Des Smyth and Sandy Lyle share the early clubhouse lead as the 131st Open Championship got under way at the exclusive Muirfield Golf Club near Edinburgh today.
Smyth, 49, posted a three-under par 68 despite opening with a nervy bogey. "It's an extremely tight opening hole," explained the Drogheda veteran. "Of course you are going to be more nervous on the first tee especially in the Open."
From there Smyth rallied well to pick up four birdies, two on each nine, the fifth and sixth and the 11th and 17th.
Smyth is fortunate to be playing at all after suffering a bizarre back injury. "I was lying down in my car and somehow I hurt my back," he said after being unable to practice at all yesterday.
Having cut his teeth on links courses here, Smyth was able to take a knowledgeable game of hard bounces, tough greens and tight fairways - which is the epitome of links golf - to Muirfield.
"This is a very fair test of golf and if you play nice and steady like I did today, then you get rewarded for patience," said Smyth who tied for 13th place at Royal Lytham last year. Considering his opening round 12 months ago was a 74, things auger well after today's 68.
Japan's Shigeki Maruyama was the on-course leader on four-under through 11 holes, with England's Justin Rose and Denmark's Thomas Bjorn still on the course, sharing second place with Smyth and Lyle.
The defending champion Tiger Woods wasn't setting the place alight but was steering a steady course to be level par after 11 holes.
Padraig Harrington got himself to one-under with a birdie at the fifth while Paul McGinley was one-over with two holes left to play. Darren Clarke starts his campaign at 1.35 p.m. alongside American duo, Kevin Sutherland and David Toms.