Harrington's day spoiled

Sergio Garcia, with four birdies in his last five holes, made a run for the lead in the first round of the US Masters at Augusta National yesterday.

But by taking three from the edge of the 18th green he finished with a 68, one behind Davis Love III, whose five- under 67 was his best opening effort in this tournament since 1992.

Padraig Harrington, playing in his third Masters, reached six under after 11 holes - the lowest of the day - but could not hold on.

Early in the round Harrington hit some excellent shots, none better than his tee shot at the short 6th where the pin is on a shelf at the rear, right-hand side of the green. Precision is essential and the Irishman hit the ball to 18 inches. At the 9th he was only four feet from the pin but above the hole and did well to slide a slippery putt in.

There was a moment of good fortune at the 11th where he unintentionally flew the ball straight at the pin. It looked as if it would find the lake on the left of the green, but instead just made the carry and Harrington capitalised by holing from 20ft.

That took him to six under and the clear lead - which he proceeded to dissipate. After a good drive at the 13th he found Rae's Creek in front of the green and finished with bogey. A drive into the trees at the next resulted in another dropped shot.

He hit a superb tee shot at the short 16th but, as he was walking to the green, the US Tour official Mark Russell advised him that he was playing too slowly and should get a move on. Harrington then missed a 6ft birdie chance and glared angrily three times in the direction of the official.

But the Irishman is often painfully slow and would do well to work on a routine that produces a quicker hit. Another shot went at the 18th, after a visit to the trees, and it was a disappointing finish to his round.

Before the tournament Tiger Woods was asked what he thought was the reason that David Duval had not yet won a Masters. His answer was suc cinct. "Luck," he said. And yesterday Woods supplied a complete demonstration of what he meant. His opening tee shot was a wild slice which seemed destined for the deep woods, at least 30 yards off the fairway. But a fierce ricochet shot the ball sharp left. It finished just off the fairway and the defending champion had a clear shot to the green.

Of course, luck such as that needs to be capitalised upon and at first it seemed that Woods was not going to do so. He hit a poor shot into a greenside bunker and a poor recovery, by his standards, to 10ft.

But there was an air of inevitability as the man who is probably the best putter in the world stood over the ball, and of course he holed it. A working man's par, but then in golf it is not how, but how many.

Woods, not at his best, was a relieved man when birdies at the 15th and 17th enabled him to join some distinguished company on 70. Miguel Angel Jimenez, Scott Verplank, Jesper Parnevik, Chris DiMarco, Ernie Els, Darren Clarke and Jose Maria Olazabal were all on that mark and most of them, as Olazabal suggested, would probably accept three more rounds of that same score.

Nick Faldo, after a 75, admitted he had struggled. "There is no margin for any kind of error," he said. "I was trying to make things happen, trying to let things happen, but nothing was happening."

He added: "I struggled to make a proper turn. My body is rebelling. It's saying: 'Oi, Sunshine, I've had enough of your game'."

Olazabal eagled the long 2nd with a shot he had practised on Wednesday. He deliberately drew a one-iron second so that it landed on the narrow strip of land between two greenside bunkers, and saw it skip up the green to two feet. He completed his round with two bogeys and two birdies.

Colin Montgomerie, not a lover of Augusta which, he says, does not suit his game, had problems at the short 6th. His tee shot pitched 12ft from the pin but spun back off the green. He assumed his indignant teapot position, hands on hips, took his visor off, ruffled his hair, put the visor back on, and generally fussed. Then he chipped, and saw the ball do the same thing again.

More indignation, more "Why me?" But the next chip was better and he holed from seven feet for a bogey. His eventual 75, though, left him well down the field.

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