Old hand Harrington right in the mix in Portugal; Hoey six back in Mallorca
Padraig Harrington. (Photo by Darren Carroll/PGA of America)
Pádraig Harrington used his Champion Tour "wake up call" to fire a four-under 67 and move into contention for his 16th European Tour win in the Portugal Masters.
Just a fortnight after admitting he was “lapped” in his first two events on the PGA TOUR Champions, the 50-year-old showed why he remains a title contender wherever he plays as he made four birdies in a bogey-free, four-under 67 to share fourth place after the opening round at Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course in Vilamoura.
With his Ryder Cup captaincy now behind him, Harrington looked at home at the venue where he claimed the most recent of his 21 worldwide titles in 2016.
And while he ended the day six strokes behind Italy’s Nino Bertasio, who made 10 birdies in a career-low, 10-under 61 to lead by four strokes from Spain’s Adri Arnaus and by five from Malaysia’s Gavin Green, the Dubliner was more than pleased with his round.
“I played a couple of Champions Tour events in the States,” said Harrington, who is projected to move up to 50th in the Race to Dubai from 68th and into position to make the top 50 who qualify for the DP World Tour Championship in a fortnight.
“I hit the ball quite well and was lapped by the field. That gave me a bit of a wake-up call that as much as I’ve strengthened my weaknesses over the last number of years, I’ve definitely weakened my strengths.
“Today was a good day in that sense. I was a lot sharper. I worked a good score out of it, I didn’t hit the ball great but hit my wedges better and gave myself lots of chances.”
Starting on the back nine, the Dubliner made a 14 footer at the 11th and a two-footer at the 15th before holing from off the green at the 16th to get to three-under.
He made a 16 footer for par at the third, then converted from 12 feet for birdie at the par-five fifth before parring his way home.
“It’s an interesting course in that there’s a lot of risk-reward. But I only remember the 18th hole. I’m not a great person for remembering shots I’ve hit. But I’m comfortable on this golf course.
“There’s a lot of intimidating shots, but with the rough being down, you’re sometimes better off bailing out a little bit, you can do that here. You need a smart head around this course this week.”
Harrington admitted he was “very impressed” by Danish talent Nicolai Højgaard, who matched him with a four-under 67.
It was also a positive day for Clandeboye’s Jonny Caldwell, who admitted he’s taken his eye off the ball since winning his maiden title earlier this year and needs to work on his fitness during the winter break.
Ranked 97th in the Race to Dubai, he insisted he’s not thinking of what he has to do over the next two weeks to make the top 50 who qualify for the DP World Tour Championship.
“Not really. I’m just looking to find some form and finish strong as I can,” Caldwell said after a two-under 69 left him tied 23rd. “If I happen to find some decent form and have a couple of good weeks, then who knows, but right now, I’m not thinking about that too much.
“Obviously, to get my first win was great. I didn’t play particularly great after it. It sort of set me back a little bit. I had my status set for next year, and I probably took the foot of the gas we bit in terms of preparation and things like that.
“And I’ve sort of played everything as well. I haven’t had many weeks off, so I have sort of worn myself out a little bit.”
Caldwell was four-under after 10 holes, but while he would birdie the fourth, his 13th, he bogeyed the third, three-putted the fifth and dropped another shot at the seventh.
“Obviously, I’m very pleased with the win and having that status next year, but I will probably look at the schedule next year and plan a little bit better and probably have a few weeks off and be a little bit fresher for the events that I play,” he said.
“Next year will be my third season, so I am still learning how far I can get. Obviously, I will do a bit of fitness work over the winter month off and come back out is a bit fresher, hopefully, and a bit fitter and hopefully be able to do better on the weekends.
“Generally, I’ve been playing OK Thursday and Friday and making the cut and then dropping away a little bit. So I think getting that fitness level up a little bit more and being able to play competitively over the weekend more often is key.”
Ardglass’ Cormac Sharvin, who is ranked 166th in the Race to Dubai, needs a big week to haul himself into the top 122 who keep their cards.
But after making three birdies and a bogey to turn in two-under, he came home in 43 for a five-over 76.
The former Walker Cup player (29) three-putted the 11th, then drove out of bounds at the 12th and bunkered his re-loan en route to a triple-bogey eight at the 12th.
He dropped another shot by three-putting the 17th from 70 feet, then drove left into the water at the 18th and closed with a double-bogey six.
As for the leader, Bertasio was thrilled with his 10-birdie round.
“I got off to a good start, birdied the second after hitting it close and I started making some putts,” he said. “I made a lot of putts on the front nine and played really solid on the back. Hit a few close, hit the par fives in two and the birdie on the last was a bonus.
“I wasn’t thinking about it (a 59), I’m not going to lie. Just trying to finish a good round.
“I wasn’t expecting a 61, but I have been playing nicely. I putted really well today and everything clicked. I wasn’t expecting a 61, but I’ve been playing some good golf. We’ll see what happens tomorrow. I’ll just try and go out and have fun, I’ve got a great group with Sam Horsfield and Julian (Suri), we had a lot of fun. I’ll try and stick to that.”
At the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by The R&A, Michael Hoey admitted he needs to “get my putting boots on” after he made one birdie and one bogey in a level par 71 to share 31st place in the 45-man field in Mallorca.
The Belfast man (42) is ranked 36th in the Road to Mallorca standings and needs a third-place finish to make the top 20 who will be awarded European Tour cards on Sunday.
He's six strokes behind Austrian Lukas Nemecz and Norway's Espen Kofstad, who is targeting history by becoming the first player to top the Road to Mallorca Rankings on two separate occasions.
They shot six-under 65s to lead by a shot from South Africa's Oliver Bekker at T-Golf & Country Club near Palma.
On the Legends Tour, Joakim Haeggman posted a four-under par round of 68 to open a two-stroke lead heading into the final round of the Sergio Melpignano Senior Italian Open.
The Swede reached nine under par at San Domenico Golf with his closest challenger, South Africa’s James Kingston, two shots back on seven under par after climbing the leaderboard thanks to a five-under-par 67.
Brendan McGovern was tied 49th on eight-over after a 77. Scores
