Harrington Hunting at Sanderson Farms

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Padraig Harrington finished five strokes off the pace in the Sanderson Farms Championship,Country Club of Jackson, in a group of 17 players who shot 70 in their first rounds.

The three time major winner continues his bid to move up the world rankings as 40 of the world’s top 50 players are contesting the WGC-HSBC Champions event in Shanghai. Currently being led by Graeme McDowell.

The world number 340 Harrington is one of nine former Major champions in the field at Jackson Country Club in Mississippi

Harrington, who reached a career-high third in the world six months after winning his third Major title in the 2008 US PGA Championship bust has since lost his Tour card and is playing on invitations.

Sebastian Cappelen leads after carding a seven under par 65 for the outright lead.

With 40 of the World’s top 50 players competing at the WGC-HSBC Champions event in Shanghai, it was expected that one of the nine former champions in the field would make their mark, but it is the 24-year-old who is setting the pace. Cappelen began with a bogey, but made eight birdies, shooting five under on the front nine and finished with a tricky par to finish two clear of the rest.

“I’m so happy, I couldn’t be happier,” Cappelen, told the Golf Channel.

“I came here just trying to get a new experience, trying to get a feel for how it feels to play on the real tour.

“I had a great time out there today and hit a lot of great shots. It was fun. I’ll try to just keep that going, take that with me into tomorrow.”

American pair Robert Streb and Scott Pinckney as well as Canadian Nick Taylor are on five under, with Streb’s bogey at the last a frustrating end to what had been up to then, a blemish-free round. Pinckney dropped shots at eight and 17, following birdies from 14 through 16, while Taylor did not register a bogey.

Nine players, including David Duval and Ben Curtis are a further shot back on four under par, while defending champion Woody Austin shot a 70.

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Slow Start at Sea Island for Harrington

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Padraig Harrington carded an opening round of one over par 71 at the McGladrey Classic left him six shots off the early pace at Sea Island.

Harrington, who is relying on sponsors’ invitations at the moment, had birdies at the seventh and 15th, then dropping shots at the fourth, 12th and 14th.

Erik Compton is happy with where he is in golf, and he's not referring to his 5-under 65 on Thursday for an early share of the lead in The McGladrey Classic.

A return to Sea Island provides an occasion to take stock of how far he has come in the last 13 years, and what Compton refers to as the "hurdles" he didn't anticipate.

There's a medical term for these hurdles. It's called a second heart transplant.

"I'm almost 35 years old. I've had a good career in golf, really," he said. "Even though I've had some time off, I've been able to support myself and have a good life."

Compton remarkably earned a PGA TOUR card just four years after he drove himself to the hospital while suffering a heart attack, dodging death until he received a second transplant. He now is in his fourth straight season on golf's toughest circuit, and he has shown steady improvement.

The next step is to win, and Compton has been around long enough not to get overly excited about a good start.

He opened with a pair of birdies in the morning chill on the Seaside Course at Sea Island, dropped only one shot and joined Sea Island resident Brian Harman and Michael Thompson atop the leaderboard among the early starters.

"I expect I should win this year. That's a goal of mine," Compton said. "It's always been a goal, but I think every time I get on the course it becomes more of a realistic expectation."

Compton first played Sea Island when he competed in the SEC Championship while at Georgia in 2001. A few months later, Compton played in the Walker Cup at nearby Ocean Forest.

The first hurdle when he turned pro was realizing that "everybody out here is really, really, really, really good." The more serious hurdle was his heart.

Compton had his first transplant when he 12 because of cardiomyopathy, an enlarging of the heart that hinders its ability to pump blood. He had his second in 2008 and ended that year by making the cut in the final PGA TOUR event.

His story never gets old, and Compton is happy to tell it, especially if that means bringing attention to the "Donate Life America" campaign. He prefers to look ahead, at the next shot, the next tournament, trying to get the most he can out of his game, just like the guys he is trying to beat.

Compton played on that Walker Cup team with 2009 U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover along with Bryce Molder and D.J. Trahan, who both went on to win on the PGA TOUR. The Britain & Ireland team featured former world No. 1 Luke Donald and Graeme McDowell, the U.S. Open champion at Pebble Beach.

Compton's hopes were not much different from theirs -- turn pro, win tournaments.

"I think when I was younger, I had some unrealistic expectations," he said. "I knew I was a good player. I obviously had some hurdles that I had to deal with in front of me, which I didn't see coming. I didn't know I was going to have to deal with that."

What's real to him now is being a PGA TOUR regular. He's going to the Masters next year for the first time, courtesy of his runner-up finish in the U.S. Open. That remains his biggest highlight in golf.

What's next? He's curious to find out. Compton is learning not to swing so hard to take advantage of his putting stroke.

"I just want to get the ball in play and hit on the green and see where I can go," he said. "And that's difficult to do in four days, and it's proven difficult for a lot of guys who have never won on TOUR who have great careers. I happen to be one of those guys right now, and I feel like if I can do the things like I did today and get out of my own way, there's no reason I shouldn't continue to progress in this game."

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