After the high of grabbing another victory in America on Sunday Padraig Harrington sank to his worst round in Europe for seven years today.
Harrington's seven-over-par 79 in the first round of the Smurfit European Open at the K Club - the venue for next September's Ryder Cup - left him 13 adrift of South African leader Trevor Immelman.
The Dubliner was not alone in suffering a reaction to winning, however, as new US Open champion Michael Campbell returned to action with a 74.
"It was a day for fighting and I had no fight in me," said Harrington, who followed his dramatic closing eagle putt of 65ft 7in at the Barclays Classic in New York by three-putting five of his first 12 greens.
"I can't ever remember having that many. I was mentally drained and I couldn't see the ball going in from one foot."
Immelman was paired with compatriot and defending champion Retief Goosen, the man who let in Campbell at Pinehurst with a last-day 81 after being three clear.
The two of them both shone, Goosen's five-under-par 67 leaving him just one behind.
Three birdies in the first four holes and then a 35-foot eagle putt on his ninth were certainly a quick response to what happened in North Carolina.
But the world number five, who went into the last round at Pinehurst three clear and collapsed to 11th, then stalled a bit with nine successive pars while Immelman packed his seven birdies in his last 13 holes.
Goosen was joined in second place by France's Francois Delamontagne, while one further back are England's Jonathan Lomas and Irishman Gary Murphy.
Paul Casey, who quit the US Open after an opening 85, struggled again with a 78, but Harrington was not his only Ryder Cup teammate who fared worse – Ian Poulter crashed to an 81.
Best of the side was Darren Clarke with a 69 on his return from a month out, while Colin Montgomerie and Lee Westwood returned 73s and Ryder Cup captains Tom Lehman and Ian Woosnam managed only 75 and 78 respectively.
Graeme McDowell made an inauspicious start when he opened bogey, double bogey. But then the Ulsterman holed a 267-yard three-wood for an albatross two at the fourth and pitched in for eagle at the 10th.
The two holes measure a total of 1,152 yards and he covered them in five shots. For the other 6,198 yards he took 67 more.
For the albatross he was presented with a bottle of champagne. Simon Wakefield won a Renault Cabriolet for a hole-in-one at the 173-yard eighth.
