Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell tore up the course with a 14-under-par 58 to give Ireland a three-stroke lead after the first-round fourballs at the 55th World Cup of Golf Thursday. Perfect scoring conditions at Mission Hills and the easier better-ball format led to a number of birdies and eagles throughout the field but the sensational round by the two Ulstermen was a class above their rivals. Although a shot short of the World Cup fourballs record, it was enough for a comfortable cushion over second-placed Argentine duo Rafa Echenique and Tano Goya, who carded a 61. World No. 10 McIlroy drained a 20-foot eagle putt at the par-five 15th and was centimetres away from chipping in for another at the next hole before grabbing Ireland's 10th and 11th birdies of the day to take the outright lead. McDowell did his bit for the cause too, contributing seven birdies in the blemish-free round, including four as the pair charged through the front nine at seven under and another with a 12-foot putt at the 18th. “We got off to a great start today and just kept it going,” said the 20-year-old McIlroy, who finished second in a close race for the European number one spot last week. “We birdied a few holes where I'm sure not a lot of teams were birdying and no mistakes on the card. We had a look at two birdies most holes and most of the time we took one of them. It was great team play today.” The scores are likely to be higher in the more difficult foursomes on Friday but the duo look in good shape to claim Ireland's third World Cup and first since Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley in 1997. Echenique, runner-up at the BMW International Open in June, also eagled the 15th before giving Argentina the clubhouse lead by draining a 20-foot putt on the final green. “I hit a great putt and I found the hole,” said the 29-year-old. “I think it was a great day for us, (but) it's a long tournament, and (we) have to be quiet and try to go step by step.” The Argentines were matched for most of the day by their playing partners Ryuji Imada and Hiroyuki Fujita of Japan, who carded a 62 for third place ahead of defending champions Sweden, Italy, Canada and South Korea, who all shot 64s. World number eight Sergio Garcia had a day to forget with only three of his shots counting towards the 69 he and Gonzalo Fernandez Castano posted to give Spain a share of last place in the 28-team field. Woods' coach wants to work in China Tiger Woods' coach Hank Haney said Thursday he wanted to be part of the booming growth of golf in China but could not promise to produce another player to match the world No. 1. Both Woods and world No. 2 Phil Mickelson have predicted China will become a golfing powerhouse within 10 to 15 years and Haney, at Mission Hills for the World Cup of Golf, said he was looking at how he could help.
