BY STEVE KEIPERT at ROYAL MELBOURNE

Masters maestro Adam Scott learned a cruel lesson about Royal Melbourne's lack of forgiveness as the lesser lights schooled the legends in the first round of the ISPS Handa World Cup of Golf.

At the Talisker Australian Masters last week players were able to fly their shots into the big greens confident they would stick. But the Old Dame, the country’s premier layout struck back with a vengeance for the first round of the World Cup. There were four putts on the slick, hard-baked greens and mis-cued shots as players got a beating from the ‘Royal’. The scoring average for the first round was 72.532 against a par of 71, and it will only go higher as this event rolls on.

American Kevin Streelman only saw the Royal Melbourne course for the first time two days ago and now he's leading. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Of those that excelled, is American Kevin Streelman, a golf architecture aficionado making his first visit to Melbourne, who carded a five-under-par 66 to share the lead with Denmark's Thomas Bjorn. The Yanks and Danes could not be separated in the 26-pairs team section either, with Matt Kuchar and Thorbjorn Olesen both carding even-par 71s to place the two nations on five-under, three swings clear of Portugal.

Streelman marred his round with bogeys at the difficult 16th and 18th holes in what was an otherwise clinical display for a first-timer. He belied his lack of experience around the Composite course to outplay compatriot Kuchar, just as the fully rested Jason Day outclassed Scott to carry the Australian pairing.

The opening round also belonged to Bjorn, who rebounded from a four-putt double-bogey on the treacherous 4th green to pluck seven birdies from the Composite course in a five under 66.

"I just kind of kept my composure and made some good birdies and kept playing solid all the way to the end," said the sometimes-surly Dane. "You wake up in the morning and when you are 42 years old it's not every time you wake up and think, 'I am going to go and play golf today.' But when you are going to go and play Royal Melbourne you kind of get excited about it.

“It is, in my eyes, probably the finest golf course you can ever play."

Adam Scott looks for his ball in the trees on the 12th hole before racking up a quintuple bogey nine on the hole. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Scott, who is bidding to win a third straight tournament in what is being dubbed the "Scotty Slam", started promisingly with two front-nine birdies before crashing to an ugly nine at the par-4 12th hole. The Queenslander visited the right trees twice before returning to the tee after declaring his second ball unplayable, eventually two-putting to keep his score for the hole in single digits.

He birdied his next hole but his 75 – his first over-par round since the third day of the Tour Championship in September – left Scott nine shots behind the leaders.
 The quintuple-bogey was the fourth of Scott's Tour career, the most recent previous one occurring in 2011 at the water-laden par-3 15th hole at PGA National in Florida, site of the US PGA Tour's Honda Classic.

This time, Scott said he was "away with the fairies on that hole".

"It was a little disappointing to do that but stuff can happen and that's why when you play good tracks like this, you need to be switched on at all times and I paid the price today," he said.

Jason Day plays out of a bunker late in his first round. He had a three under 68 to lead the Aussie charge. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Day looked fresh after taking five weeks off in carding a mostly stress-free three under 68 that has him in sixth place and leaves the Australian duo in equal eighth after one round, six strokes behind the USA and Denmark.

"I got back in the groove pretty well. I've set myself up pretty well; we've still got three days left," Day said, adding that patience was a key as the greens became firmer.

"They were quicker than at the Masters this year, and they usually have their greens [at Augusta National] pretty quick.”

Only 12 players broke par on a tricky day for scoring as Royal Melbourne confounded those players unfamiliar with the vagaries of the Composite course.

Graeme McDowell, one of the favourites this week, hits out of the deep rough on the 18th hole. He finished with a one over 72. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

As he did repeatedly during last week's Australian Masters, Kuchar plundered birdies from the first six holes to turn in 31 – the lowest outward half in the field by two shots – but four bogeys in an inward 40 handed back every red figure. Other players experienced similar contrasting halves.

The sentimental favourites this week, Tony Lascuna and Angelo Que from the typhoon-ravaged Philippines, sit in equal 11th place with a two-over-par aggregate.

For full scores and second round tee times visit http://worldcup.pgatour.com/leaderboard.aspx