THE OPEN: Scott, Jones lead Aussie charge

BY BRENDAN JAMES at ROYAL TROON

ADAM Scott hopes Mother Nature “throws the kitchen sink” at Royal Troon with wind and rain over the next two days so he can make up ground on record first round leader Phil Mickelson.

The 2013 Masters Champion admitted he felt “jumpy and nervous” through the opening nine holes but he settled into a better rhythm on the back nine to grind out an opening two under 69, which leaves him six shots adrift of the American.

Adam Scott hits out of a bunker shot on the 16th to set up a birdie.
PHOTO: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images.

“I think I'm a pretty good bad weather player,” said Scott, who has a terrific record in majors played in poor weather.

“(Bad weather) generally favours the ball strikers and I'm also generally a low hitter of the golf ball naturally. That to me feels like the closer you are to the ground here, the more control you have over your golf ball.

“So I feel very comfortable, even if they throw the kitchen sink at us the next few days, that I can navigate my way around here.”

The Queenslander did well to get through the first eight holes of his round without dropping a shot as his normally pinpoint driving and iron play was almost non-existent. Uncharacteristic shots, like a snap-hooked drive off the tee off the par-5 4^th, left him out of position several times but he was able to grind out pars, which is so important when you’re not on your game on a links course.

A birdie from 12 feet at the par-4 9^th lifted his spirits and his ball-striking seemed much better heading into the back nine.

A three-putt bogey at the 15^th was the only blemish on his card, and he bounced back with a birdie at the par-5 16^th where he played a brilliant greenside bunker shot to leave a tap-in for four. He grabbed another birdie at the long par-3 17^th when he nailed a 30-foot putt that dropped into the cup at speed.

“I don’t know what it looked like out there today but it felt horrible out there,” Scott confessed. “My rhythm was really poor and nothing was really on point but I did well coming in to hit a few better shots.

“But I stuck in there which you have to do on those days when you’re not feeling good and I’m happy with my score after all of that. Hopefully, I’ll have better rhythm for the next three days.”

Matt Jones was happy with his opening round, despite two double bogies that tarnished his scorecard.
PHOTO: Matthew Lewis/Getty Images.

Scott, who turns 36 on day three of this championship, said he takes some comfort in knowing he was still able to post a sub-par score and keep himself in the hunt.

“I could have played my way out of it today, knowing Phil has gone low and giving himself a buffer,” he said. “I didn’t want to be coming from over par starting the last three rounds.

“So it's going to play tough if any wind or rain weather kicks up and then patience becomes a big part of a major championship. But I'd like to find my ball striking a little more crisp tomorrow.”

NSW’s Matt Jones was “ecstatic” after also opening with a two under 69, which included six birdies and two unfortunate back-to-back double bogies at the 11^th and 12^th holes.

He actually held a share of the lead at five under through his opening nine holes.

“I’m ecstatic,” said Jones, who held a share of the lead at five under through his first nine holes. “I played great. I had two, maybe three bad swings all day, and that's going to catch you out on these types of golf courses.

“It's totally different than playing in the States. When you miss a shot here, you're going to get punished, and I did.”

THE COURSE: THE BEASTLY 11TH HOLE BARES IT'S TEETH

Like Scott, Jones is buoyant about what lies ahead over he next few days.

“As long as I can keep controlling my ball and keep putting the way I putted today, yeah, I'll have a good week,” the Australian Open champion said.

“It's not like you have to go out there with the mindset that I have to make birdies. So if you just plug away and keep giving yourself chances, you're going to make some putts on these greens because you can be aggressive.”

Marcus Fraser finished one over but is frustrated with his ball-striking.
PHOTO: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images.

Scott and Jones were the only players in the 11-man Australian contingent to finish in red figures after day one at Royal Troon.

Queensland’s Scott Hend finished with an even par 71, which included a double bogey seven on the 16^th hole that tarnished an otherwise solid round.

At this stage the rest of the Australians will be fighting to make the cut.

Marcus Fraser, Nathan Holman, Greg Chalmers and Rod Pampling all finished at one over and are currently tied for 75^th. The top-70 and ties will advance to the weekend.

Fraser was particularly disappointed having reached the turn at three under, but was brought undone by the strong winds that made the back nine extremely tough in the morning.

“The first nine holes was good but I played awful on the back nine,” the Rio bound Victorian said. “I pretty much had no idea what shots were going to come out. It was frustrating and a bogey on the last just adds to that.”

A further shot back is World No.1 Jason Day. His two over 73 leaves him tied for 94^th and he will have to go low in the bad conditions tomorrow to make the weekend.

Day really didn’t look comfortable from the outset and later confirmed he’s battling with missing a lot of shots left.

Twice during his round he hit shots left that led to dropped shots. One the short par-3 Postage Stamp, he tugged his wedge left of the green into the high-grass covered sane dune. Even at the final hole, he used a 2-iron from the tee for safety but pulled it into one of the fairway bunkers and was forced to lay-up short of the green and finished with another bogey.

"It's hard,'' Day said. "I mean, it's hard to win and it's hard to be on top of your game all the time, and when you don't have your best stuff, you've got to somehow just get it done.

Jason Day was forced to lay-up from a fairway bunker on the 18th hole.
PHOTO: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images.

“Unfortunately I didn't get it done the right way, what I was expecting, even when I did have my best stuff. I was thinking if I could get in the house at even par or better that would be a great score; unfortunately I didn't give myself enough chances.''

One a course where pure iron play is a necessity, it was Day’s iron play that hurt him most.

"I actually drove it pretty good today with my driver, but every time I hit an iron I missed left. That's usually not the miss I've been having lately, so it kind of put me off guard,” he said.

“It was kind of hard to trust the swing from there. But it's two-over par on a pretty easy day out there. The next three days are going to be pretty difficult. Hopefully by the end, I'm not too far behind and I can inch my way back into it.''

Fellow Queenslander Steven Bowditch carded an eight over 79, which included a quintuple-bogey 9 on the brutal par-4 11^th hole.