Price finds reasons to love the loch

Love at first sight it was not for Phillip Price. Nor second or third sight, come to that.

“I threatened never to come again,” the Ryder Cup Welshman remembers after completing a hat-trick of missed cuts at Loch Lomond in 1998.

But now Price is glad it was a threat he never carried out.

The 37-year-old fired a six-under-par 65 today to share the early pace with Jose Manuel Lara and Eduardo Romero after finishing joint runner-up behind Ernie Els in the Barclays Scottish Open last year.

Gary Murphy and Damien McGrane were best of the Irish. They finished at three under and two under respecively (see Irish list at end of report).

Three birdies in his last four holes swept Price to the head of a field which includes 10 Major champions, including current Masters holder Phil Mickelson and world number two Els.

While defending champion Els kicked off with a 70, Mickelson, who chose to get in some Open preparation at Royal Troon rather than compete in the curtain-raising pro-am, mixed five bogeys with four birdies and will start his second round seven strokes behind.

The presence of Mickelson, of course, is a reminder of Price’s finest hour, his Ryder Cup singles victory at The Belfry two years ago.

But he wants to be remembered for far more than that and from his current world ranking of 74th he said: “I want to be in the top 25. My ball-striking is an area that needs developing – Ernie and Retief (Goosen) are probably two of the most talented guys on the planet and that’s who I have to try and measure myself against.

“I thought at first this course was a bit too long for me, but my game’s improving and I should be able to play on any golf course really.

“I’d rather just be good like Ernie, but if battling is what I’ve got to do then that’s what I’ve got to do.”

Romero is little more than a week away from his 50th birthday and would be the oldest winner in European Tour history if he lifts the £366,660 (€549,000) first prize on Sunday.

Yet it was only two years ago that he did have his hands on the trophy and this is one of his favourite stops on the circuit.

Lara, meanwhile, has the incentive of trying to get into the Open next week, his fifth-place finish in the European Open last Sunday being not quite enough to earn him one of the exempt spots up for grabs there.

Another – just one – is on offer to the leading non-exempt player at Loch Lomond.

For a while it was Colin Montgomerie enjoying the limelight and leading a tournament for the first time since his marriage break-up, but two late bogeys - one after he asked television commentator Julian Tutt to move out of his eye-line on a short putt he subsequently missed – meant he had to settle for a 69.

The Scot had still achieved his stated objective of outscoring playing partners Els and Lee Westwood (71), but he admitted he was disappointed not to be closer to Price and Lara.

“It was nice to see my name on the leaderboard and hopefully it will be there on Sunday,” he said.

Also delighted to figure prominently for a while was Thomas Bjorn a week after he walked out of the K Club near Dublin after just six holes, his career seemingly at a crisis point.

The Dane, runner-up in last year’s Open, did not drop a stroke until the 17th and after signing for a 68 commented: “That’s probably better than I could have hoped for, to be honest.

“It is nothing but mental. I need to believe in what I am working on because the technique of this game becomes so difficult if you don’t. I’m just happy with today – and it was a big relief.

“I was more nervous than normal over the first few holes, but I decided on the shot I was going to try and hit, whereas last week I couldn’t see anything.”

Ben Curtis, the man to capitalise on Bjorn’s collapse from three ahead with four to play at Sandwich, managed only a 73, but 1996 Open champion Tom Lehman produced a 67 and late in the day Italian Emanuele Canonica was five under with four to play.

There was also a 67 from Mark Roe, who continues to wonder what might have happened at Royal St George’s had he not been disqualified after forgetting to exchange scorecards with Jesper Parnevik.

Roe, who would have been lying alongside Curtis in fourth place with a round to go, is another not yet in next week’s field, but he said: “There’s not one iota of bitterness in me.

“I love the Open. I made a very silly mistake that I’d never made in 22 years as a professional. It was a bit of a rollercoaster when it came and went, but I’m very proud of the way I handled it.”

His feelings for the Open were also made crystal-clear when he added that it was “a disgrace” that over 50 US Tour players did not show up for the qualifying tournament in Washington last week.

Roe wants the European Tour to be given more places in future because of that.

T54 LAWRIE, Peter IRL 18 Par

T100 McGINLEY, Paul IRL 18 +2

T22 McGRANE, Damien IRL 18 -2

T13 MURPHY, Gary * IRL 18 -3

T54 CLARKE, Darren NIR 18 Par

T77 McDOWELL, Graeme * NIR 18 +1