Padraig Harrington came within one shot of claiming a share of the course record at Quinta do Lago but his excellent eight under par 64 was still good enough to give the Irishman a two shot lead after the first round of the Algarve Open de Portugal.
The 29 year old Dubliner was in sparkling form, rattling in eight birdies and one eagle in total to head a quartet of his nearest challengers, David Lynn, Niclas Fasth, David Higgins and David Gilford, all of whom opened with 66s.
Ironically, Harrington partnered Colin Montgomerie who set the Quinta do Lago course record 12 years ago on his way to his first European Tour victory, but the seven time Volvo Order of Merit winner could not recreate the magic formula to unlock the course again. The Scot had to settle for an error-strewn one over par 73 and could only look on as Harrington rolled in putt after putt.
The Irishman started his assault on proceedings with three birdies in a row from the second, the highlight of the trio coming at the 423 yard third hole where his putt found the bottom of the cup from all of 30 feet away.
Another brace of birdies followed at the eighth and ninth before his first dropped shot of the day at the tenth, caused when he failed to find the green with his approach shot and missed his resultant three foot putt for par.
But the Irishman’s recovery was swift. He bettered his effort at the third with a 40 foot birdie putt at the 11th before eagling the long 12th after his three wood second shot found the centre of the green and his 15 foot putt found the bottom of the cup.
Further gains followed at the 14th and 17th but an errant drive at the last saw him have to hit his five iron second from the trees to the right of the fairway. Although he escaped well to the back of the green, his pitch ran ten feet past the hole and he missed the return which would have seen him equal Montgomerie’s 63.
“To be honest I had no idea of the record but it was disappointing to end that way because the second shot was one of the best I hit all day,” said Harrington. “But I can’t complain in fairness. I’ve shot 64 in windy conditions so I’m not going to let that bogey upset me.”
Amongst the nearest challengers was Englishman David Lynn, who continued the good form he showed in the Moroccan Open a fortnight ago where he finished second to Ian Poulter. The 27 year old’s effort was all the more laudable considering he achieved his 66 despite the effects of hay fever.
“I think the red eyes are a combination of hay fever and my contact lenses,” he said. “A bit of dust got in there the other day and it was pretty bad, I couldn’t stop rubbing my eyes.”
Rubbing their eyes also were Lynn’s playing partners for the Englishman managed to roll in seven birdies and suffer only one bogey despite having stepped onto the course for the first time to hit his opening tee shot.
“I was a bit tired from the last couple of weeks and I couldn’t face getting up at 3am to get the early flight here so I sent my brother, who is caddying for me, out to have a look at the layout. I didn’t play in the pro-am either and I even had a bit of bother finding the tenth tee to start, but it was all worth it in the end.”
Niclas Fasth, winner of last year’s Madeira Island Open, joined Lynn on 66 and was helped on his way by an eagle three at the 552 yard fifth hole, before two other David’s, messrs Gilford and Higgins also attained the six under par mark later in the day.
Gilford had seven birdies in total and only one dropped shot while Irishman Higgins managed a flawless first round, completing an excellent effort with two birdies on the front nine and four on the inward half.
“I’m very pleased with that,” he said. “I have put in a lot of hard work recently, been practicing hard and just trying to keep at it when things haven’t been going so well. Having said that I think the course is set up for my game, so that’s helped.
"It is one of my best rounds of the season, probably the best since the last round in Qatar where it was really windy and I shot 68 to tie for eighth. But I then went on to miss the next three cuts in a row, so hopefully this is the start of the way back for me.”
Defending champion Gary Orr opened with a two under par 70 while Roger Chapman, playing in his 500th European Tour event, showed he had lost none of his appetite for good scoring with a fine opening 68.
