IAN WOOSNAM has enough on his mind, what with his ailing back and his chase to catch Colin Montgomerie at the top of the European Tour money list. But the Welshman still found enough time to help Ryder Cup team-mate Philip Walton back to form on a rousing opening day for Irish golf in the Linde German Masters in Berlin yesterday.

Paul McGinley, with a pace-setting 66, and Padraig Harrington, with 68, were at the top of the leaderboard at the Motzener See club. Then Walton, who has failed to make a cut for a month, also breezed in with 68.

Darren Clarke, the third member of Ireland's team for the Alfred Dunhill Cup at St Andrews next week, began with a 70 to make the quartet a collective 16 under par, and only Ronan Rafferty missed out on the birdie glut with a 73.

Welshman Mark Mouland, Marc Farry of France, England's Peter Baker and Argentinian Jose Coceres also joined McGinley at six under. But Colin Montgomerie, who is aiming for a record-equalling fourth successive European number one spot, had 70.

Walton has struggled with his short game since he was ninth in the ill-fated British Masters at Collingtree. But it is not his putting that has caused him concern, despite a popular if mythical tale that he had thrown his broomhandle club into a rubbish bin at the Loch Lomond, World Invitational. It has, been his chipping that has let him down badly for most of the season and particularly throughout September.

Walton who has known Woosnam since their early-days as pupils of Bob Torrance, found the cure when he asked the Welshman for help yesterday. The former Masters champion took one look at the Ping sand wedge Walton uses for chipping and told him to have the leading edge ground down to prevent the club bouncing off the turf.

"We took off almost three coins thickness of metal and it has made all the difference," said Walton. "Woosie has done me a big favour because the club now sits nicely behind the ball and have begun to chip well again."

Walton's only serious mistake yesterday was to take a double bogey at the short 17th; his recovery from rough hit the bank of a bunker and shot at a tangent into the sand, from where he took three more to get down, Elsewhere the putts dropped at regular intervals to get him out and back in 34,

McGinley, who is likely to captain the Irish team at St Andrews next week, showed he was moving close to the form that saw him shoot a last round 62 and win the Austrian Open in August, After three birdies in an outward 34, and four in the first six inward holes, he would have been out on his own but for mis-clubbing at the last,

"I hit a five-iron over the water, but it was too much club and I put myself in a bad place over the green," he confessed, "But at least I did much better here than last year."

McGinley has also learnt of a surprise bonus - a place in the Sarazen World Open in Atlanta early in November. The qualifying date for national Open winners was put back to the final day of the US PGA Championship, the same weekend that the Dubliner won the Austrian title. Hitherto he would not have qualified to play in the big money US promotion until the following year.

Harrington, who opened with a 65 in last week's Smurfit European Open, was not in the least perturbed by partnering Open champion Tom Lehman and local hero Bernhard Langer, both of whom he outscored by three shots. Out in 32 from the 10th, he went four under par by holing from 20 feet at the long second, and when a 15-foot putt dropped for another birdie four at the eighth, he was among the pacemakers.

But three putts at the ninth from only eight feet above the hole "soured the day" for the Stackstown professional.

Clarke has been struggling for two weeks to shake off a heavy head cold. It has not been improved by his inability to find a cure for his ailing putter, which has obstinately refused to provide the birdies he believes his long game deserves. It was the same story yesterday despite five birdies, for he missed four good chances from under five feet. He also had a double bogey six at the 5th, where he had to take a penalty drop after a wayward drive into a small copse.

But at least he is fit and strong, which is more than Woosnam feels after flinching his way to a 69 because of his bad back,

Woosnam was to have captained Wales in the Alfred Dunhill Cup, but pulled out when he qualified for the World Matchplay championship because he could not cope with 36 holes of golf each day for two weeks.

"It is so bad that I cannot swing properly. I cannot use my body, only my arms, and the ball is going nowhere. It is not treatment I need, it is surgery, and I am going to talk, to my specialist again very soon."