Ireland roars out to three-shot lead on Day 1 of Omega World Cup

SHENZHEN, China -- Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell combined to blaze a brilliant 14-under-par 58 in Thursday's opening round of fourballs at the Omega World Cup as Ireland opened up a commanding three-shot lead over Argentina.

Both contributed seven shots to the impressive total with McIlroy's eagle-3 at the heavily bunkered par-5 15th the highlight of a card covered in birdies that fell just one stroke short of equaling the World Cup fourballs record.

After back-to-back holes without scoring on the back nine, McIlroy's extra distance off the tee paid off as he played a superb second into the signature 15th of the undulating Olazabal Course at Mission Hills Golf Club. The world No. 10 then holed from 20 feet to kickstart a run of birdies over their final three holes.

And after the pair combined to win three out of four matches in September as Great Britain and Ireland claimed the Vivendi Trophy, European Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie certainly has a firm contender for a pairing for next year at Celtic Manor.

"It's the best score I have ever had," joked McIlroy. "We got off to a great start and birdied the holes we had to on the front nine, where there are three par 5s. And from there we kept it going and birdied the holes other teams weren't getting birdies on.

"We didn't have any mistakes and we had a look at two birdie chances on most holes and most of the time we took one of them," he added. "It was great team play and no one really put each other under pressure and I think that showed in the way the scores went."

Argentina's Rafa Echenique and Tano Goya lead the chasing pack at 11-under 61 with Hiroyuki Fujita and Ryuji Imada a further shot adrift for Japan.

The United States team of Nick Watney and John Merrick opened with a 5-under 67, and is nine shots off the pace.

Italy, Canada, Korea and defending champions Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson of Sweden sit six off the pace at 64 ahead of Friday's second-round foursomes (alternate shot), with China and South Africa at seven under.

Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher combined to card a disappointing 6-under 66 for England despite promises of an aggressive start. They sit well down the leaderboard alongside Germany in a group eight shots off the pace.

"It's a bit disappointing, it felt like we played better than that. Quite a few putts just slid by and in fourballs you need to go out and shoot a decent first number. Six under is okay, but if you look at the scoring, it is very average," said Volvo World Match Play championship winner Fisher.

"But this tournament is won and lost on Friday and Sunday in foursomes," he explained. "In fourballs you can play yourself out of it if you don't shoot a low enough score, but we certainly haven't done that with 6 under."

Surprisingly, Spain props up the leaderboard alongside Scotland, Chile and Pakistan at 3 under par as world No. 8 Sergio Garcia contributed just one birdie in his partnership with Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.

Argentina's play was also a susprise, but in a good way. Rafa Echenique and Tano Goya set the early pace en route to their 61 as Echenique dominated their bogey-free partnership with an eagle at 15th and a fourth birdie of the day at the last following a 20-foot putt.

"I feel very confident playing with Rafa. He holed a great putt at the last," said Goya, who won the European Tour's Madeira Islands Open champion last season as a 21-year-old. "We hit a lot of greens and fairways and we make a really good combination."

Last week in Japan, Italy's Edoardo Molinari edged out Sweden's Robert Karlsson in a playoff to win the Dunlop Phoenix. This week, Molinari is playing with his brother Francesco, while Karlsson is paired with Henrik Stenson, and Italy and Sweden are among the team tied for fourth after their 64s.

"We played quite well and had a lot of chances and it is the first time in fourball that we have holed some putts in the first round, so we are pleased," said Edoardo, who also combined with Francesco to finish 19th last year following a 17th-place finish in 2007.

"I am in a period of very good form. I have finally been consistent this season, the last few seasons I have some good weeks and some bad weeks, but this season has been very steady," he added. "Winning in Japan last week is a massive boost for the confidence because it was a great field, almost like a European Tour event.

"And going head-to-head with Robert on Sunday when we were both playing well was a lot of fun and it gives me a lot of confidence for this week and next year," he said. "When you go against the best guys, it's great for the confidence when you stand up to the test."

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