GOLF:"A GOOD score," he initially called it. "I played well," was his next just-as-brief summation of a bright and breezy day out on the Castle Stuart links, hard on the southern shore of the Moray Firth.

But already Lee Westwood’s mind was wandering beyond the opening round of this Scottish Open.

“Nice way to start the next two weeks,” was his final verdict on the seven-under-par 65 that sees him tied for the first-round lead alongside the Chilean Mark Tullo.

Next week, of course, Westwood will be in the Garden of England rather than the Highlands of Scotland, at Sandwich and Royal St George’s for the 140th British Open and what he hopes will be a maiden major championship victory.

Six times in the past three years the 38-year-old from Worksop has frustratingly finished second or third in one of professional golf’s four most important events, doing so in each of the quartet. In other words, he is overdue.

“You can’t have many bad weeks and be number one in the world,” said the world number two. “When I play well, I’m in contention; when I don’t play so well, it seems to be that I finish top-20. I said just after the US Open [where he was a distant third, 10 shots behind Rory McIlroy] that even my bad golf is very good now.

“What I need to do is make sure that my good golf is up to the same level, relative to the days when I play really well. Of course, I need to play really well more often.”

Yesterday was one of those times, six birdies and an eagle more than making up for the lone bogey Westwood recorded at the 464-yard seventh.

None of which was any surprise. In six starts since finishing 11th at April’s Masters, the seven-times Ryder Cup player has won twice and never finished lower than tied 11th.

Unlike many other members of golf’s elite, Westwood prefers to play competitively rather than socially in the immediate run-up to major championships, a tendency that is especially beneficial during the professional game’s annual but all too brief sojourn into links golf, the most fickle and specialised version of the sport.

“I did some nice work on the range last week, getting my ball flight down a bit for the wind,” he said. “I like being competitive. I like to feel the aggression you need to make putts when you really have to, especially when you’re in contention.

This is the position I want to be in a week from Sunday. The more pressure I’m under, the better I think.

“Today wasn’t so much about setting a course record, although that is always nice,” a diplomatic Westwood concluded.

“This was all about getting into position and carrying that forward into the next few days and winning the Scottish Open.”

Westwood will not have things all his own way, though. As well as the cosmopolitan Tullo – born in Santiago to an English father and Dutch mother – a host of others shot five under par or better, with Scotland’s Marc Warren the pick of the sizeable bunch.

After starting with a triple-bogey seven at the 439-yard opening hole, the former World Cup winner – who lost his tour card last year – made a nifty eight birdies in his next 11 holes and finished on 67.

Luke Donald, the world number one, was another on 67, the Englishman totting up six birdies – three in his last four holes – and one dropped shot. “This is a course where you feel like you have a few opportunities,” he said. “I had a run where I did not take advantage, but I stayed patient and made some putts coming in.”

Peter Lawrie was the best of the Irish, on four under par, one better than Graeme McDowell, Pádraig Harrington, Paul McGinley, Darren Clarke and Shane Lowry. Michael Hoey was on level par 72, one ahead of Damien McGrane and Gareth Maybin

The inherent unpredictability of links golf was summed up by the play of a supposedly in-form Brandt Snedeker. Tied 11th in last month’s US Open, the 30-year-old American (who had not shot higher than 74 since March) made a quadruple-bogey nine at the long second hole and, following a triple-bogey at the 364-yard 9th, made the turn in a less than stellar 44 shots en route to a commendable but still disastrous 77. Next stop, Royal St George’s.

* England’s Simon Dyson will play in next week’s British Open after American David Toms today became the fourth player to withdraw this week.

Former US PGA champion Toms has a hip injury and pulled out after nine holes of the John Deere Classic today. Dane Thomas Bjorn, who was runner-up when the Open last visited Sandwich in 2003 and lost a three-shot lead with four to play then, is now first reserve.