Craig Lee reckoned he only hit one bad shot in starting his opening round of the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open with a five and a seven, so he was maybe due the justice that followed.
The Stirling pro was three-over after two playing into the teeth of the wind on the opening two holes, and could only really chastise himself for the tee shot on the second. He quickly corrected himself with birdies at the short par four third, fifth and sixth holes and eventually came in with a one-under 71.
“What do you do, you’re not thinking about getting back down the road that early,” he said. “You just knuckle down and try to get them back as quickly as possible, and fortunately I was able to do that.”
For Craig, getting his card secure again – he’s currently 117th in the Race to Dubai – is the primary motive at the moment.
“I had a target of moving forward in the World Rankings a long time ago and I’ve gradually slipped downand been sort of struggling to keep my card most years.
“So a good week here would get me on the right side one time and I could start worrying about Race to Dubai and World Ranking points. But first thing’s first, get the card secure.”
Richie Ramsay returned a par 72 reckoning it was the toughest conditions he’s played at Castle Stuart.
“Even though there is a little bit of space off the tee it is amazing how tough it can be when you get a bit of wind out there,” he said. “On the second hole, we had 111yards to the pin and hit an 8-iron.
“Then on the eighth (in the opposite direction) we had 208 and hit a smooth 8-iron. That shows how strong the wind is because it is almost 100 yards difference.
“I played pretty steady. There was a lot of two-putting from 20-30 feet and I know from my amateur days you just have to lag it down there, take your par and move to the next hole.”
David Drysdale also had the benefit of a morning start time and got round in par figures, as did qualifier Jack Doherty in his Scottish Open debut.
Marc Warren, struggling for form of late, had cause to rue the double bogey seven at the 18th – his ninth hole, but played pretty solid golf in the conditions for a one-over 73.
The rest struggled, with Peter Whiteford’s continuing driving problems costing him a nine at the first, although he played the remaining 17 holes in one-under for a creditable 76 in the circumstances.
The conditions proved brutal for Colin Montgomerie in his return to the main tour with a six-over 78, while Paul Lawrie, still struggling with a wrist problem, b ogeyed his first four holes on the way to an 81.
