The problem was that he did not want to be watching. He wanted to get to the 10th tee – in a hurry.

Saltus, not even in the world’s top 1,000 and trying this week to save his Asian Tour career, was due there to begin his first round, but the driver of the minibus he was in was worried about disturbing Harrington and had stopped.

“Come on, Padraig Harrington is famous enough. He’s got enough money. Let’s go,” shouted Saltus.

They started moving again and he avoided a two-stroke penalty with only 10 seconds to spare – after the official starter had told him to run and then had given him a ball so he did not have to get one out of his bag.

“It was all a bit stressful,” commented the 33-year-old from California, whose week had already included losing his four iron.

Yet his day turned out far better than he feared. He kicked off with a birdie, used the starter’s “lucky” ball throughout the round and finished with a 66.

“I can’t be any prouder – I’m 66th on the money list and need to be inside the top 60 after this week.”

There is pressure on leader Groom as well. Two weeks ago he failed at the European tour qualifying school by one agonising shot, missing a 12-inch putt on the 107th of the 108 holes.

Now the 25-year-old from Sydney, ranked 513th in the world, has a chance to earn a three-year exemption by winning this weekend. But he has not only Harrington, but also Ryder Cup team-mates David Howell and Miguel Angel Jimenez right on his heels.

If ever Harrington needed an extra incentive for trying to make his first successful defence of a trophy he said it came on the eve of the event when a cocktail party was given an Irish theme in his honour.

“It’s the first time that has happened for me,” said the world number six, who responded to the gesture by getting Howell and Ian Poulter up on stage to join him for some Irish dancing.

“I’ve an international trophy for it,” he then revealed. “I went to the States when I was 12 to play Gaelic football for my school and there was a festival. I got to take part in the Irish dancing and won it.”

Jimenez, seeking his fifth victory of the season and third in Asia, was 18 inches away from an albatross on the long 12th and then almost holed-in-one at the 149-yard second, while Howell was in danger of finishing with a bogey when he went through the ninth green under a tree, but pitched in from 40 yards for birdie instead.

“I got out of jail,” admitted the Swindon golfer.

Harrington did not drop a stroke either, his best shot being a four iron to 10 feet on the same hole.

Poulter had to settle for a 70, one worse than Nick Faldo, Paul Lawrie and Thomas Bjorn, while last week’s Volvo China Open champion Stephen Dodd had a curious 68.

Two under after seven he played the next four in five over, then birdied five of the last seven.

That was some effort considering some of the greens are in a terrible state after insecticide rather than fertiliser was put on them by mistake in October.