Noel O'Reilly at Fota Island
On a happy morning for the home contingent Eamonn Darcy sits proudly on top of the Murphy’s Irish Open leaderboard after an opening round of 65.
The 48-year-old Irishman, who lost his tour card last year and now relies on invitations to compete, played some of his best golf in many a season to move to 6 under par and leads Norway’s Henrik Bjornstad by a single shot.
With a blemish free round, Darcy didn’t drop a shot all day, the former Ryder Cup hero showed that on his day he can still mix it with the best.
Darcy himself attributed his good form to a new (or rather old) set of irons and a different putting technique.
The decision for a change was made in the wake of a disastrous two days at Slaley Hall last week when Darcy, in dire need of some inspiration, sought out an old set of irons.
"I’ve been fiddling around with my irons for the last month," he said afterwards. "Looking for the magic set, you know how it is."
The change immediately paid dividends. Darcy, more comfortable with his game, was able to attack the course and despite the fact that he duffed two five irons, the new set will be staying in the bag.
As for the putting, Darcy readily admits this is an aspect of his game has not been up to scratch recently. But by moving the ball further back in his stance, he felt he was able to start holing a few and allow himself to compete.
"Unless you putt well you might as well sit at home and smell the roses," he joked.
Should he display the same kind of golf around the Fota Island parkland over the next three days there is no reason why Darcy can’t realistically expect to challenge for the title.
And indeed, were Darcy to win the event he would become the oldest winner on the European Tour, overtaking another Irishman, Des Smyth, by almost 10 months.
Two strokes further down the leaderboard, Padraig Harrington has given himself a great start to his bid to become the first Irish winner of this event since 1982.
Harrington has proved to be the major draw this week and the swollen galleries that followed him early on the first morning were a testament to he Dubliner’s popularity.
With many, including the bookies, feeling that he represents the best chance of an Irish winner, Harrington is aware of the burden of expectation but is more prepared than ever to handle it.
A burst of over the closing holes, four in the last six, gave him a round of 67 and leaves him in an ideal position on Darcy’s shoulder.
Elsewhere, there were mixed fortunes for Darren Clarke who undid much of his good work with some scrappy play over the closing holes and went into the clubhouse at one-under par.
Clarke, an early starter, had the bulk of his days work done by lunchtime but one suspects some toil will be neededon the practice ground this afternoon if he’s to challenge over the weekend.
At one stage the big Tyroneman was on 4-under-par, a majestic approach shot to two feet at the second hole (his 11th) taking him to a share of the lead at the time.
However, as has often been the case this season, Clarke displayed an uncanny ability to whittle away his own lead. Wayward driving and sloppiness around the greens stopped his run of birdies in it’s tracks and with dropped shots at the second, seventh and eighth and Clarke had to settle for a round of 70.