Robert Giles, John Kelly and Pádraig Harrington will play together in the first two rounds of the Ladbrokes.com PGA Irish Championship and, ironically, the trio topped the leaderboard in the curtain-raising pro-am, at The European Club, yesterday.
It was Greenore professional Giles, however, who took top spot on the tough Brittas Bay track as he carded a two-over-par 73, one shot ahead of Kelly and Harrington.
"It was tough out there but the course is in great shape," commented Giles.
"I reckon that there will be a lot of boys shooting well into the eighties in the championship."
He had just one birdie in his round, a pitch and putt four at the third hole.
Harrington was out in one-over 36 and back in two-over 38 and led home the winning team from Ladbrokes on 80 points, two ahead of Giles and David Mortimer and their partners. The winning amateurs were Stephen Collins (13), Michael McGrade (16) and Brian Coleman (24).
Click here for the latest scores from the Ladbrokes.com Irish PGA Championship.