Darren Clarke remained in confident mood yesterday despite recording a two over par 73 on the opening day of $1.8 million Buick Classic at the Westchester golf club in New York.
A run of three bogeys over three holes late in his round checked what otherwise was a solid performance from a player competing in his fourth US tour event this season.
Clarke, the winner of last month's Benson and Hedges International Open, bogeyed the 14th, 15th and 16th holes on a course that mirrors the US Open venue.
American Kevin Sutherland led the international field after a seven under par 64 which placed him two shots clear of compatriots Steve Lowery, Paul Goydos, J P Hayes and Bob Tway.
Richard Coughlan helped ease the pain of a nagging chest injury with an eagle finish to his first round. The 24-year-old Irish golfer needed to take six pain-killing tablets but still managed to raise his arm in triumph after sinking a five-foot putt for an eagle three to finish with a one over par round of 72.
"That eagle keeps me in the game, but I was in a lot of pain out there, particularly playing my short iron shots," said Coughlan, who attributed the injury to overpractising during last week's Kemper Open in Maryland.
"I was in the fitness van at 6 a.m. this morning for treatment; but the big thing is you have to go out there and try and block out the pain. But I am not going to give in on it."
Fellow Irishman Keith Nolan was forced to pull out without playing a shot after suffering from a bout of food poisoning.
Back-to-back European Tour winner Lee Westwood hit his 11th straight sub-70 round when he carded a three under par 68 move four shots behind Sutherland. Westwood moved up the leaderboard in his fifth tournament in America this year with four birdies and just the one blemish when his ball landed immediately in front of a stone in a bunker at the eighth hole.
He said: "I played pretty solid today. I'm feeling great and refreshed, with no ill-effects and no jet lag. It would be nice if I could hopefully make it 14 cuts in succession by the end of the week."
The former Open champions Tom Lehman and Mark Calcavecchia were locked together in sixth at four under par. Ian Woosnam shot a one over par 72, while Nick Faldo (74), Bernhard Langer (75) and Sandy Lyle (75) are also well off the pace.
Meanwhile Ernie Els, currently ranked number one in the world, is in serious doubt for his defence of next week's US Open after pulling out through nine holes of the New York event because of back spasm pains.
Els, who has won the Classic for the past two years, said he first suffered the pain in his right elbow while competing in Dallas last month; but in favouring the elbow, the pain has spread to his lower back.
The champion South African has flown home to his Orlando residence for further treatment and will not decide until later this week if he will travel to San Francisco in defence of his US Open title.
Meanwhile, waterlogging of the Slaley Hall fairways caused yesterday's first round of the European Grand Prix to be abandoned without a shot being hit in anger. But if the tournament director's aim is achieved, there should be no cut in the £650,000 prize money because 72 holes are still planned.
Paul McGinley and Seve Ballesteros will hope to start around 8.30 a.m. today when the players go back to try again.
Four fairways were completely unplayable. This was because the water table had overflown due to seven inches of rain over two weeks being augmented by 11 millimetres more on Wednesday night.
The two Irish players who are most concerned at the moment in the Royal and Ancient British Open order of merit which finishes at Loch Lomond, McGinley and Philip Walton, will still have chance to go for full prize money.
