Colin Montgomerie, Luke Donald and Marc Leishman were the first to complete their opening rounds on Thursday morning at the 145th Open at Royal Troon.
Local member Montgomerie had the privilege of hitting the first shot as the three-ball enjoyed an encouraging front nine on the links course. Montgomerie started with a double bogey but rolled in five birdies after that as he made the turn at three-under-par. Both Donald and Leishman collected three birdies each on the outward loop to be at two-under-par and even-par respectively, going into the home stretch.
Leishman’s double-bogey at the ninth was a sign of things to come as the wind picked up at Troon during their back nine with Montgomerie playing it in three-over-par, Donald in four-over-par and Leishman three-over-par.
The Scot, Englishman and Australian signed for rounds of 71, 73 and 74 respectively after their first 18 holes of the tournament.
