Italy's Francesco Molinari defied bad weather on Thursday to break the County Louth course record in the Irish Open first round with a nine-under-par 63. Rain and murky conditions could not prevent Molinari breaking the record by a shot to lie one stroke ahead of Swede Johan Edfors. While Molinari and Edfors excelled over the Baltray links, it proved a poor afternoon for three-time major champion Padraig Harrington. Harrington is 10 shots off the lead and is also six strokes behind his compatriot, amateur Shane Lowry, the leading Irish player. Molinari, whose sole European Tour win came in the 2006 Italian Open, was untroubled by the bad weather. The 26-year-old, already with a second, two third places and a sixth place this season, said he had developed a new confidence in his short game. He has taken on European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie's coach, Denis Pugh, to strengthen this part of his game. Edfors found the form that earned him three European Tour titles in 2006, gleaning 10 birdies. Montgomerie and 20-year-old Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy played together, with the younger man outdoing his potential Ryder Cup captain by a stroke with a 69. After his round McIlroy refused to climb down on his Wednesday remark that the Ryder Cup was an exhibition match, over which Montgomerie had disagreed vehemently. The 1999 British Open champion Paul Lawrie is in a large group in third place, three shots behind Molinari.
