Fashion showAs far as the fashion stakes went yesterday, Ian Poulter won hands down. The Englishman wore a pair of trousers designed by tailor William Hunt that for all the world looked as if they'd been cut from a Union Jack.

"It was planned," he said. "No one knew that I was going to wear them . . . I haven't got the invoice yet for them, but I know they were expensive because they had to be screen-printed. It's always fun to do something different and it just lightens the day up. I might auction them off for charity."

Travelling woes

American Chris DiMarco's travel woes probably left some of his compatriots, who stayed away from the recent International Qualifying at Congressional, nodding their heads for making what they considered to be a wise decision.

DiMarco only arrived in Troon on Wednesday night after a series of flight cancellations that started with his original flight being cancelled after a blanket was found stuffed in a toilet. "We were kicked off the plane at four in the morning," he said.

Then, the substitute plane lost electricity, so that flight was also cancelled. Eventually, DiMarco arrived only to discover his luggage had been lost. "I had my golf clubs but no clothes."

For yesterday's first round, he wore the leggings from his wet suit and bought a shirt. Despite the inconvenience, he opened with a level par 71.

Tough day

Graeme McDowell's major debut turned out to be a minor affair. "You have to control your ball completely around this golf course and I didn't have it under control," remarked the 24-year-old philosophically after shooting a 79. "I didn't know where my irons were going and this course punishes you very badly (for inaccuracy)."

McDowell's only birdie came on the last but, otherwise, it was a tough old day with the round also comprising seven bogeys and a double bogey on the 12th. He hit only four of 14 fairways and made seven greens in regulation.

Mickelson's misery

Of all the majors, the British Open has proven most difficult for Phil Mickelson down the years. His best finish came at St Andrews in 2000 when he was tied-11th.

Yesterday the US Masters champion opened with a 73 that confirmed how links courses tend to get the measure of him more often than not. "I didn't hit the ball the way I wanted to and I didn't putt that well," said Lefty.

Wilson chases silver

Scotland's Stuart Wilson will be back behind the counter at Auchterlonies golf shop on Monday morning regardless of his performance this week.

Wilson leads the battle for the silver medal awarded to the leading amateur after a superb first-round 68 yesterday left him just two shots off the lead.

The newly-crowned British Amateur champion will celebrate his 27th birthday on Sunday, but he was refusing to think too far ahead despite outscoring Tiger Woods by two shots, US Masters champion Phil Mickelson by five and Ernie Els by one.

"It's a 72-hole tournament and we've only played 18," said Wilson, who would love to follow in the footsteps of fellow Scot Barclay Howard, who was leading amateur the last time the Open was played here in 1997.

Irish Open at Carton

Carton House Golf Club, Maynooth, has been confirmed as the venue to stage next year's Irish Open, which will be played on the Montgomerie course. Since acquiring Carton House in 1977, the Mallaghan family have built two top-class golf courses, the O'Meara and the Montgomerie, both of which are plotted around the historic, 1,100 acre estate of Carton Demesne, one of Ireland's greatest stately homes and one-time ancestral seat of the Earls of Kildare and the Dukes of Leinster.

The transformation of the estate into a first-class golf resort began in 1999 with the development of the O'Meara course. The Montgomerie opened in June 2003.

The Montgomerie encourages strategic play and, at full stretch - 7,300 yards, the course will provide a stern test.