The songwriter had the right idea, lazing on a sunny afternoon. But for those plying their craft under a blazing sun at the K Club yesterday, the course was largely in a generous mood, judging by a crowded leaderboard in the Stg £1.35 million Smurfit European Open.
In late afternoon, New Zealander Michael Campbell swept into the lead on 66, where he was joined an hour later by the Japanese, Katsuyoshi Tomori, who eagled the last. But the most stirring performance of the opening round remained a morning 67 by the newly-crowned British Open champion Paul Lawrie, only 12 days after his triumph at Carnoustie.
In anticipation of a competitive back-lash from Lawrie's packed schedule, commercial and otherwise, bookmakers saw fit to have him at generous, pre-tournament odds of 50 to 1. Significantly, he was down to 12 to 1 last night. But the favourite remained the remarkable Colin Montgomerie, who matched Lawrie's 67, in company with six others.
Monty, who would probably trade the majority of his 20 European tournament triumphs for the elusive claret jug which stands on Lawrie's mantlepiece, made an admirably sporting gesture to his fellow Scot. "Whatever happens for the rest of the round, this day belongs to Paul Lawrie," he said. "To focus so successfully on what he's doing after all he had been through, was a hell of an effort. All credit to him."
Meanwhile, the many Irish admirers of Jean Van de Velde, rejoiced in his opening 70, despite a double-bogey at the eighth (his 17th), where he made yet another unscheduled excursion into water, this time into the arms of Anna Livia. As it happened, the Frenchman was among 73 competitors who broke par.
Indeed it is some time since an Irish tournament enjoyed such superb conditions, a fact which lent bitter irony to some decidedly moderate performances by home players. Padraig Harrington, who made his European Tour debut here four years ago, was the only one to break 70, with a well crafted 69.
A frustrating exercise with the blade, saw Darren Clarke card only two birdies, at the beginning and end of his round. But for Sweden's Max Anglert, who started on the 10th, the long first and 18th happened to be his ninth and 10th holes. And he eagled them both, chipping in from off the back of the 18th and hitting a three-wood to within a foot of the flag at the first. Yet he still finished with a disappointing 73.
Sergio Garcia was going along safely rather than spectacularly until the treacherous 16th, where an ill-judged short-iron approach finished in a watery grave. But he repaired some of the damage of a double-bogey six, by completing his round with a predictable birdie at the last.
So it was not all easy going. Campbell made it look that way, however, with an exemplary round which contained six birdies and no bogeys. And it confirmed the encouraging, recent form which saw him share seventh place at Loch Lomond, while making six of his last seven cuts.
By his own admission, however, the New Zealander was crushed by his British Open performance of 1995 when a third round 65 at St Andrews, gave him the lead going into the final day. That was when a closing 76 caused him to finish an agonising stroke outside a play-off with John Daly and Costantino Rocca.
"I had nightmares about that for the next five or six months," he admitted yesterday. And just when he was recovering from the trauma, he sustained tendonitis of the right wrist, which he neglected to give sufficient time to heal. So it was that a sparkling talent went into serious decline, culminating in two visits to the Qualifying School, in 1996 and 1997.
The key to yesterday's round was a remarkable burst of five birdies in the first seven holes, where putts ranging from three to 10 feet, reflected the accuracy of his approach play. "It makes quite a change from my mood of two years ago, when I had visions of selling balls in a pro shop somewhere," he said.
Lawrie, who started on the 10th, was playing in the three-ball directly ahead of Van de Velde. And after successive birdies at the 12th, 13th and 14th, the Scot experienced one of those treasured little glimpses into the recent past, which Carnoustie has given him in abundance.
"When we got on the 15th green, the leaderboard read Lawrie and Van de Velde (at three under par)," he said. "And I had a wee chuckle. It's amazing really how these things work out. Both of us had last week off and on our first week back, we're on top again. Amazing."
Even more amazing, however, was the composure of the 30-year-old, who looked as comfortable as he claimed he felt, when returning to the heat of battle. Clearly, the company of Sam Torrance and Ryder Cup skipper, Mark James, helped.
How profound was their discussion about next month's battle at Brookline? "My wife has been panicking about what to wear to the various functions, so I asked Mark for his wife, Jane's telephone number," said Lawrie. Otherwise, he simply concentrated on his attitude which, he confessed, "has been a bit dodgy in the past."
His performance so far, certainly contrasts sharply with that of Jose-Maria Olazabal, who missed the cut in the Spanish Open last April, on his return to action after winning the Masters. And after his US Open triumph, Payne Stewart saw fit to take four weeks off before resuming competitive action at Carnoustie.
Taking a broad, European view of yesterday's play, the only serious set-back, in the context of the Ryder Cup, concerned the form of Bernhard Langer, who won here in 1995. Currently ninth in the Ryder Cup standings, the German badly needs points to secure an automatic place in the side - a position that was not helped by a dispiriting 76.
