The reaction was like that of a schoolboy watching a thrilling movie. "It was so good I didn't want it to end . . . I wanted it to go on for 25 holes," was the wistful comment of Colin Montgomerie after shooting a course record 64 in the first round of the £850,000 Smurfit European Open at The K Club yesterday.

It was a stunning performance by the remarkable Scot who, only last month, shot a course record 62 at Druids Glen on the way to victory in the Murphy's Irish Open. He is 17-under-par for his last two competitive rounds on Irish soil, and has moved into line for a unique double.

Indicative of some sparkling scoring was that Montgomerie's brilliant effort left him only one stroke clear of Sweden's Niclas Fasth and the revitalised Englishman, Steven Richardson.

But there was a much more modest return of 70 for Padraig Harrington, in his late bid for a Ryder Cup place.

Harrington's group, which also included Seve Ballesteros and the holder, Per-Ulrik Johansson, became the focus of bitter controversy, arising from accusations of slow play. "It was like we were being hunted - it hurt the whole group," claimed the Spaniard in reference to the three referees who timed them.

"Officials should understand that this week is a bit special," he continued. "Harrington is trying to get into the Ryder Cup team and Johansson is yet to make certain of his place. There was also the problem of spectators moving and putting us off. And it was hard to get from green to tee."

But Ballesteros got no sympathy from tournament director Andy McFee - nor from Montgomerie. A noted critic of slow play, the Scot said: "I fully support anything that referees may do in getting players to speed up." Then he added: "Obviously I don't know the details of the problem, but Per-Ulrik is not known as one of the fastest players on tour."

In fact it was Ballesteros who started their problems when he blocked his drive into trees at their opening hole, the 10th. They had lost a hole-and-a-half by the time they reached the turn and were eventually warned three times. Then Ballesteros received a warning for an individual breach at the short fifth (their 14th), where he took 64 seconds to play his tee-shot as opposed to the stipulated 50 seconds.

Though Harrington played down the affair, it was clear that it affected him, particularly at the short fifth where he missed a fivefoot birdie putt. But the trio were back on track by the time the Dubliner finished with a depressing bogey at the ninth, where he hit his approach over the green.

"People keep telling me that I'm as good as in the team, but I don't agree," he said. "As I see it, I won't even hold my place in the table unless my scoring improves."

Though he played with Ballesteros in the Irish Open last year, he accepted that these were rather different circumstances. "It's not a coincidence that I happened to be playing with him today and I couldn't deny there was extra pressure out there," he said. "I would have been happy with three under, and I'm very disappointed to have bogeyed the ninth."

Was he taking note of events around him as they applied to the Ryder Cup table? "No," he replied emphatically. "I can't afford to be looking at individual performances. As far as I'm concerned, there are seven more rounds to be played (three here and a further four next week in the final qualifying event in Munich) and I must try to make the best of them."

Of those Ryder Cup aspirants in positions 12 to 21 in the points table, two players - Roger Chapman (76) and Sam Torrance (78) - face a huge challenge in attempting to make the cut. Thomas Bjorn (eighth in the table) also struggled with a 74, but Costantino Rocca (10th) another of the competitors at Winged Foot last weekend, fired a 67 to emphasise his liking for this venue.

Meanwhile, Jose-Maria Olazabal, in 12th place, drove the ball far more effectively than of late on the way to a six-birdie 69, while Paul Broadhurst (13th) kept a bogey off his card in a solid 70.

Scoring from the remainder of the immediate Ryder Cup challengers was: 15th - Joakim Haeggman 71; 17th - Mark James 71; 18th - David Gilford 69; 19th - Peter Mitchell 70; 20th - Russell Claydon 67, and 21st - Miguel-Angel Jimenez 69.

During an exchange on a practice ground in the US some years ago, Jimmy Demaret wondered why Ben Hogan felt it necessary to hit balls after shooting a fine score. "Surely you don't expect to birdie every hole," asked Demaret. "Why not?" replied Hogan.

Montgomerie's notion of the perfect round is somewhat more modest. "That was almost as good as I can do," he said. "If I had holed putts at the first (five feet), fourth (five feet) and 17th (three-and-a-half feet), it would have been perfect. But we know there will never be the perfect round."

The merit of the round was further enhanced by the fact that the Scot complained of tiredness after a hectic schedule in the US early this week.

By special arrangement with the sponsors, he was flown by private jet after the USPGA Championship from New York to Vale, Colorado, for a Shell Wonderful World of Golf match on Monday against Phil Mickelson. "I had eight birdies there, too," he said of a victory that also contained five bogeys.

Then there was an official dinner after which he flew through the night by the same private jet back to New York to catch Concorde to London. After spending Tuesday night at home, he completed the final leg of his journey to Dublin on Wednesday morning.

Tiredness certainly didn't show, however, when he hit a three wood second shot to within five feet of the pin at the 584-yard first. It didn't matter that the eagle putt slipped past the target. Nor was he upset when he missed at the fourth.

In a magical mood, he felt he could do nothing wrong. He hit every fairway and his only missed green was the eighth, where he made an easy up and down to save par. With birdies at the first, fifth (four-iron to three feet) and ninth (wedge to 30 feet) he reached the turn in 33.

Then, in a sparkling homeward journey of 31, he carded birdies at the 11th, 12th, 13th, 15th and 18th, his longest putt a 20-footer at the 10th. "I'm glad I proved my worth to the sponsors," he said.