Golf:Pádraig Harrington will need a strong showing in the second round of the Wyndham Championships in North Carolina after his opening round of one-under-par 69 left him in a tie for 67th position.
The Dubliner is aiming to make the top 125 on the FedEx rankings at the end of the tournament and thus earn an invite to the first event of the lucrative end of season competition.
Starting from the 10th, Harrington had three birdies in his opening six holes but he posted back-to-back bogeys on third and fourth holes before closing with five straight pars.
After starting the week at 130 in the FedEx rankings, his predicted position dropped three places after the opening round.
American duo Jeff Quinney and Tommy Gainey were tied for the lead on seven under after the opening round in Greensboro.
Quinney shot five birdies in his first seven holes before making his only bogey on the 18th, while Gainey had a blemish-free round, capped by an eagle three on the fifth hole.
Australia’s Stuart Appleby was one stroke further back having signed for 64. He also eagled the par-five fifth and collected four strokes on the back nine.
A group of nine players were tied for fourth on four under, with England’s Paul Casey, South Africa’s Ernie Els and Fiji’s Vijay Singh among the names.
Casey, who was ranked 147th in the standings at the start of the tournament believes his lowly placing for that event benefitted him here.
“I’ve got nothing to lose this week so I’m trying to put myself in a position to win this golf event. I believe I’ve got to be top four to seal a place for next week and there are top-10 situations, depending on what other guys do.
“I don’t need to get too far ahead, don’t need to start thinking about that on a Thursday. For me it’s focusing on today and I did a very good job of that, actually, I didn’t get too caught up in sort of worrying about FedEx stuff.”
A dozen players signed for four under, including Jason Dufner, who lost in a play-off at the USPGA having been set for victory in the final round.
