Pádraig Harrington has fond memories of Carnoustie having won his maiden major championship at the venue in 2007, and he turned back the clock in a five-under 67 on day one of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship to lead the five Irish in attendance.
The 53-year-old’s love for links golf needs no reminders, and on a rare sunny and calm October day on the Angus coastline, he showed exactly why he won back-to-back Open Championships in his prime.
Starting on the 10th, Harrington birdied three of his first five holes, then added four more in a five-hole stretch to start the front to move to -7, spying a career-low round on what’s widely considered the toughest of the Open rota courses. But even in calm conditions, Carnoustie has no shortage of teeth, and back-to-back dropped shots on seven and eight were followed by a good par on nine and he reached the clubhouse at -5 for the day and a little frustrated not to be a couple of strokes better off.
As impressive as Harrington’s start was, Shane Lowry went one better by birdieing his first four holes, but a three-putt-par on the par-5 14th slowed him down, and he rounded off his opening nine with two bogeys on the bounce.
Three more birdies followed on holes one-to-three, but a final bogey on the par-5 sixth left him also ruing chances missed on a day where the course was there for the taking.
Rory McIlroy was also playing Carnoustie and is one shot further back at -3, with Tom McKibbin at -2 having played his opening round at St. Andrews.
Alex Maguire has work to do, but two rounds to do it, if he’s to see final round action after a two-over 74 at Carnoustie sees him end the first day tied for 156th.
Harrington, Lowry, McIlroy and Maguire will all play Kingsbarns on day two, and the southernmost of the three venues is traditionally the most forgiving and accounted for seven of the 10 lowest rounds on the opening day. This means that all four will be targeting low scores and a big jump up the leaderboard.
McKibbin heads to Carnoustie, hoping for similar weather to that which his four fellow countrymen experienced.
Darren Fichardt posted his lowest competitive round for 23 years as an 11-under par 61 at Kingsbarns Golf Links handed him the first round lead.
The South African mixed two eagles, nine birdies and two bogeys to match his lowest career round, which came at the 2001 Sao Paolo Brazil Open, to lead by one from Australia’s Cameron John, who carded a 10-under 62, also at Kingsbarns.
The five-time DP World Tour winner started by holing a long birdie putt on the 10th – his first – but gave a shot back at the 11th. He carded his first eagle of the day at the par-5 12th, before adding birdies at the 14th, 16th and 18th to make the turn at five under.
The balmy conditions meant low scoring came more easily than usual across Kingsbarns, the Old Course St Andrews and Carnoustie Golf Links and Fichardt wasted no time in taking further advantage.
The 49-year-old sandwiched his second eagle of the day at the third with a birdie either side, with another pair arriving at the sixth and seventh. He bogeyed the eighth with a three-putt, but then found a ninth and final birdie of the day at the ninth hole after hitting his second shot just short of the green.
Australia’s John, who claimed a breakthrough professional victory at The National Tournament presented by BMW at The National Golf Club on the PGA Tour of Australasia earlier this year, sits second, one stroke clear of Scotland’s Scott Jamieson, Englishman Andrew Wilson and New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier.
Kiwi Hillier’s nine under 63 was the lowest round of the day at the Old Course, while England’s Wilson recorded his first hole-in-one as a professional at Kingsbarns, acing the par three eighth hole.
Sixth place is shared by six players on eight under par, including Welshman James Ashfield, who represented Team GB&I in last year’s Walker Cup at St Andrews and is making his maiden DP World Tour start as a professional.
Carnoustie Golf Links lived up to its billing as the toughest scoring of the three courses, with Spain’s Jon Rahm and two-time Alfred Dunhill Links Champion Tyrrell Hatton going the lowest with seven under par rounds of 65.
Wilson’s hole-in-one helped him to a share of the lead in the Team Competition on 15 under alongside his partner Tom Leonard, with Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Linkin Park rocker Dave Farrell, and Daniel Gale and his amateur partner Samir Kaul also leading the way.