Nissan open round one: Harrington will find it much harder Friday

Ignorance certainly was bliss for Padraig Harrington Thursday as he fired at the Riviera’s baking greens to lead the pack by three shots. I suspect he’ll be a lot older and wiser Friday after going round in the afternoon. The greens will have baked plenty more and have that walked-on feel aplenty, making them the hardest and bumpiest yet.

The afternoon crew Thursday were already feeling the effect and played a shot over the morning average (72.41 to 71.47) although inexplicably there were still six rounds to complete.

Come again? You can’t blame the weather. I felt like a parent waiting for the kids to get home. Some parent - I eventually lost the will to keep the matchsticks in my eyes and left them to it. I haven’t managed to catch an explanation, but I suspect the fault actually lay in the morning.

We can expect things to bunch up at the top Friday after the roles are reversed. Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk are two bright starters likely to find themselves more challenged in the afternoon sun.

The performance that impresses me most, given that it came from a PMer, is Sergio Garcia’s four under after two bogeys on his opening nine. You scratch your head to work out exactly where it came from when you look at his stats, but good iron work clearly helped. His putting was also uncharacteristically good, but the general standard seems to have been pretty high. The five under from Pat Perez is noteworthy too, given his recent struggles.

And I don’t think many expected David Howell to be leading the charge of the English light brigade with a four under, given that he’s in his first US jaunt of the year. Luke Donald four over? His stats beggar belief.

Long way to go yet. Vijay Singh may be hit by the afternoon conditions Friday, but at least he avoided his first round shakes. And did you know he’s scored more birdies on par fours than anyone else this season?

Word on the fairway is that, after a decidely ropey start, Ernie Els is beginning to gather momentum, although he too goes out apres midi.

PS: I though this article in London’s Daily Mail was an interesting take on Tiger Wood’s absence from the Nissan. I disagree with the Nissan part, because I am certain Tiger calculated this could hurt his ’streak’. But the more general point about the battle of wills with Tim Finchem is interesting. Is it really conceivable Tiger could play too few PGA events to qualify as a member?