GOLF/Madrid Open: It was a good day for a Frenchman, three Irishmen and a Welshman in Spain yesterday. Jean Francois Lucquin crafted a seven under par, 65, to lead the Madrid Open by a single shot.

Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke excelled, two and three stokes behind respectively thereby guaranteeing Europe's Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam will be happy with the form of two key players for next week's clash at The K Club.

Damien McGrane matched Clarke's 68, a round that included a stunning back nine, replete with five birdies and no dropped shots. It was a day when the scoring rather than the weather produced the heat with 14 players within three shots of the lead.

Harrington's 67, forged in windy afternoon conditions that included a 50 minute delay for thunderstorms in the Madrid area, could have been one shot better but for a disappointing bogey on the home green. He drew a very poor lie on the fringe of the 18th fairway, hit a fine second right over the pin but it released onto the back fringe.

He elected to putt and the ball bobbled horribly, pulling up three and a half feet short of the hole. His par putt slid by, an unfortunate irony given his superb touch on the greens.

"I putted well (25) all afternoon. It never crossed my mind to chip (from the fringe) and I thought (getting it) to three and a half feet wasn't bad. That's the way things go," said Harrington.

"I played okay but putted very well and had a good day on the greens. I hit some slack shots but I have got the rest of the tournament to get rid of that."

When it was suggested that Woosnam would be delighted to see the manner in which both Harrington and Clarke excelled, the former agreed: "I suppose that's what he wants to see and we are both going to be happy with the start we have made in the tournament." Harrington amassed seven birdies and just a couple of bogeys, negotiating the day's more difficult playing conditions with aplomb.

Clarke's return to work yesterday was orchestrated in such an authoritative fashion that few would have suspected an eight week sabbatical from competitive fare, his retention of the Queenwood Golf Club matchplay championship notwithstanding.

Over the rolling hills of the Club de Golf La Moraleja he offered a compelling vindication of Woosnam's decision to make him one of the Welshman's two wild card selections for next week's Ryder Cup at The K Club.

A four under par, 68, was a minimum return for a high quality ball striking performance in which he hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation, taking 31 putts.

The pace of the greens, slowish, mitigated against a lower score as the Dungannon man periodically under hit a number of decent birdie opportunities.

It didn't impair his enjoyment of the round, conducted alongside two good friends and former Ryder Cup buddies in Thomas Bjorn and Miguel Angel Jimenez. He admitted: "I don't want to go out and shoot 73 or 74 and have all you guys on my case. I was quite pleased to shoot 68. I played very well (despite having) missed a lot of chances.

"I hit it the right side of the flag most of the times today and gave myself an awful lot of chances. With a warm putter I would have been an awful lot lower. The greens were a little bit slow. We all struggled on the greens today. It wasn't just me. Miguel and Thomas, we didn't make our share at all. They are a decent quality but none of us got on a roll and holed any."

While the relatively sparsely attended Madrid Open couldn't be described as a cauldron, pressure-wise, it provided an appropriate venue to blow away the competitive cobwebs.

Clarke struck his opening shot from the 10th tee, his first hole, in a positive frame of mind, reluctant to attach emotional content to his return.

"I wouldn't say there were butterflies. I am always a little bit apprehensive before playing any tournament round. This morning I wanted to get off to a good start. It was important for me to shoot a good score my first time back: and I did that so it is always nice.

"As I said, I am not here to make up the numbers. I want to try and contend. I set myself a goal to play well and I did that."

Clarke hasn't won since the Taiheyio Masters in Japan 10 months ago despite playing some excellent golf in patches this season. It's certainly not for the lack of trying.

"It has been a while. As much as I have been trying to win them obviously for Heather and stuff, it didn't happen. My thoughts were not always on the golf."

Lucquin may have missed 11 cuts this season, including the last three, but what had previously been an errant putter suddenly heated up in the Madrid sunshine.

His closest pursuers are South African Darren Fichardt and Spain's Miguel Angel Martin but the shadows of Harrington and Clarke in particular loom large on the leaderboard.