Innisbrook: Harrington Sets Course Record 61

A special thanks to the Copperheads' Rick Odioso for sending us this information.

Irishman Padraig Harrington has already had a tremendous week on the Copperhead and St. Patrick’s Day is still to come on Saturday.

On Wednesday, he made a hole-in-one while shooting 64 in the Pro-Am.

On Thursday, he set the course record with a 10-under-par 61 and took a three-shot lead after the first round of the Transitions Championship.  He said afterwards that it was the best score he had ever shot in any 18-hole round, competitive or practice, and it came with only one birdie on a par-five.

Harrington accomplished the 61 with a birdie-birdie-birdie finish through the treacherous Snake Pit including a 75-foot putt in front of the crowd at the Hooters Owl’s Nest, a putt he felt was the longest he had holed in TOUR competition. “When it’s your day, I could have turned my back on the hole and I would have holed the putt on the last,” he said.

Harrington, who will tee off on the 10th hole at 1:12 in Friday’s second round, is trailed by Will Claxton, a PGA TOUR rookie whose 64 was also his career best. Claxton in turn is two shots in front of seven players who carded five-under 66s, including 2010 Transitions Championship winner Jim Furyk and 51-year-old Transitions Ambassador Kenny Perry.

On a nearly wind-free day, there were plenty of other good scores to be had.  Among the notables with good scores were Justin Rose, Luke Donald, Stewart Cink and David Toms at 67, Sergio Garcia, Webb Simpson and defending champion Gary Woodland at 68 and Jason Day, Brandt Snedeker, Retief Goosen, Nick Watney and John Daly at 69.

ROUND ONE NOTES:  This is the 12th PGA TOUR tournament on the Copperhead.  K.J. Choi, who shot 63 in 2002, is the only first-round leader to go on to victory…Harrington birdied seven of the nine par fours and needed only 22 putts in his round…The previous course record at the Copperhead was 62, recorded by Jeff Sluman in the first round in 2004 and Mark Calcavecchia in the third round of his winning effort in 2007…The 40-year-old Harrington counts five career PGA TOUR victories, but none have come in the five previous times that he has held at least a share of the first round lead…Keep an eye on John Senden who has won more money in Transitions Championship history than any player without a win.  Twice a runner-up on the Copperhead and already with three top 10 finishes this season, Senden is among those who shot 66 on Thursday…There were seven eagles on Thursday, all on par fives.

LADIES DAY: The second annual Fifth Third Bank Ladies Day event on Thursday was a big success.  A sellout crowd of more than 200 enjoyed an engaging presentation by LPGA Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam.

FRIDAY PAIRINGS-

You can see all of Friday's pairings at this link