Four days after nearly making history at the Open, Greg Norman laboured to a 75 in yesterday's opening round at the Seniors Open to be seven shots behind the co-leaders Eduardo Romero and Bruce Vaughan.

For Padraig Harrington the work is never done. On awakening yesterday as the first European to retain his Open title since before the Titanic sunk, Harrington set out a new list of objectives. They ranged from leaving behind the exclusive champions' club he has only just joined, to making a better fist of next month's USPGA, to beating his friend in a driving challenge – one-handed. And it is his old friend "fear" that will be his secret weapon.

If Nick Faldo is to ignore the wildcard claims of Colin Montgomerie for the Ryder Cup he will not only be working merely against the wishes of the majority of European supporters but also against that of The Open champion. Padraig Harrington yesterday added his weight to the "Pick Monty" campaign. And he did so with some gusto. "It is very important to get the balance in the team and now that I am in, I hope to tee it up with Monty in Valhalla in September," he said yesterday. "Of course, I would look forward to playing with anyone in the team but going back to the last couple of times I have played, I would certainly pick Monty."

The celebrity and the attention will not go to Chris Wood's head. After all, his sister Abi, who is travelling in Europe, sent him a text at the weekend: "Are you at that Open thingy?" she asked. He most certainly was in that Open thing and the West Country was on high alert.

Britain's David Howell kept his slim Ryder Cup hopes alive with a rousing finish at the Open yesterday. The 33-year-old Englishman, who is currently 79th in the Ryder Cup world points list, conquered strong winds to shoot a three-under-par 67, matching the second lowest score of the week.