Mid Ocean Club may not look menacing but the picturesque seaview course was anything but plain sailing for the elite foursome during yesterday's PGA Grand Slam of Golf first round.

Concerns the relatively short yardage of the holes would not pose sufficient challenges for the star quartet of Tour pros were firmly put to bed, with the course holding up well in a rare live international televised appearance.

Just as tournament leader Padraig Harrington predicted after Monday's Pro-Am, the "tricky" greens did indeed pose a plethora of problems.

None more so than for Zach Johnson who made a roguish start to the tournament with three successive bogeys.

It took until the fifth hole before a birdie was recorded with that particular honour aptly falling to Harrington, who negotiated the sloping greens with greater craft and precision than his rivals.

The British Open champion recorded three birdies on the front nine to lead the way at the midway mark, despite dropping a stroke at the third after pulling his tee shot into hazard to the left of the green.

Yet despite carding an impressive three-under-par 67 - one ahead of Angel Cabrera and four clear of Johnson and Jim Furyk who both fired one-over-par rounds of 71 - there was an air of despondency when he addressed the media at the end of the day, describing his showing as nothing more than "workmanlike".

"I didn't play well," he said. "I'm happy enough to be where I am but I need to get better. You can't always rely on your putting to get you out of trouble."

But even when Harrington landed himself in trouble, bunkering at holes 10 and 15, he always seemed to have a recovery shot shovelled up his sleeve.

"I hit the ball into the water at the third hole, long to the left," said Harrington who added another three birdies on the back nine.

"I took a drop shot up near the edge of the green and managed to chip it up stiff to bogey.

"I nearly hit it into the water off the fifth tee as well, but managed to birdie the hole.

"I didn't really see much of the picturesque scenery because I kept my head down, it was a workmanlike day.

"Almost every shot I was a little weary, but the putts just kept dropping in for me and that kept me in it."

Despite having had more time to become acquainted with Mid Ocean, playing 16 holes on Sunday and 18 during the Pro-Am, Harrington said the course's chameleon-like quality to change was evidence of its quality.

"The golf course played a lot different. It's strange but I quite like the fact it's changed so much the three times I've played it. For me that's always the sign of a good golf course.

"The greens are in superb condition and it can be misleading making you think you can be more aggressive than you should."

"It's certainly been a working vacation because I haven't felt in control."

If Harrington was master of the short game, then Cabrera was unsurprisingly the king of the long, drawing a gasp from the 5,000 or so spectators almost every time he concluded his mighty tee-shot follow through.

Even Zach Johnson could barely hide his admiration. When reaching his own modest tee-off at hole eight he turned to the gallery gathered behind the ropes, pointed to Cabrera's ball and said with an air of disbelief "that's ridiculous".

At the ensuing ninth hole he drew a chuckle from the crowd when he asked Cabrera's caddy if he could borrow his driver after watching the Argentinean bomb another ball down the fairway.

Johnson himself enjoyed far better back nine, birdieing holes 11 and 18 to pull himself back to one-over-par level with Furyk, who shot a consistent, if unspectacular 15 pars, including one birdie and two bogeys to leave with a one-over-par 71.

But it was US Open champion Cabrera who finished with a two-under-par 68, including four birdies and two bogeys, who starts just one shot behind Harrington in today's second round.