Aussie Carolan sacks caddie en route to Korea lead

By Alastair Himmer

JEJU, South Korea (Reuters) - Little-known Australian Tony Carolan sacked his caddie en route to claiming a share of the first-round lead at the inaugural Ballantine's Championship on Thursday.

"He was jiggling clubs while I was putting," Carolan told reporters after matching Finn Mikko Ilonen's five-under-par 67 on the honeymoon island of Jeju. "He kept moving too and he also had soft spikes on so he wasn't allowed on the greens.

"He was terrible. I just told him to go (after four holes). I'm paying him $160 a day and he couldn't walk on the greens," added Carolan after completing his round with a different caddie.

British Open champion Padraig Harrington and world number five KJ Choi fired 71s in the first European Tour event to be played in South Korea.

Carolan and Ilonen produced good rounds in gusting winds at Pinx Golf Club to open a one-stroke lead over a group of 10 players at the $2.9 million tournament which is also sanctioned by the Asian and Korean tours.

The 39-year-old Carolan, who has never won as a professional, spends much of his time on the Asian Tour these days.

He was 34th on the Asian money list last year. His best performance on the Australasian Tour is a 19th-place finish on the 1998-99 order of merit.

Co-leader Ilonen, who has won twice on the European Tour, was happy to be back to full fitness after illness.