The shadows cast by his two high-flying compatriots may be broad and round, and slim and tall; yet, as he demonstrated in a storm-interrupted first round, Paul McGinley, on his day, has the game that not only allows him to step out of the dark, but also to throw some impressive shadows of his own.

Yesterday, McGinley left most of the field in the Benson and Hedges International Open in the shade. Having started his round in the chill of an English midlands morning, and with his card long signed before the weather turned humid and then developed into a thunderstorm that stalled play for an hour-and-a-half, the Dubliner shot a course record-equalling sixunder-par 66 to share the lead with Sweden's Henrik Stenson.

All round, it was a pretty decent day's work for the Irish. Padraig Harrington, probably entitled to feel that the course owed him something after last year's shenanigans, had to wait until the 15th hole to get some payback. But it was worth the wait as he finished with four consecutive birdies to sign (diligently) for a 68, while Darren Clarke included a holed bunker shot on his way to a 69.

And Paddy Gribben, making the most of snatching a late place in the field, had a satisfying opening round of 70 strokes.

While McGinley and Stenson, last year's Challenge Tour winner, grabbed the first round lead, the ominous presence of Jose Maria Olazabal, the defending champion, lurks. Olazabal, winner in France last week, covered the homeward run in 31 shots for a 67 in making a good opening gambit to his personal goal of winning back-to-back tournaments for the first time in his career.

Elsewhere, there was much moaning and gnashing of teeth from some of the game's heavyweights. Lee Westwood rather inelegantly described his play as "a bit crap" in shooting a 73. "I can't recall hitting a decent shot," he said, before heading off to the range.

And Colin Montgomerie, who has missed the cut in his last two tournaments, was downbeat about his putting. "I had 35 putts - and that's five too many," he remarked bluntly.

In terms of putting, it was a day when the hole seemed as big as a bucket for McGinley. He had just 23 putts, and described his putter as "hot". McGinley hasn't won since the Oki Pro-Am in 1997. And since turning professional a decade ago, he has won only twice on tour. There is a feeling, shared by himself, that he needs to move on.

"My consistency in golf hasn't been reflected in my world ranking or in my Order of Merit position," he argued. "I have a very good basis of consistency, something I didn't have three years ago, and I would like to use it as a springboard to better things."

McGinley has watched as Clarke and Harrington have moved on to a different level, and he would like to emulate them.

"I look at Darren and Padraig specifically because they are in the top 20 in the world. Padraig and me were at a very similar level two years ago and he has gone from 70 - where I am now - up to 20. I've looked at how he's done it, and I've analysed what he has been doing differently. His concentration is his biggest asset."

In fact, all three share the same mind guru, Belgian Jos Vanstiphout, and McGinley believes a number of elements, including his work with coach Pete Cowen and his equipment, have combined to make him a better player.

The evidence was there for all to see yesterday. On the course that plays host to the Ryder Cup later this season, and making that team remains a goal - "It's like the end of the road for me this year. Way up there. In order to get there, I'm going to have to climb up a lot of steps," he said - that can be achieved, McGinley started on the 10th and covered his first nine holes in 32, producing five birdies and a single bogey.

On the homeward run, he was more solid, augmenting eight pars with an eagle at the third - his 12th - where he hit a three-wood to 20 feet.

There was also considerable merit to Harrington's performance. With the baggage of last year's disqualification, he appeared ill at ease early on in his round and was indecisive over his choice of irons. "I wasn't sharp," he admitted.

In fact, he bogeyed the fourth, where he hit a five-iron approach in the stream that runs in front of the green, made a 15-footer for par at the seventh and was forced to bravely sink another six-footer to save par at the 14th.

After that, he was back in the zone. He rolled in a downhill 12footer for birdie on the 15th and sank a 20-footer for another birdie on the 16th.

The claxon to halt play sounded after he had driven off on the 17th, and he spent his time devouring a chicken dinner. When he returned to the course, he was so relaxed that he couldn't stop yawning.

Nevertheless, he maintained the birdie run by chipping to four feet and, then, hit a massive drive off the 18th tee - "a hole guaranteed to wake you up", he quipped - before hitting an eight-iron approach to 10 for another birdie.

All of which contrived to propel Harrington into the thick of the tournament. McGinley will have taken note.