Padraig Harrington faces a tough task to defend his US Senior Open title after a three-over par first round of 74.
The Dubliner played his opening round at Seniors Point in Wisconsin alongside Dungannon native Darren Clarke, who finished his round with one shot more than Harrington.
The 51-year-old defending champion hit two birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey on what he described as "one of those days".
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Harrington finds himself six shots behind Rod Pampling, with the Australian the outright leader and two shots clear of the rest of the field.
Speaking after his round, Harrington said: “I certainly got the best I could have out of the day. I had one of those days you get the odd time. Doesn’t your mother always tell you you’re going to have days like that, like this?”
“My mind was jumping about places. I was never right. From the word ‘go’ I was never comfortable. My mind was racing ... usually don’t get it two days in a row, so let’s hope we get better the next three days. I did really well not to do a lot of damage today.
“You know what? Winning last week takes a lot out of you [and playing the] US Open the week before, as well. I’m trying to recover for this, and I know even more so now I’ll be going to [see] Indiana Jones this afternoon. That’s my plan. It won’t be the range, right?”
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