Darren Clarke yesterday surveyed a Volvo Masters leaderboard headed by nine-under-par record breaker Per-Ulrik Johansson and declared: "They should play the rest of this tournament on the putting green." Clarke had 69 in the first round at Montecastillo, but that only represented strict par for the defenceless, Jack Nicklaus-designed course in Jerez on which only 10 players in the field of 66 failed to match or better the regulation 72. Among them was Paul McGinley, who tumbled to 74 after a seven at the 16th.
But Padraig Harrington was among the pacemakers with an error-free 66, and Ronan Rafferty, the second winner of the title back in 1989, had 68.
Johansson collected seven birdies and an eagle to lower the course record by three shots and take a one-stroke lead over fellow Swede Patrik Sjoland and defending champion Mark McNulty.
European number one Colin Montgomerie opened with 65, which was matched by Lee Westwood, German Thomas Gogele and New Zealander Michael Long. Bernhard Langer, who is best placed to prevent Montgomerie securing a record fifth successive Vardon Trophy, was alongside Harrington and Jose-Maria Olazabal at six-under.
A total of nine eagles and 272 birdies gave considerable credence to Clarke's viewpoint. "This is a putting competition, and nothing else," he added. "I did not have a bogey, but I did not hole a putt either."
A complete absence of rough, fairways that are 100 yards wide, and greens that have neither extreme pace nor excessive undulation, does not constitute a true Masters test.
It is not the fault of the design, rather the preparation. That said, Clarke, who holds third place in the Volvo Ranking, and who could still become European number one if he won a title worth £166,000, ought to have done better than collect just three birdie fours.
He drove into a bunker at the other long hole, the ninth, and could not take advantage of the several drive-and-pitch par fours.
Harrington, without ever looking totally convincing from the tee, managed to score much better, thanks to his accurate iron play and smooth stroke on the greens.
Partnering Montgomerie, he opened the door to the birdie glut by holing from 20 feet at the short second, and was then down from 10 feet at the fifth. A birdie four at the ninth, where he pitched from 60 yards to within five feet, put him out in 33.
Harrington added further birdies at the 10th and 12th, and then got his sixth despite blocking his drive into a bunker at the 16th, and finding another behind the green with his recovery. A clever explosion shot and four-foot putt ensured he would be home in 33.
McGinley began as though he would continue in a blaze of glory, by holing from 15 feet to birdie the first with the putter he obtained from Clarke. But the magic departed with three putts at the fourth, and he was plugged in a bunker at the sixth to lose another stroke. A poor three-iron to the short eighth saw him take 38 to the turn.
Two putts from 20 feet at the long 12th helped repair the damage, but a mistake at the 16th, a swooping, downhill par five, cost him dearly. McGinley was 225 yards from the flag and tried to hold a three-iron against the left to right wind. But it got away from him, and bounced off a bank into a lake. He subsequently threeputted for a double bogey.
"The first mistake was to leave my five-wood out of the bag and include my two-iron," he said. "It was a perfect five-wood shot for me." He added: "It was very disappointing, because a bad start in this event means you take yourself out of the ball game. Now I have to get as much out of this week as I can from a poor beginning. It won't be easy."
Rafferty had a good start, a moderate middle, and a spirited finish. He birdied two of the first three holes, but then dropped shots at the fifth and 14th, before ending with a birdie hat-trick to gain a place in the top 20. Such a score at Valderrama would almost certainly have guaranteed him the lead.
