Irish Seniors Open: For the past two years, Carl Mason attended Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort in his capacity as a tournament referee. Little did he know, however, that once he turned 50 last June a whole new world of opportunity would open up to the extent that it did.

By year's end, having returned to playing rather than officiating, he had won four times and topped the European Seniors Tour money list.

And yesterday, in the first round of the AIB Irish Seniors Open, the Englishman took a step towards claiming his second title of the new season. In shooting an opening round of 68, to be one behind leader David Good of Australia, Mason - who won more money in his "rookie" season on the seniors circuit than he did in any of his 20 years on the regular tour - made good use of his previous visits.

"I just love this course. I've refereed here twice but feel as if I've played on those visits.

"It's a proper course, even more enjoyable than I thought it would be," insisted Mason, who won the season-opening tournament in the Caribbean but who has since failed to rediscover the winning habit.

Mason's love affair with the Robert Trent Jones Snr-designed course could be based on an error-free round, a commendable feat and the only one on an opening day which saw others bitten and mauled.

Nowhere was this more evident than on the 18th, a treacherous par five that has the River Maigue as a companion all the way down the left of the fairway and, even more perilously, on the approach to the green.

Two of those to suffer at its hands were Eddie Polland, the former Ryder Cup player, who suffered a triple-bogey eight, while Arthur Spring was another to feel the wrath of the finishing hole, also registering an eight.

Five others ran up double-bogey sevens there.

For others, though, the course was more kind, not least for American Bob Lendzion who holed out with his three-wood approach from 230 yards on the seventh for an albatross two.

Noel Ratcliffe, the defending champion, put his approach to the first into the pond that guards the green and suffered a bogey. But that was to prove to be his only error, as he rallied with three birdies over the rest of the round to record a 70.

"I've just got to keep doing what I am doing," he remarked.

On a day when only 11 of the 77 players managed to better par, Good, who travelled here after missing the cut in the US PGA Seniors Championship at Valhalla last week, used his fine approach play to excellent effect over the front nine, which he covered in a best-of-the-day 32 strokes.

"It was nice to come back to a golf course which has not too many surprises," he said. "I've been knocking on the door a few times this year on the European Seniors Tour," added Good, "(but) I've just got to find the finishing line in the next couple of days. I'm playing well and putting well, which you've got to do."

Indeed, putting, as ever, was critical for anyone with title aspirations. And Christy O'Connor Jnr, who had reverted to a belly putter after two years using the traditional short putter, struggled as badly as anyone on the greens. He had four three-putts in a 75 that was actually rescued somewhat by two birdies in his last four holes.

"You've no chance of winning when you putt like that," lamented O'Connor.

"It was just horrendous. I've a real uphill battle now."

Whether he would be tempted to go back to the short putter for the second round was a moot point.

"I'm putting just as bad with that," remarked O'Connor, who had hoped to lead the Irish challenge on a course which he represents.

Instead, the leading Irish player of 11 in the field was David Jones, playing for the first time in eight months after recovering from a broken wrist.

The Ulsterman was seven shots off the pace of Good after opening with a 74.