GOLF:NEIL MANCHIP might be the national coach to the Golfing Union of Ireland, but the 37-year- old Scot made a mockery of the adage that those who can do and those who can't teach when he outscored top pupil Shane Lowry by three strokes in the opening round of the Ladbrokes Irish PGA.

Manchip, the surprise winner of this title at The Island in 1999, took advantage of soft and relatively benign conditions on an otherwise squally day at the stout Louth links when he combined rapier-like iron-play with some silken putting to card seven birdies and two bogeys in a five-under-par 67.

Lowry was forced to birdie three of his last five holes to card an erratic 70 to keep his coach in his sights.

Massive hitting Belfast man Damian Mooney overhauled Manchip late in the proceedings with a 66 that featured nine threes as well as seven birdies in a nine-hole purple patch in the middle of his round.

Mooney was playing along side course co-designer Des Smyth, who began his bid for a seventh Irish PGA victory with a 69 that left him lurking in a tie for third with 2005 British Amateur champion Brian McElhinney.

Before Mooney completed his late afternoon heroics, Manchip’s trumping of Lowry was the talking point of the opening day of the €30,000 championship that saw bookies’ favourite Damien McGrane grind his way to a 71.

Happy to outgun a top European Tour player like Lowry, he said: “My iron play and putting was excellent today. Normally Shane shows me the way – and gives me a good slagging for my lack of distance.”

True to form, Lowry couldn’t resist a crack at his coach at the finish, who took advantage of a rain-softened course where the tees at the tough par-four fifth and 13th holes were pushed up.

“It played into your hands today, there were a few nice forward tees there,” Lowry jested as his coach emerged from the recording area.

But he added: “Obviously, Neil can play. To be honest, I couldn’t believe it when I saw him at 66 to 1 in the betting.”

Manchip shot to fame in 1999 when he snatched the title by three shots from Darren Clarke at The Island in a star-studded field that also featured Smyth, Paul McGinley, Eamonn Darcy and Philip Walton.

He regards that win as the highlight of his career as a player. But his career as a teaching professional has been far richer since he took over as national coach to the GUI five years ago.

“Winning in ’99 was the highlight of my playing career,” Manchip said, “but as a coach, watching Shane win the Irish Open last year and those wins by Ireland in the European Amateur Team Championships in 2007 and 2008 are right up there.”

Smyth (57), who won on the European Senior Tour just three weeks ago, took his hat off to playing partner Mooney, who racked up nine threes.

Smyth said: “I’m happy with my day’s work though I putted erratically. I holed a few good ones but my two bogeys where three-putts.

“But Damian played great. He was brilliant. He’s a power-hitter. He made some start to the front nine.”

Starting on the 10th, Mooney birdied the 16th and 18th before starting home with five threes in a row as he followed a birdie at the first with four in a row from the third.

Needing three pars for a 65, he bogeyed the seventh and parred his way home to lead by a stroke from Manchip on six under.

“I can attribute it all to Johnny Foster at Greenacres, who has been coaching me for the last two months,” Mooney said. “He’s the best I’ve seen. I’m delighted with that start but there are still three rounds to go.”

McGrane got off to a rocky start when he drove into a bunker at the par-five 10th, failed to get out first time and then three-putted for a double bogey seven.

He bogeyed the 13th to slip to three over but bounced back with a hat-trick of birdies at the 16th, 17th and 18th, before picking up eight pars and a lone birdie at the tough seventh on the way home.

Joking about his bad start, he said: “I need to relax. I need to sleep for 12 hours instead of nine hours.”