Duo set Irish Open pace
by Richard Field, 15 May 2008
Richard Green and Jeev Milkha Singh both carded six-under 66s to set the clubhouse target in the first round of the Irish Open.
Australian left-hander Green birdied the final hole to add to six other red numbers and a solitary bogey.
Singh came within a foot of carding an albatross at the par-five seventh and instead tapped in for an eagle.
The 2006 Volvo Masters champion, twice a runner-up this season, also sunk a 40-foot par-putt at the final hole to complete a blemish-free round.
Johan Edfors decided to continue with a rattling driver and this paid off with a four-under 68 to share third place with Pablo Larrazabal.
Englishman Lee James is three shots off the pace following a 69 which included an eagle at the par-four 10th.
19-year-old Rory McIlroy carded a two-under 70 in favourable conditions at the Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort.
Defending champion Padraig Harrington [72] and Graeme McDowell [74] completed their front nine with hooks into the water at the par-five 18th and left the green with a pair of bogey sixes.
Harrington then carded consecutive bogeys at the third and fourth holes to drop back to level-par having reached two-under at one stage, while playing partner McDowell double-bogeyed the fifth to trail the leaders by eight strokes.
Accompanying the Irishmen is Alastair Forsyth [71], who along with Marc Warren borrowed the private jet owned by Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood to attend the Uefa Cup final.
Colin Montgomerie [75], who has slumped to 88th in the world rankings, reached the turn at one-under before disaster struck.
The Scot dropped five shots in his next eight holes including a double bogey at the seventh, to register a three-over-par score.
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