The 1999 Open champion Paul Lawrie couldn’t have been happier with being picked as the man to get the 150th anniversary championship under way at 6.30 am on Thursday after the draw for the first two rounds was released.
The 40-year-old Scot, who won in dramatic circumstances at Carnoustie 11 years ago, was the first name selected and will hit the opening tee shot before partners Thomas Levet, the runner-up at Murifield in 2002, and Steve Marino, the American who led the championship after two rounds at Turnberry last year.
“I’m staying at the Old Course Hotel, so it’s a 4.45am alarm call and just a hop over the fence,” said the Aberdonian.
“I don’t have the power to ask for a tee time but if I did I’d much prefer it early, the earlier the better, so out first is no problem. It’s usual for the weather to be quite calm early in the morning and we’ll be the first people on the greens, so that’s two advantages straight away.
“The other benefit is I also get a relatively early time on Friday, about 11.40, so I’m pretty pleased with it.”
Thursday’s banner group featuring world number one Tiger Woods, twice the winner of the Claret Jug on the Old Course, is out at 9.09am and the American has again been partnered with Justin Rose, as he was in 2002 at Muirfield.
Rose is coming off two wins in his last three tournaments in the USA. The third member of the group is the Colombian Camilo Villegas.
World number two Phil Mickelson, who arrived on Saturday a day before Woods to begin his preparations after missing the cut in the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond, has a late afternoon first-round tee-time at 2.20pm in company with Colin Montgomerie second the last time The Open was at St Andrews in 2005 and South African Retief Goosen.
Shortly before that group, at 1.53pm, there are a trio of US Open champions in Jim Furyk, Geoff Ogilvy and Graeme McDowell, the Northern Irishman who won at Pebble Beach last month and has a 62 on the Old Course to his name.
Defending champion Stewart Cink has a good three-ball with perennial St Andrews favourite Ernie Els and the colourful Ian Poulter at 8.42am, while Tom Watson who heroically lost out to Cink in the play-off last year is out at 9.20am with two-time former champion Padraig Harrington and Japanese teenage prodigy Ryo Ishikawa.
Europe’s new young hope Rory McIlroy, who has yet to shoot more than 69 on the Old Course in competition, starts his bid at 8.20am with American Lucas Glover and Tim Clark of South Africa.