A DOUBLE-BOGEY on the final hole denied Padraig Harrington a perfect start to the season at the Volvo Golf Champions in George, South Africa
Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium leads the field on nine under-par after today’s opening round , but it was the Dubliner who led the chasing pack before a wayward drive cost him at the last, dropping him back to four-under and a share of fifth place.
Harrington teed off alongside Ernie Els in the day’s penultimate pairing, and he carded six birdies without dropping a single shot over the first 17 holes.
But a bad drive on the 549-yard 18th hole left him in trouble, and when he finally found the green, Harrington could only manage three putts for a double-bogey seven.
“Such is life,” Harrington told EuropeanTour.com afterwards.
It was a very comfortable six under for 17 holes, but it’s a nasty tee shot and that was a mental error.
Only 35 players are in action at the winners-only event this weekend, with most of the world’s top-ranked golfers holding off until next week’s Abu Dhabi World Golf Championship before returning to the course.
Currently ranked 89th in the world, Harrington needs to finish at the business end of the leaderboard if he is to break back into the world’s top 64 in time to qualifying for the WGC-Accenture Match Play, which takes place in Arizona next month.
Clubhouse leader Colsaerts goes into tomorrow with a four-shot advantage over South Africans Branden Grace and Thomas Aiken, who finished the day with a five under-par 68.
The Belgian, whose only previous European Tour win came at last year’s Volvo China Open, hit a remarkable hot streak from the eighth hole onwards, holing out for nine birdies.
“This is probably the best round I’ve ever had,” Colsaerts said. “It’s quite a serious test of golf.”
2011 Open Champion Darren Clarke finished the day in a tie for 24th after a round of one over-par 74.
