Tiger v Rory can't blot out the Ryder race as Harrington and Colsaerts step up a gear

Nothing on Thursday’s busy golfing agenda could top Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy playing together for the first time on the US Tour. But boy, did Padraig Harrington on one side of the Atlantic and Nicolas Colsaerts on the other do their level best.

As things stand, this pair are seemingly fighting it out for one wildcard spot for Europe’s Ryder Cup team, with the latter justifying his hot-favourite status ahead of Monday’s announcement with an opening 69 in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles. No sooner had he signed his card, however, than Harrington was compiling a brilliant 64 in the first round of The Barclays in New York, the first  tournament in the four-event series comprising the FedEx Cup play-offs.
Colsaerts can still make Europe’s team by right with a top-two finish and has  certainly started in confident vein, finishing two shots off the lead held by Aussie Brett Rumford and little-known Norwegian Knut Borsheim. If the Belgian does make it by right, Harrington has certainly done himself no harm  regarding getting a pick  alongside Ian Poulter.

All smiles: Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy (right) share a laugh at the Barclays in New York

Barclays and Johnnie Walker Championship Leaderboards

So to the main event, then, with most eyes in New York trained on Woods and McIlroy. How curious that it should take the Northern Irishman 163 rounds on the US Tour before finally getting a match-up with his boyhood idol. He began seemingly hell-bent on showing Woods exactly why he deserves to be mentioned in the same breath.
Starting from the 10th,  McIlroy fired a trademark aggressive iron shot at the 11th to within 12 inches of the hole for a tap-in birdie. At the 13th he rolled in a 20 footer for another birdie to move two clear of Woods, who rapped in a birdie putt of his own at the 14th. But another wonderful iron approach set up a further routine birdie for McIlroy at the 15th, his third in six holes for an early share of the lead.

Showdown: McIlroy took one more stroke than Woods during his first round of 69 shots

Life as a double major  champion had begun sweetly, therefore, with the 23-year-old starting out how he had  finished off at the US PGA Championship at Kiawah Island in his previous outing.
Thereafter, however, there were one or two reminders as to why there’s a rather famous sign by the first tee at fabled Bethpage Black regarding the difficulty of the course and recommending it ‘for highly skilled golfers only’. Over the next 12 holes, a trio of errors from McIlroy resulted in three bogeys.
Woods was more successful at keeping mistakes at bay. From two behind McIlroy after six, he had moved two ahead until matching the bogey made by his playing partner at the fifth. McIlroy responded to the third of his bogeys with an instant redemptive birdie at the sixth to halve the arrears, and that’s how it remained. Woods signed for a 68 and McIlroy a 69.

Hitting form: Padraig Harrington plays from the 18th fairway during a fine first round at Bethpage State Park

Much was made in the  build-up to The Barclays of  Harrington’s arch rival Sergio Garcia saying the Irishman was no sure-fire Ryder Cup wildcard. Why all the fuss? I think the world of Harrington but I wouldn’t give him a wildcard either, as things stand.
He took a step forward here, however. Now let’s see if he can keep it going.  Harrington shot 61 on the  first day of the Transitions  Championship in Florida in March and ended up finishing tied 20th. Good opening rounds can often end up being all flash and little substance.

Good position: Nicolas Colsaerts in action during the first round of the Johnnie Walker Championship

One down, three rounds to go: Belgium's Colsaerts putts on the 18th green at Gleneagles

In all, though, this was another good day for Europe’s captain Jose Maria Olazabal. After a worrying couple of months, members of his team have won the last two events on the US Tour and are  starting to show some real form, with the match now just over a month away.
The aforementioned Garcia, for example, followed up last week’s stirring victory in the Wyndham Championship with a wonderful 66. World No 2 Luke Donald opened with a useful 68 while Lee Westwood shot 69 to make his first taste of the FedEx play-offs a  satisfying one.
Over at Gleneagles, two more team members, Paul Lawrie and Francesco Molinari, opened with rounds of 68.

A close look: Europe captain Jose Maria Olazabal is in Scotland for the conclusion to the Ryder Cup points race