Padraig Harrington, trying to get his game in shape to defend his British Open title, remained upbeat despite struggling again in Thursday's French Open first round. The triple major champion from Ireland lagged 10 strokes behind leader Martin Kaymer of Germany, who equalled the course record of 62 after a blistering nine-under effort containing an eagle and eight birdies. Last week's BMW International Open runner-up Rafa Echenique of Argentina shared second place on 65 with former winner John Bickerton of Britain, Thai Thongchai Jaidee, Australian Scott Strange and Swede Peter Hanson. “Being one over par makes it tough for me for this week's tournament but I was very encouraged with the way I played,” Harrington told reporters after his 72. He put his disappointing scoring down to early blemishes on the greens. “Three three-putts hurt me badly and it took a long time to get into my rhythm after that,” said Harrington, who has missed his last four cuts. The US PGA champion, who defends his British Open crown at Turnberry, Scotland this month, put his putting errors down to concentrating too much on other parts of his game. The 24-year-old Kaymer's form was remarkable because he underwent emergency foot surgery on a blistered foot on Wednesday. Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez, playing in his 500th European Tour event, carded a 67. Twice major champion John Daly hobbled out of the tournament with a back strain. The American is anxious to be fit to play in the British Open in two weeks' time, the championship he won in 1995. Woods, Mickelson top earners Average earnings for leading athletes in the United States have dropped for the first time in six years, according to Sports Illustrated magazine. In a list of the 50 top-earning American athletes – based on salary, winnings, endorsements and appearance fees – the mean was down by $1.5 million to $23.6 million per athlete. However, the drop was primarily affected by the leading two names in the standings, golfers Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, Sports Illustrated reported on Wednesday. Woods earned $5.775 million on last year's PGA Tour, compared to $10.867 million in 2007. Top 10 earners among American athletes, according to Sports Illustrated magazine: 1. Tiger Woods (golf) $99,737,626 2; Phil Mickelson (golf) $52,950,356; 3. LeBron James (NBA) $42,410,581; 4. Alex Rodriguez (baseball) $39,000,000; 5. Shaquille O'Neal (NBA) $35,000,000; 6. Kevin Garnett (NBA) $34,750,000; 7. Kobe Bryant (NBA) $31,262,500; 8. Allen Iverson (NBA) $28,937,500; 9. Derek Jeter (baseball) $28,500,000; 10. Peyton Manning (NFL) $27,000,000.
