It’s mid July on the south coast of England, but for Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher the first round of The Open felt more like Fife and the Dunhill Links in October.
The unseasonal conditions didn’t hamper the Bathgate man however, as he has given himself a good platform for a successful week with a level par round of 70 at Royal St George’s.
Gallacher revealed there was an impromptu detour to be made before he arrived at the first tee for his 7.58 start.
He said, “It was pretty cold I can tell you that. I had two jumpers on, a slipover, thermals and a woolly hat.
“I actually had to go and get the thermals just before I went out because it was so cold. My poor coach Bob Torrance was freezing.
“I don’t mind the cold too much, but if I had the option I would certainly rather be warm.”
Temperature apart, there wasn’t much else to be unhappy about for Gallacher.
He said, “I was really pleased with my opening round. Level-par 70 is good shooting round there because it is pretty tough.
“In 2003, one-under-par won the tournament, but that was when the course was a par 71. It is still the same course, so that would be three over now. Thomas Bjorn’s 65 was outstanding.
“The wind is blowing and there are some interesting bounces out there, which you always get on links courses.
“I was three over par at the 10th, but I only really hit one bad shot. The back nine is actually tougher because you are hitting into the wind, but I managed to pick up a birdie at 10, another shot at the 14th and I made a really good birdie at the 17th.
“It was the 10th that really gave me some momentum. You have to stay very patient out there but it is so important to hit the fairways.
“If you keep the ball on the short stuff you can attack the flags, but you are going to have a lot of long putts no matter how you are playing. Overall I was delighted with the round.”
The weather may have been like St Andrews, but there is none of the familiarity of the Old Course for Gallacher here at Sandwich.
He pointed out, “I’ve played the Old Course 100 or more times, but I had only played Sandwich twice on Tuesday and Wednesday.”