Brits hit water trouble

Lee Westwood and Colin Montgomerie were today battling to recover from dreadful starts to the Open championship as Tiger Woods began his bid in confident fashion.

Westwood hit his approach to the opening hole straight into the Swilcan Burn which guards the front of the green on the Old Course.

After taking a penalty drop the Ryder Cup star, fourth last year at Troon, pitched on to six feet but missed the putt to run up a double-bogey six.

Almost two hours later Montgomerie pulled his drive on the same hole and was stunned to see it run all the way into the burn, the Scot carding a bogey five.

Westwood eventually pulled a shot back with a birdie on the ninth, but was still four shots off the lead shared by Retief Goosen, Kenny Perry and Robert Allenby.

Goosen, who looked set for a third US Open title at Pinehurst until crashing to a final-round 81, had picked up four birdies and one bogey in his opening 10 holes, while Perry went to the turn in 33 with three birdies.

Allenby, playing alongside Woods, was three under through six while the world number one was just a shot behind.

Woods, the winner here in 2000 with a record 19-under-par total, holed from 18 feet for birdie on the fourth and then two-putted the par-five fifth for another.

Luke Donald was also on two under after two early birdies, the Englishman unfazed by his pairing with Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson, a duo with 26 major titles between them.

Nicklaus was making his final competitive appearance on the course where he won two of his three Open titles, and after receiving a rapturous welcome on the first, promptly birdied the hole to get off to a perfect start.

Two bogeys soon followed but another birdie on the seventh left the 65-year-old level par at the turn.

The first group had teed off at 6.30am and raced to the turn in less than two hours, Simon Dyson and 1989 winner Mark Calcavecchia looking likely to set the early target. They were both one under with two to play.

Woods had remarkably avoided all of the Old Course's 112 bunkers during his eight-shot victory five years ago, but finally found sand on the par four seventh today.

It made little difference however, the 29-year-old splashing out to six feet for another birdie to improve to three under.

Goosen was just keeping in front of the chasing pack though, a birdie on the 12th taking him to four under, one clear of Woods, Perry, Allenby and Donald, who had just birdied the ninth.