It put him in second place midway through the afternoon, two behind shock leader Steve Jones – at 743rd in the world the lowest-ranked player in a tournament boasting all the top 50.

Jones, the former US Open champion, now 46 and back playing after elbow surgery sidelined him all last year, had a staggering run of seven birdies in eight holes around the turn, then finished with another and was only one outside the course record held by Fred Couples and Greg Norman.

Padraig Harrington – runner-up the last two years but playing this time only because his father, who is suffering with cancer, wanted to watch him on television – again showed his liking for the Stadium course with a 67 to be joint third, three ahead of both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

Donald’s first moment of good fortune came on the 447-yard 18th, his ninth, where his drive carried the lake with nothing to spare and actually hit the wooden sleepers on the edge of the hazard.

He parred that hole to start for home one under, then covered the front nine in a sparkling 31.

The birdies at the first, second, fourth and sixth were achieved because of his talent, but the one at the long ninth needed some help.

After a poor second pulled into a bunker 93 yards short of the green, his third caught an overhanging branch and could easily have come straight down just in front of him.

Instead the ball made the green and rolled up to eight feet, from where he rolled the putt in.

“You need those breaks,” admitted the 27-year-old. “This course can bite you quite quickly and it kept the momentum going.

“I didn’t think the drive on the 18th was going to be that close (to the water), but it cleared it by a couple of inches. I got away with that one.”

After scores of 74-76 in 2003 and 72-76 last year he added: “It’s nice to post a good round here.”

He also got the limelight back off his brother Christian, who has had a much more successful time on the course in the past.

Each year the caddies have a nearest-the-pin competition on the island green 17th and Christian has finished first and second the last two years.

This time he hooked his shot and was not among the prizes. “I’m getting my own back,” joked Luke.

Harrington admitted he struggled for proper concentration during his round, but said that was not caused by the situation back at home and instead was just one of those things that happens to him.

“It was funny day – one of those days my mind just wandered,” commented the Dubliner. “But if I’ve come this far I had better focus.

“I’m not going out there and getting down on myself. It’s not a motivational factor, but I’m trying to ensure it’s not a detrimental thing.

“I don’t think the course will ever play as easy as it did today, although we were getting mud on the ball and I find that very unnerving. I panic.”

A hat-trick of birdies from the 15th – his sixth – brought him onto the leaderboard and after bogeying the first he picked up more shots coming home.

Mickelson had earlier led when he birdied four of his first six holes, but then the Masters champion, returning to action following a skiing holiday and two-week break, ran up a double bogey five on the short eighth and carved his drive to the 18th into the lake.

Woods, who lost the world number one position to Vijay Singh again on Sunday, did not capitalise on two birdies in his first four, while Nick Faldo fell back from three under to one under.

Singh and Ernie Els were among the later starters, as were Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood, Justin Rose, David Howell, Paul Casey and Graeme McDowell, second in last week’s Bay Hill Invitational.

Singh got off to the best start, hurrying to four under after six, while Els was two under after six and alongside Clarke, who holed his 116-yard approach to the fourth for an eagle two.

Former winner and ex-world number one David Duval, in turmoil with his game this season, laboured again to a four over par 76. He was six over with three to play, but then eagled the 16th.

Hope springs eternal.

He was not last. Last year’s Ryder Cup captain Hal Sutton, winner in 2000, crashed to an 84.