BBC SPORT | Golf | Dougherty shares Irish lead

First-round leaderboard

English rookie Nick Dougherty and Swedish Ryder Cup player Joakim Haeggman carded five-under-par rounds of 66 to share the lead in the Murphy's Irish Open.

They are joined at the top of the leaderboard by veterans Fred Funk and Eduardo Romero.

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The quartet are one shot ahead of defending champion Colin Montgomerie, Lee Westwood and Gordon Brand Jnr.

Dougherty is a prot�g� of Nick Faldo, who first spotted him playing in the Faldo Junior Series and has coached him in all aspects of the game since.

The 20-year-old has shown glimpses of his potential in his debut season with a second-place finish in the Qatar Masters, and he has already secured his tour card for next year.

'Rookie's dream'

A one-under-par outward 34 in Thursday's opening round at Fota Island gave little hint of what was to come.

But Dougherty reeled off four consecutive birdies from the first, his 10th, to grab a share of the lead.

Nick Dougherty is a prot�g� of Nick Faldo
Nick Dougherty carded a five under par round of 66

"I always seem to play better in the bigger tournaments," he said.

"It is a rookie's dream to have a card so early.

"I would love to go on and win a tournament this year but, if it does not happen, I won't be devastated," he added.

Montgomerie was content with his 67 as he bids to win the event for a record fourth time.

"I think four under is okay. The scoring is a little higher than last year but there is a reason for that.

"It is much more breezy and the greens are harder. It is a lot more difficult."

Westwood has seen his world ranking drop from 28th at the start of the year to 95th and missed the US Open as a result.

He described the enforced break as "a blessing in disguise" as he managed six birdies before dropping his second shot of the round at his final hole where he was distracted by a mobile phone.

Leading scores:

66 Joakim Haeggman (Sweden), Nick Dougherty, Peter O'Malley (Australia), Eduardo Romero (Argentina), Fred Funk (U.S.)
67 Gordon Brand Jnr, Colin Montgomerie, Lee Westwood, Carl Pettersson (Sweden), Des Smyth (Ireland)
68 Jonathan Lomas, Malcolm Mackenzie, David Gilford, Stuart Little, Steen Tinning (Denmark), Mark McNulty (Zimbabwe), Ignacio Garrido (Spain), Miguel Angel Martin (Spain), Richard Johnson (Sweden), Andrew Marshall, Carl Suneson (Spain)
69 Alex Cejka (Germany), Ricardo Gonzalez (Argentina), Diego Borrego (Spain), Peter Fowler (Australia), Stephen Dodd, Paul Casey, Eamonn Darcy (Ireland), Mark James, Andrew Butterfield, Steve Webster, Richard Bland, Markus Brier (Austria), Didier De Vooght (Belgium), Russell Claydon, Gary Evans, Mark Pilkington, Barry Lane, Patrik Sjoland (Sweden), David Higgins (Ireland), Soren Kjeldsen (Denmark), Soren Hansen (Denmark)
70 Kenneth Ferrie, Peter Hanson (Sweden), Jean Hugo (South Africa), Ian Garbutt, Graeme McDowell, Adam Scott (Australia), Raymond Russell, Ian Poulter, Jamie Spence, Chris Gane, Andrew Coltart, Peter Baker, Jeremy Robinson, Gary Emerson, Carlos Rodiles (Spain)


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