Disappointing opening day for Harrington in Austria
Padraig Harrington's new-look swing has not resulted in a noticeable improvement in form after the opening day of the Austrian Open.
The three-time major winner made a last-minute decision to enter the field this week as he continues to test out the swing that has been developed alongside his new coach Pete Cowen.
But Harrington carded five bogeys and a double-bogey on his way to a disappointing three-over par round of 75 today.
Gary Murphy is the best-placed Irish player on level par - six shots behind out-right leader, Liam Bond, who shot a round of 66 today.
Welshman Liam Bond was the surprise leader after the first round at Atzenbrugg.
Bond leads by one shot from Australian Daniel Gaunt, Joost Luiten of Holland and Dane Thomas Norret, who was out in front for much of the day thanks to his 67.
He told www.europeantour.com: “I hit a lot of good iron shots and holed a lot of putts. The greens here are fantastic and I managed to the read the right way today so it’s nice to make a great start.”
Flamboyant American John Daly came to grief on the front nine, slipping from four under to two over, while defending champion Jose Manuel Lara posted a 75 and fellow Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez a 73.
