory McIlroy swept away the competition at the British Open to take the lead with a 63 after the first round.
Padraig Harrington had a very turbulent first round and finished one over 73, ten shots behind leader McIlroy.
Harrington is one of two men from across the Irish Sea to win the Claret Jug. In 1947 Fred Daly slashed the odds when he won the British Open, and Harrington won it at Camoustie in 2007 as well as at Royal Birkdale in 2008.
He also won the PGA Championship in 2008. Though the day was filled with low scores and the course was played as generously as it is likely to get all week, Harrington failed to take advantage and showed no vestige of his former championship self this time around.
The first hole on the Old Course is the easiest one to encounter so when Harrington was caught heavy there, the rest of the day didn’t look too good. His approach to a pin only 12 paces onto the green was no good; the ball bounced and disappeared into the Swilken Burn in front of the green. He left with a double bogey 6, picking up three more bogeys before retiring for the day. On the 397-yard 3rd hole he drove the ball into a divot, and grabbed the other bogeys on the 17th and 18th holes. He had four birdies.
What did Harrington have to say for himself?
“I did all the superfluous things very well and the important things badly. . . Obviously the poor chip shot on the 1st didn't really help me and after that there was no momentum. I was always trying to get back into it."
Darren Clarke earned his berth at the Open with his runner-up spot in the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond last week. Clarke had a solid start but grabbed bogeys at the second, seventh and 17th holes to offset his five birdies and finish at two-under 70. The Irishman has never won a PGA Tour event but was victorious at the JP McManus Invitational Pro-am in a one-shot victory over Luck Donald. His best finish on St Andrews was in the 193th Open held on the course when he came in second place during the Barclay’s Scottish open.
Shane Lowry was two strokes better than Clarke. The Irish golfer qualified during the local Scotland qualifier at Kingsbarnes just down the road from the Old Course. Lowry was partnered with current leader Louis Oosthuizen and shot a level par 72. He dipped to two under at the 10th hole but cancelled his advantage with bogeys on the 14th and 16th holes.
Graeme McDowell was a popular favourite going into the Open. He won the US Open at Pebble Beach last month and was looking like Ireland’s greatest shot at a British Open. McDowell's triumph at the U.S. open was inspirational for 21-year-old McIlroy,
“It gave me a lot of confidence just to know winning a major wasn't as far away as I thought it was,” he said of his compatriot's victory before heading to the British Open.
McDowell encountered the squally afternoon winds on Thursday, and bogeyed the first and seventh holes. He had birdies on the 3rd, 14th and 18th and managed to finish one under.
Gareth Maybin of Northern Ireland is making his St Andrews and British Open début this week. He scored a level par by the end of the first day after bogeying the second hole but getting a birdie on the 5th.
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