By Steve Scott, golf correspondent

RICH BEEM’S first visit to Scotland and Carnoustie ended with him being banned from driving, shooting 80 and 81 on his debut in the Open Championship, and thinking that links golf was an alien form of the game to him.

However, six years on and with a major title to his name, Beem loves links golf enough to come out of the comfort zone of the US Tour and lead the Dunhill Links Championship.

Maybe it was fitting that he took the lead at Carnoustie, although it was a more benign and approachable animal yesterday than the scary beast he first experienced in 1999, although he still admitted to a few winces out there yesterday.

Beem shot a five-under 67 at Carnoustie, tying him with Italian Alessandro Tadini and the in-form David Howell, who fully justified his ranking as favourite at most bookmakers with a magnificent finish.

Sam Torrance, with the best score of the day at the Old Course, is one of 10 players on four-under—a group that includes genuine contenders such as Paul Casey, Nick O’Hern, Nick Dougherty and a refreshed and relaxed Darren Clarke.

Nine of the top 13 players recorded their scores at Carnoustie, underlining that the leading players were sent there, but also that the conditions were as easy as they ever get on the Angus links, and not just because the winds didn’t reach the usual gale force.

Carnoustie is laid out for the week at a modest 7102 yards, about as short as it ever gets, with frightening holes like the ninth, tenth, 17th and 18th slashed by as much as 30 yards.

As a result, and with the wind speed manageable, the pros licked their lips and counted their lucky stars.

Beem admitted surprise that the monster he remembered from 1999 could be so docile.

He said, “You think the course is going to play like that all the time and then you come out in conditions like today and you say “whoa”.”

“I have to tell you that the memories of ’99 made me a little gun-shy pulling the club back, because I know all too well what this course can do to you.

“It might be set up a little shorter and easier but if the wind had blown today it would still be brutal, so this was the perfect day to get Carnoustie out of the way.

“There’s almost a sigh of relief that it was like this, although St Andrews and Kingsbarns can be tough if the wind gets up the next two days.”

Beem has had his ups and downs— from when he picked up that driving ban here in 1999 when he failed a breath test in Ayrshire, through to his storybook triumph at the PGA Championship at Hazeltine in 2001, to more recent struggles—but he has been buoyed by his score here.

“I just love playing links golf,” he said.

“I’m very excited about my game.

“My putting was killing me but I worked with a friend who helped me with my short game before and something just clicked.”

Tadini’s last experience of Carnoustie was the Amateur Championship 12 years ago, when it was so windy the Press tent blew down.

Yesterday he covered the back nine in a fabulous 31 strokes, having played on Wednesday, when two drivers were not enough to reach the 17th green.

“It was totally different, and this was a fantastic round,” said the Italian.

He birdied the 18th with a drive, a pitching wedge and a four-foot putt—tantamount to sacrilege for Carnoustie aficionados.

Howell is trying to tell everyone that he is playing merely adequately rather than outstandingly, but the unassuming Englishman has moved into the world’s top 40 and the path seems ever upward.

“I played nicely and didn’t hole much, but then I holed a five-iron (at the 7th) and it turned into a great day,” he said.

“I think I’ve learned that if I do play nicely then I can contend, so the only thing I think about is pleasing David Howell and I just don’t worry about contending at all.”

Casey, Howell’s foursomes partner at the Seve Trophy last week, also carried his form from that although he had a strange experience on the long 16th.

“I missed the ball with the clubface and had 77 yards to the green, which must be a record for me on a par three, but I got away with a bogey,” he said.

“The game is really good, it’s back and I’m really enjoying it again. It’s been good since the Ryder Cup points started again and I feel like I’ve almost got a clean slate.

“It maybe was a good day to get Carnoustie out of the way—you can get away with more errant shots at St Andrews and Kingsbarns than here.

“I’ve always thought this was the toughest of the three and it also has the best greens of the three.

“This could give someone a huge kick-start in Ryder Cup points, and I’d love to win playing on these three courses—it would be a dream to win a tournament on a venue like these.”

Clarke, who rested last week, moved into position nicely with his 68, agreed.

“It was great to get Carnoustie out of the way on a day like this,” he said.

“I had a lot of opportunities, but no dropped shots, and no complaints.”