Padraig Harrington began his US Open campaign with an even-par 71 that included three birdies and three bogeys.
Q. How was it to start your day at No. 10?
PADRAIG HARRINGTON: Yeah, it was -- well, you kind of think -- you reckon we start out the day at No. 10, but I've been thinking about 10 for three days, knowing that I was off at 7:44 the first day. It didn't help that it was raining.
You know, and it basically put it a little bit in between clubs for me. I knew I had to hit a 5-iron and hit every bit of it to get there. It was a tough start. Our group played it in 1-under par, which wasn't too bad. 2 pars and a birdie and we were off and running. Even if you get through 10, you have 11, 12, 13, 14, there's plenty of them out there.
It is a tough start, and I'll be happy to not have to do it again.
Q. Are you happy with the round?
PADRAIG HARRINGTON: I'd have taken it before I went out. It always feels bad -- if I birdied the last for level par instead of bogeying, I'd feel better than I do now. But certainly I missed a few birdie chances out there, but I also made a few out there as well. It's probably a fair reflection, even though I would have been have liked to have been a few shots better.
Q. Can you talk about how the course played this morning versus how it's going to be playing this afternoon?
PADRAIG HARRINGTON: I'm not really going to be out there this afternoon. Obviously we were a little frustrated that we started in rain, but that cleared off soon enough. I thought the course played very well. I think if you've got your ball in position off the tee, there was certainly plenty of nice pin positions, a few pins and bowls that you feel like you can make some birdies.
I think it would be the same for the guys in the afternoon. There's a little bit of wind out there now. But if they hit their tee shots in position, there's ample opportunities. It's obviously tougher for them, but you'll still see some decent scoring this afternoon.
Q. What pleased you most today?
PADRAIG HARRINGTON: My iron play was good, and my score was pretty good. As I said, I'd be pleased with the score, even though I should have been a couple better. But definitely, you know, when I got it in position, I did hit my irons pretty close. I have a new set of irons in the bag, and there definitely seems to be a nice bit of control in them. And they seem to fly very nicely with a bit more of spin. It kind of suits a U.S. Open test.
Q. What are the irons?
PADRAIG HARRINGTON: There's Wilson Staff V2. Wilson, yeah, they're actually -- it's just the lucky thing about being a pro, they're next year's model. I get them six months in advance so they're forged irons coming out next year.
Q. The USGA is going to probably make this tougher over the weekend. What do you see --
PADRAIG HARRINGTON: Depends on what the scoring is like. If somebody gets -- starts rolling to 6, 7, 8, 10-under par, they're going to make it tougher. If they're hanging around level par, they're going to keep it there. This is the thing with all the major championships with the USGA has moved towards this. They're controlling the scores. They're understanding what needs to be done to the golf course in terms of pin positions, tee boxes, to get the scores they want, rather than setting up the toughest test and leaving it to whatever. Definitely the USGA over the last number of years, have set up fine golf courses, and know exactly -- they know what they need to do on the weekend and if necessary, if the scoring is too good, they will make it tougher.
