PADRAIG HARRINGTON produced a princely performance on the Royal Links at Agadir yesterday to return a three-under-par 69 in the first round of the Moroccan Open. Four birdies enabled the 24-year-old Ryder Cup prospect to prevail in his first, encounter with the Atlantic coast course designed by, Robert Trent Jones where a combination of a fresh breeze and freshly laid fairways permitted few liberties.
Harrington shared fifth place after the first day of the £350,000 event, with Raymond Burns the only other Irishman under par.
Philip Walton began with two birdies, but finished with two sixes to take 74, while Ronan Rafferty had 76, and Christy O'Connor Jnr, who suffered from a disobedient putter, took 77.
The pacemaker was Stephen Allan, a 23-year-old Australian new-comer from Melbourne whose 67 gave him a one-stroke advantage over American Bob May, South African Clinton Whitelaw, and Scot Andrew Coltart.
Harrington began in confident mood. He holed from 20 feet for a birdie two at the second, and was down from 10 feet at the sixth on the way to an outward 34.
A third birdie from eight feet at the 11th and some careful play during the awkward stretch to the short 16th had its reward when he was able to get home in two at the long 17th with a five-iron. Two putts secured his birdie four.
However, he was too far right with his drive at the 18th and found a fairway bunker. Harrington was unable to reach the green, even with a six-iron recovery. He elected for a chip and run up thee sloping green instead of a pitch, but hit the ball too hard and it scuttled through the back into a thick tuft of grass. Harrington now had only one option, but played the cut-up recovery to perfection, and holed from three feet to escape with a bogey five.
"It was a pity about the last hole, but I am delighted with that score," he said. "This course puts you under so much pressure, with the drive and every approach shot, and it never lets up on you."
Walton discovered as much after his whirlwind start when he" holed from 25 feet on the first green and eight feet on the next. He was punished when he pulled his approaches to the third and fourth, and another shot went astray at the seventh.
He had his second two after hitting a seven-iron under a yard from the eighth pin, but the first of three homeward sixes went on his card at the 10th when he put his second shot into the newly-built pond guarding the right flank of the green. Walton fought back immediately with a 15-foot birdie at the 11th, and completed a hat-trick of twos at the 14th by holing from 20 feet to go one under with three to play.
However, a poor chip at thee long 17th led to a bogey from behind the green. He was twice in the trees at the last, and then a bunker, before holing from 15 feet for a double bogey. "I started like a dream, then the alarm clock went off," said Walton. "It wasn't misfortune, it was just stupidity on my part."
Burns gave him a lesson in accuracy by hitting 17 greens in regulation, making birdie fours at the 10th, where he holed from 10 feet, and the 17th, where he was home with two woods. His only lapse was to miss the target at the 14th.
O'Connor Jnr started with nine successive pars, but was ill-at-ease on the fairways. He also three-putted with his broomhandle club on three occasions, although he almost provided the day's third hole in one at the 12th where he was only inches from the flag.
