FARMINGDALE, New York (AP) ― Padraig Harrington found a way to take some of the attention away from Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy on Thursday. He made six birdies on the tough back nine of Bethpage Black and opened the FedEx Cup playoffs with a 7-under 64 for a one-shot lead at The Barclays.

And that surely got the attention of Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal.

Harrington has to rely on a captain’s pick to make his seventh straight European team, and that looks to be unlikely. Not only has the three-time major champion gone four years without winning against a strong field, he and Olazabal are not the best of friends after a dispute at the Seve Trophy from nine years ago.

The Irishman had the toughest time Thursday after he got off the difficult Black course. There were so many questions about the Ryder Cup, his chances of making the team and what he has to do to impress Olazabal, that at one point Harrington adopted the American way.

“The only answer I can give at this stage is I’m pleading the Fifth Amendment on that one,” Harrington said. “I honestly don’t know what to say. I don’t want to go in there and try too desperately to beg for a pick, or I don’t want to go in there and give excuses for anything. I’ll just leave it be what it is. I’m just going to play golf.”

That part was superb on a calm day that became increasingly warm.

It took Harrington a few holes to realize that he was back at Bethpage Black, but not at the U.S. Open. The greens were soft. The rough was deep, but not terribly dense. The pressure was not quite the same. And par wasn’t going to cut it.

He came to life on the back nine with four straight birdies to cap off his 64, giving him a one-shot lead over Nick Watney and Brian Harman among the early starters. The hotter it became, the crustier the greens were, and it was unlikely anyone would catch him. No one did.

Sergio Garcia was part of the group at 66, while defending champion Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler, both trying to make their own impression as potential picks by U.S. captain Davis Love III, were in the group at 67.

There were 73 players from the 123-man field at par or better, not the kind of scoring associated with Bethpage Black.

Tseng leads after shooting 66

COQUITLAM, British Columbia (AP) ― Top-ranked Yani Tseng shot a 6-under 66 on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Canadian Women’s Open.

Emerging from a midseason slump, Tseng had eight birdies and a double bogey at The Vancouver Golf Club. The Taiwanese star opened the season with victories in three of her first five events, then had a series of missed cuts and poor finishes before tying for 11th last week in Oregon in the Safeway Classic.

“If I miss a couple shots, I don’t worry about it, not like I did before, so I feel that this is the way I used to play,” Tseng said.

She won a Canadian Women’s Tour event in 2007 on the tree-lined course.

“I wish I didn’t finish today,” Tseng said. “I wish I could keep going ― keep playing. But 18 holes are finished. (Friday) is a new day, but I’ll try to keep that momentum going and try to do the best I can.”

U.S. Women’s Open champion Choi Na-yeon was second.

The South Korean player praised English tutor Greg Morrison, a Vancouver native, for giving her considerable insight on his hometown.

“This is my first trip in Vancouver, but I feel very comfortable because I heard a lot of things,” Choi said. “I go to a Korean restaurant (for) every meal if I can, and (Wednesday) night, I found a great restaurant. (It) was just like my mom cooked.”

Lydia Ko, the 15-year-old South Korean-born New Zealander who won the U.S. Women’s Amateur two weeks ago, was two strokes back at 68 along with South Korea’s Park In-bee. In January, Ko won the New South Wales Open in Australia at 14 to become the youngest player to win a professional tour event.

Brittany Lincicome, the winner last year at Hillsdale in Mirabel, Quebec, opened with a 72.