Majestic Garcia banishes tears of 1999 to take control at Carnoustie

ERASING the memory of that punishing 89 here eight years ago, when the distraught teenager wept on his mother's shoulder, Sergio Garcia was all smiles on the links at Carnoustie yesterday when he signed for 65, six under par, and found redemption in the first round of the 136th Open championship.

Although the 27-year-old Spaniard had already come to terms with the bitter disappointment of recording 30 over par in 1999 - he scored 83 in the second round - Garcia was nevertheless thrilled to match his lowest score in the tournament he loves best and lead the Open.

As he holed a five footer on the 18th under a gunmetal sky in the cool of evening, it looked as if Garcia had overcome the putting shortcomings which so often held him back in major championships after finishing runner-up to Tiger Woods at Medinah in the US PGA. It was little wonder he scored 65 since he used the bellyputter just 27 times, found plenty of fairways and greens, and drove the ball with explosive power. "If I have to, I will use a plastic bag to get the ball in the hole," he said.

After finishing fifth at Hoylake a year ago - he's posted five top-ten finishes in the oldest major over the past six years - Garcia feels ready to embrace destiny in the championship which means most to him.

One of the reasons Sergio's prowess in the Ryder Cup was undiminished even when individual victories became scarce (he hasn't won since 2005) was because he fed off the emotion of the galleries. Much the same kind of electricity is generated over the weekend at the Open. Garcia remembers coming up short when he played with Woods in the last group on Sunday at Hoylake. But he would like nothing better than to make amends at Carnoustie.

As far as the 24-shot improvement on 1999's opening salvo was concerned, Sergio revealed he only dwelled for a few minutes over that 89 on the first. When he holed a birdie putt for 3, he looked at his caddie and grinned: "That's four shots better than last time..."

Older and wiser, Garcia doesn't think he has anything to prove this week and isn't hell-bent on revenge. "I just want to give myself a chance of some birdies and have an opportunity on Sunday."

Even when the monster was in most benign mood, a sting remained in Carnoustie's tail. Into a wee breeze from the north, the closing four holes were testing enough to force mistakes from most of the players. Garcia was satisfied to match par and only Woods, the defending champion, Angel Cabrera, the US Open champion, and Boo Weekley played the stretch between the 16th and the 18th under par.

That said, compared to the bruising first day here eight years ago, when no-one in the field bettered 71, it was a day of unconfined joy for the players in Angus. By early evening, there were 24 golfers in the red figures which denote scores under par.

Rory McIlroy, the 18-year-old amateur from Holywood, near Belfast, who helped the Irish win the European Team Championship at Western Gailes earlier this month, was gleefully among them. He overcame a bout of nerves on the early holes to confirm his liking for the Scottish linksland by carding 68. A certainty to represent Great Britain and Ireland in this September's Walker Cup match against the USA at Royal County Down, the teenager played flawless golf. He fashioned three birdies, gave nothing away to par and carried an old head on young shoulders. More accustomed to the nuances of seaside golf than many of the pros, this fresh-faced boy ran any number of cleverly imagined shots along the ground.

A more seasoned Irishman, Paul McGinley, was also in the hunt on 67, two shots behind Garcia, after enduring a season of relentless indifference. Even the resilient Dubliner, mark you, spilled strokes at the 15th and 16th. "Imagine that finish with a 30mph wind," he gasped.

The Ryder Cup player says he's been playing "mediocrity golf". Not appalling - he still makes cuts - but not uplifting either. Having met Bob Rotella, the American sports psychologist for the first time this week, McGinley felt more in control of his game. Starting 3, 3, 4, 3 against the card of four 4s, of course, didn't do the inner resolve any harm. "Things were going for me, the ball was rolling and I was able to see and play my shots," he recalled. "Basically, I stayed out of my own way."

Very much in the thick of things on 69, Woods - who was sporting a pair of oversized mitts to combat the cold at Carnoustie - was thrust into contention for a third consecutive Claret Jug thanks to an eagle 3 on the sixth.

A momentary lapse after the turn, when he dropped shots at the 12th and 13th, was rectified by a resilient surge over the closing stretch as he covered the last four holes in one under. "You've basically got four really tough holes coming in," Tiger conceded. "To play them in one under was a huge bonus."

True, there was an element of good fortune attached to Tiger's score when he holed a putt the full length of a cricket pitch for 2 on the 248 yard 16th. "Just made a nice shoulder turn," he observed drily, "and it went 100 feet into the hole."

On 68, Michael Campbell, that well-known supporter of Deveronvale and a former US Open champion, got off to an encouraging start with a lovely 6 iron to the second green which set up his first birdie. Carnoustie demands shrewd shotmaking and the Kiwi's 7 iron to the fourth green and a raking 4 iron at the fifth were equally well thought out. After covering the front nine in 33, Campbell matched par on the inward half thanks to solid driving and a well-behaved Two-Ball putter which converted a few testing shots.

A friend of Paul Lawrie's, Campbell sees himself as a cog in the wheel of international golf where players from outside America all give encouragement to one another. "It was great to see Paul win here eight years ago," he recalled. "That really inspired me. If Paul can do it, so can I, I thought. And when Geoff Ogilvy won the US Open last year, he gave me a nice compliment. He said that seeing me win the US Open inspired him. Winning a major breaks down barriers for all these guys."

After his victory at Pinehurst in 2005, Campbell was fifth in the Open at St Andrews and sixth in the USPGA. Over the last couple of seasons, however, this mercurial champion has blown cold more often than hot. He missed the cut at the Masters and was 58th at Oakmont.

Having reached the summit of achievement in golf by winning a major, he didn't know what to do with himself next. The same conundrum, of course, all but ended David Duval's career after the 2001 Open.

"It was all about my desire - it felt hard to get up in the morning and play," he admitted. "Now I've got that fire in my belly again, and I know I've got the game to win more majors."

It proved to be a tortured day for the Scottish contingent at Carnoustie, none of whom threatened the summit of the leaderboard apart from Alastair Forsyth, who came home in 33 for the one-under score of 70 and a share of 13th place. Colin Montgomerie, the perennial home hope, shot 73, as did 1999 champion Paul Lawrie.