The Irishman made a dream start with two birdies in his first three holes. He had a near tap-in birdie at the par-five 11th, before sinking a 20-footer at the par-four 12th.

A bogey at the easy par-five 16th, where he three-putted, stalled his momentum but he safely negotiated the famous par-three 17th without dropping a shot to remain one under for the day at the turn, three over for the tournament.

Colin Montgomerie also shot 76 on Thursday, and there was little to cheer about early in the second round, as he started with three pars before stumbling with a bogey to fall to five over.

And Greg Owen was faring even worse, near last at 12 over after 12 holes.

At the business end of the field, Peter Lonard and Carl Pettersson moved within one stroke of first-round leaders Phil Mickelson and Rory Sabbatini, both of whom had late tee times after shooting five-under 67 on Thursday.

Australian Lonard had one birdie in six holes, while Swede Pettersson picked up two shots in six holes.

After Thursday’s extremely strong and gusty winds, players were given something of a reprieve early on Friday. Not that it was calm, far from it, but a breeze of less than 15mph was welcome change for many players after Thursday’s buffeting.

Brian Davis, the leading British player at one under, had a late tee time, as did world number one Tiger Woods, who opened with a disappointing 75.