Eagle-eyed Harrington joint leader in Johor

Padraig Harrington made eagles at two of his last three holes to open with an eight under 64 and share the lead in the Iskandar Johor Open.

Winless since his victory at the 2008 US PGA Championship, the Dubliner drove the 314-yard 16th and sank an 18 footer for an eagle two before draining a 25 footer at the par-five 18th.

Pleased to rediscover his putting touch in Malaysia, Harrington said: “It was nice to finish eagle, par, eagle. That’s a rare thing to do. It certainly bumped up my score.

“It’s a long way to go yet. You can always lose it on a Thursday but in regards to winning it, there’s a lot of work to be done.

“It was a tough day with the wind. It was an awkward day and it’s nice to return a score like that. I got the breaks and holed a few putts.

“At the end of the day, if you’re going to shoot a 64, you’ve got to hole a few putts. I certainly holed two nice ones on 16 and 18 and holed three 15 footers as well.”

Harrington scorched out of the blocks in Malaysia with birdies at the first, second and third. He birdied the ninth to turn in 32 and while he bogeyed the 11th, he hit back with a red-hot finish thanks to a birdie at the par-five 13th and those eagles at the 16th and 18th.

His 64 saw him to surge to the top of the leaderboard alongside Australian Marcus Both and Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat at Horizon Hills.

Victorious Ryder Cup skipper Colin Montgomerie fired a two under 70 featuring six birdies to finish the day alongside defending champion KJ Choi.

Retief Goosen, the 2008 winner, had an eagle at the 13th in a solid 68.