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Padraig Harrington fired an opening round 67, three under par, that left him in tied-third, two shots behind first round leader Jim Herman. “Even I was struggling, questioning and doubting myself,” said Harrington of the testing wind conditions which caused consternation for the majority of the field.
McIlroy ultimately displayed his resolve to overcome the elements in a round that featured two double-bogeys in his opening five holes to shoot a 73, three over. His round was rescued to a degree by birdies on the closing two holes: from 30 feet on the 17th, and a two-putt birdie on the par five 18th.
Harrington ended a run of three consecutive missed cuts to finish tied-56th in last week’s Northern Trust Open and to take some confidence into the first leg of the Florida Swing, but suffered a bogey on the second hole where he pushed his tee shot into a native dirt area and could only move the recovery shot some 30 yards into a bunker on the way to a dropped shot.
But that bogey served as a wake-up call for the three-time Major champion as he bounced back with a birdie on the par five third and sank an 18-footer for birdie on the eighth.
Harrington had struggled early on, missing four of the first six greens, but kept his focus to make the most of whatever opportunities arose.
He showed great battling qualities to reel off seven straight pars in the tough conditions from the ninth before hitting a superb approach from 200 yards in to three feet for a birdie on the 16th.
On the par five 18th, playing downwind, he hit a 340-yard drive, hit his 223 yards approach on to the green and two-putted for a birdie that put him into a good position.
“I found it difficult,” admitted Harrington. “But I holed a couple of nice putts and, on a windy day, when you do that, you feel you are ahead of the pack if you can make a few more birdies. As tough as the day was, I kept telling myself it suited me more than most guys.”
Harrington was well rewarded for his doggedness and perseverance, as he stuck to his task to roll back the years.
Graeme McDowell had a dreadful opening to his round with four bogeys in the first five holes and then suffered a double bogey on the second, his 11th. He salvaged something from the round with an eagle on the third, but it was more a case of damage limitation.
