Padraig Harrington opened with a four over par 75 and declared: This course could send you to the nuthouse.

The Dubliner hit four bogeys and a double bogey and could manage just two birdies as a stiff wind sent scores soaring.

Harrington was just happy that his chances of winning hadn't been blown away on a course he rates as one of the toughest tests the pros will face.

He said: "I really should play more links golf in my time off. What we normally play isn't golf at all. This is the real thing out here. It's so different to what we are used to.

"It was really enjoyable. But if you had to play for a living on this golf course all the time it would send a lot of people to the nuthouse."

A combination of tight pin positions, strong winds and a fast, bouncing course, made it a massive test for the world number nine.

He sighed: "There was hardly a pin out there that I felt I could go at. They've really put them tight to the short side and the wind is playing havoc with them.

"I haven't experienced that in a long time. There were 12 pins out there that were really tough."

Harrington bogeyed the first hole when he bunkered his approach and missed an eight footer for par.

But he looked comfortable when he was level par after seven holes with another bogey at the fifth cancelled out by birdies at the par five fourth and seventh holes.

The wheels came off at the fiendish 455 yard eighth where he ran up a double bogey six.

In rough off the tee, he could only advance his four-iron approach to within 100 yards of the green, hit a flyer through the back and then missed five footer for a bogey.

Two more shots went at the long par three 11th and the tricky 12th before he parred his way to the finish.

Frustrated by his failure to hole putts of any length, the last straw for Harrington came at the par five 14th.

He explained: "On 14 I hit a superb third shot. I hit a low six iron drawing in to the flag and I thought, "Ohhh, that's going to skip nicely up to the flag and I was a full 50 yards short.

"I'm staring it down and thinking this is a really nice shot and I'm 50 yards short. Unbelievable. I was glad to see my playing partner Kenny Perry do the same thing on the 17th. "

Harrington hasn't been happy with his swing but he believes he just needs lots of luck to get back into the shake-up for the title.

He said: "A score just a couple under par is going to win this tournament so I don't think it is a disaster to be four over par.

"If I was in the form of my life I would think 'yeah' I can come back from this. But the fact that I am playing average.

"It's hard enough to hit it straight but with the wind, the run you are expecting to get and the tight pin positions, it's difficult. You need luck but you have to hit it well as well and put it all together."

In the end the Dubliner did well to par the last six holes to stay in the championship.

After saving par form 50 yards a the 14th he had to get up and down from sand at the tough 17th and then repeat the trick from the swale that protects the left side of the green at the 18th.

He explained: "I wasn't playing so well going in and I wasn't 100 percent happy with my game. I putted really well but they didn't drop. If some of those putts had dropped I could have had a very respectable score but that's the nature of the game."

"I just have to be patient and ride it out. But I'm not going to find anything on the practice ground into a strong right to left wind."

Harrington revealed that he has not been his usual happy, smiling self on the course this year but changed his attitude after a session with mental coach Dr Bob Rotella.

He said: "I did a bit of work with Bob Rotella and I had an enjoyable day on the course. I haven't been smiling or whatever all year, I've been miserable trying to do everything perfect, but today was an enjoyable day."

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© Brian Keogh 2003

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