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Fri 07 Jul 2007Flying Dutchman ghosts to 64GOLF European OpenIf the impromptu nip-'n'-tuck surgery that was carried out on the Smurfit Course was forced on tournament organisers by the weather, reducing the length of the layout by 653 yards and so transforming it from a potentially fearsome beast into a much tamer animal, at least it was productive and enabled yesterday's first round of the Smurfit Kappa European Open to be completed without any undue fuss, writes Philip Reidat The K ClubThe upshot, though, on a course shortened by two strokes to one that became a par 70 of just 6,660 yards, was that a somewhat unlikely leaderboard - minus the €3.6 million tournament's two star billings, Europe's number one Padraig Harrington and US Open champion Angel Cabrera, who each finished the day some way off the pace - materialised, with Dutchman Maarten Lafeber assuming the first-round lead after an opening 64, six-under.