PALM HARBOR, Fla. --- Padraig Harrington didn't have the best score at Innisbrook, just one of the biggest smiles.
He finished his opening round Thursday at the Transitions Championship by holing out a bunker shot for birdie on the 18th hole, then happily shared memories of his first trip to the White House and a St. Patrick's Day celebration with President Obama.
Garrett Willis, who learned only two weeks ago that he received an exemption to his hometown event, made five birdies on the back for 6-under 65 and a two-shot lead over defending champion Retief Goosen and five others.
Harrington shot 69 in his first trip to Innisbrook.
It was the day before -- a whirlwind trip to Washington for his favorite holiday -- that kept him so upbeat. He explored various rooms in the White House, then went to a gala with Obama and Ireland's prime minister.
The only regret? Not taking the opportunity to greet Obama.
"When it finished off, people obviously were going up to say 'Hello,' and I sort of stayed back," Harrington said. "I missed the opportunity, but it will happen again. At the end of the day, it was just nice to be there. I was close enough, let's say."
If the White House was a new experience, so was the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook, with a strong reputation that grows each year. Harrington had never played the Transitions Championship, and while he had a practice round earlier in the week, his lack of knowledge showed at times.
On the par-3 17th, which played 224 yards into a cold wind, Harrington figured he could attack with a 5-wood only to realize there was a spine in the back of the green that made for a tough chip and led to a bogey.
"You don't have to do very much wrong to drop a shot," Harrington said.
That wasn't a problem for Willis, who knows this course well from living about 40 miles up the highway. His trouble was getting into the tournament. The field is stronger than ever -- 14 of the top 25 in the world -- and Willis needed a late sponsor exemption to get a tee time.
His round turned after getting into trouble on the 10th, where he drove into the trees and then went over the green. Instead of another bogey, he chipped in for birdie, the first of three in a row.
"Next thing you know, it just birdie after birdie," Willis said, who picked them up on the par 5s, and with a pair of 15-foot putts.
Another surprise came from Jeff Maggert.
Maggert was the seventh alternate at one point, and he was home in Houston on Wednesday clearing out dead palm trees from his yard when he caught the last flight to Tampa. Maggert arrived at Innisbrook to learn Vijay Singh had withdrawn because of a back injury, then shot 4-under 67 to join Goosen, Jim Furyk, Carl Pettersson, Jonathan Byrd and PGA Tour rookie Rickie Fowler.
Goosen is a two-time winner at Innisbrook -- once in the autumn, once in the spring. Pettersson also is a past champion, and like so many other players, some of his pars were what kept the round going. The wind kicked up not long after Willis finished in the morning, and picking up birdies became a chore.
It didn't help to play in such cool temperatures, unexpected this time of the year in Florida.
"It was warmer in Washington than it is here," Harrington said.
EUROPEAN TOUR: In Rabat, Morocco, England's Nick Dougherty took a one-shot lead after the first round of the Trophee Hassan II tournament.
Dougherty had an eagle and five birdies on the back nine of the Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Rabat, and finished with 7-under 66. Six players -- Ireland's Peter Lawrie, Scotland's Stephen Gallacher, Italy's Francesco Molinari, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia of India, Argentina's Ricardo Gonzalez and Paraguay's Fabrizio Zanotti -- are tied for second.
The opening two days are being played on two courses -- a longer Red course and a shorter Blue -- before the pros play alone Saturday and Sunday on the Red.
Dougherty and Chowrasia played the Red course Thursday.
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