PAUL LAWRIE’S many supporters may be encouraged by his 69 to open the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond, but the scorecard read more like a mad scramble than a seamless progression, writes Steve Scott, golf correspondent.

The 1999 Open champion’s travails of late are well-documented, but the rollercoaster nature of the round suggested he managed to made a silk purse out a sow’s ear, and he just about confirmed it.

“All things considered, three under par is a good score,” he said. “My driving was as poor as it’s ever been, but thankfully the iron play was very good.

“The new technique I’m working on with my new coach Neil Marr is working with the irons, but it’s taking a little bit longer with the woods. Three-under, given the way I drove the ball, is good.”

Clear evidence was the short par-four 14th, where Lawrie had been trying to cut a three-wood up the left with his tee shot but hit it straight right into marshland—the same shot that cost him a bogey at the first.

“It was a horrendous shot, and even when I got it on the green I three-putted for the double bogey,” he moaned.

However, Lawrie managed to mix four birdies in his struggles and got the big bonus when he holed a knock-down five iron from 185 yards at the second— his 11th—for an eagle two.

Lawrie thinks if he can get his driving in some sort of order, the scores will come.

He said, “It augurs well for the rest of the week. It’s soft out there and the fairways are generous— although I didn’t hit many of them today even though they are wide—so I need to work on the range.”

Lawrie trimmed himself down in weight with a new fitness coach over the winter, and now feels “the best I’ve done in a long while.”

“Over the winter I felt horrible,” he said. “I was overweight and didn’t have any energy and as a result wasn’t hitting as many balls as I’d have liked.

“Doing it is tough, but there’s no-one up there at the top of the world rankings who is unfit. You just have to do it. It’s part of the job now.”

Meanwhile, Colin Montgomerie twice reached three-under but pronounced himself happy with a 69, reasoning that he was 32nd after one round in Ireland before winning and is 29th now.

“I’d have been happy with two-under at the start, and I’m still in the game,” he said. “The greens get bumpy later in the day here and I’m looking forward to have them running smoothly tomorrow morning.”

There was a slight moment of bemusement rather than outright drama at the scorers’ hut when Monty discovered playing partner Ian Poulter had put a wrong figure on his card, but the matter was sorted before the Scot submitted his score.

Steven O’Hara, who has reverted to his original coach Ian Rae, was “frustrated” after a 70, while David Drysdale, who does well at Loch Lomond in most years, also was one-under.

Richie Ramsay put himself in position to make his first cut on the top tours in four attempts with a solid 70, and Kevin McAlpine finished with two birdies on his debut in a pro event to complete a four-over 75.