Pádraig Harrington reaped the rewards of a simple approach as he moved to within one of the early lead at the SAS Championship.
Harrington trails Billy Andrade at the final regular event of the Champions Tour season after a six under 66.
The Hall of Famer birdied five of his last nine holes in a bogey free start and he said he was mostly stress free.
“It was a very, very simple day. I wasn’t under
a lot of pressure or stress.
“I think I hit the fairways. If you’re in play on the fairways here, you’re not in the bermuda rough. If you’re in the bermuda rough, you’re losing a lot of control into the greens. That’s when you start to get those 30-, 40-footers that are going to be very difficult. Most of the day I was on the fairway inside 15 feet for my approach shots.
”It can get frustrating because I made a couple of birdies, so as much as I was missing putts, I was still shooting a good score so you could stay positive and patient. Yeah, it was a nice return, made a couple of birdies at the end. Yeah, I’m pleased with my return, but it was a very simple game of golf, which I don’t normally play.”
Making his tenth start in the SAS Championship, Andrade is looking for his first win in nine years after a seven under 65.
Darren Clarke is off the pace at level par after a 72.