After accepting the call to arms to serve as vice-captain to Luke Donald for Europe’s Ryder Cup team at Adare Manor next year, Pádraig Harrington seems to be riding high since as his first round at The Els Club Vilamoura in the Algarve saw him post a six-under-par 66 to sit two strokes off the lead.
Harrington came flying out of the blocks, producing one of the best front nines of the day as he birdied every other hole between the first and sixth, before adding a pair of birdies at the eighth and ninth to take the turn five-under-par.
The Dubliner made another at the 10th to turn his pair of birdies into a hat trick, before adding his final birdie of the day at the par-5 15th. The 54-year-old made just one bogey which came at the par-3 17th.
“Obviously very happy with the score,” said Harrington. “Always on the Champions Tour you’ve got to get going pretty quickly. So if you’re not – it’s tough to catch up over only two more rounds if you shoot 1 or 2 under the first day,” he added.
Harrington made use of the longer holes, making birdie at four out of five par-5s. The 11th was the only par-5 that didn’t see a red digit.
“Like I can reach them, but like I hit a beautiful shot into 11 and I’m 30 feet from the hole but I’m struggling to get up and down. So you get short sided very quick on the par 5s. Even though they are in range, they’re not gimmee birdies. You know, sometimes being 40 yards short in two is being better than pin high in two on these holes.”
“I’m going to keep taking them on if I can and hopefully I get lucky at some stage and make an eagle,” added Harrington.
Harrington has fond memories of The Els Club Vilamoura, winning his 15th European Tour title when it was known as the Dom Pedro Victoria Golf in 2016.
“I won here in 2016. I like it down here in Portugal. I come down here on my holidays, and I played here last year. The golf course is in great condition, it suits me. There’s a lot of good things about it, but that brings its own pressure,” explained Harrington.
Harrington, World Golf Hall of Fame member seeks his 13th win on PGA TOUR Champions and his second of the 2026 season after his U.S. Senior Open win. A victory this weekend would give him five straight seasons on PGA TOUR Champions with at least two wins. Harrington entered this week third in the Charles Schwab Cup standings.
A quiet front nine for Darren Clarke held the 57-year-old to a somewhat disappointing score as the Northern Irishman posted a one-under-par 71.
Clarke made bogey at the first before parring his way to the turn. Clarke found a run of form midway through the back nine, making three birdies in-a-row between 11 and 13. Bogeys at 14 and 16 brought him back to level par, before a birdie at the 17th brought him to red figures for the day. He sits T42 after day one.
Zach Johnson looks to become the first PGA TOUR Champions player with four wins in his rookie season since Harrington did it in 2022 and he’s put himself in a prime position to do so, taking the 18-hole lead at eight-under.
Johnson was three-under through three before adding two more birdies at the fifth and ninth. A bogey was mixed in with four more birdies on the back nine as Johnson posted a 64.
Slovakia’s Rory Sabbatini holds second position thanks to a bogey free seven-under. Sabbatini is a Champions TOUR rookie and is making just his 10th start since April.
Alex Cejka, Charlie Wi, and Mikael Lundberg join Harrington in the T3 spot. Charles Schwab Cup leader Stewart Cink posted a five-under-par 67 to sit T7.
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