Padraig Harrington's confidence suffers tough opening day at The Open
![Padraig Harrington](https://www.newsletter.co.uk/webimg/legacy_oak_115849973.jpg?crop=3:2,smart&trim=&width=640&quality=65&enable=upscale)
![Padraig Harrington](/img/placeholder.png)
Speaking after his round Harrington said his performance did not leave him full of confidence for the rest of the week.
"I thought I would have been better today, so it doesn't fill me with much confidence," he said.
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Hide Ad"I know I'm on the right track. Just today was not a good day. I had a nice start, but I didn't play well after five.
"It's going to take some time. My game is there, physically, but mentally needs a bit of work.
"The course is set up nicely, it was very playable. A couple of putts could have dropped in the middle of the round. There were a significant number of putts that didn't go in, and clearly I lost momentum when it gets tougher after that.
"So it was a combination of a few weak shots and a few poor putts that didn't drop."
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Hide AdHarrington was more positive about The Open's return to Royal Portrush after a gap of 68 years.
He said: "The course is great. Atmosphere is great. It's unbelievable to have an Open, but we've been saying that all week. And I'm sure we'll say that next week."