Luke Donald - two behind Tiger
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Tiger Woods revealed that despite dropping two shots on the homeward stretch, he was 'very pleased' with his opening 66 in the first round of the Open Championship at St Andrews.
At one stage, after a third successive birdie at the 12th, he got his round to seven under par but bogey fours at the 13th and 16th knocked him back to five under par until a 3-wood tee shot and two putts at the last restored his two shot advantage over the field.
"I'm very pleased with my six under par. I got off to a good start but faltered a bit after a run of birdies. But I just want to keep building on my good start, " he said, adding: "To win here would be very special."
Playing companion Jose Maria Olazabal, a late replacement for the injury-plagued Seve Ballesteros, is one of four players on four under par 68, with nearly 100 competitors under way. The others are Retief Goosen Peter Lonard and Luke Donald, who played with Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson.
Said Donald, who birdied the third, fifth, 13th and 14th: "It was a real treat, a great honour and a fabulous experience for me to play with Jack and Tom. I played nicely and kept out of trouble."
Nicklaus was impressed with Donald but was disappointed with his own three over par 73.
"I three putted four successive holes and I guess I got what I deserved."
Footnote: Ian Poulter revealed the trousers that won a competition to design his outfit for the first day of The Open - a knee-high Claret Jug image down the left leg.
