McElhinney trails in Tiger's wake

Tiger Woods emerged unscathed from his first visit to an Old Course bunker today to lead the Open Championship at St Andrews.

Woods went all 72 holes of his record eight-shot victory here five years ago without tangling with one of the 112 bunkers.

He was not so lucky this time, finding sand off the tee on the par-four seventh, but simply splashed out to six feet to set up one of four birdies in an outward nine of 32.

Further birdies at the 10th and 12th took him to seven under but finding another bunker at 13 cost him his first shot of the day to leave him two strokes ahead of South African Retief Goosen, who carded a four-under-par 68 to take the clubhouse lead.

There was not such good fortune for British Amateur champion Brian McElhinney, who finished 10 shots behind Goosen.

The Donegal golfer was playing with American Jerry Kelly and Australian Craig Parry and all struggled to a certain extent, especially at the fifth where all three ended up in the same fairway bunker off the tee.

McElhinney, 22, began his round in inauspicious circumstances with a snap-hook off the first tee, but St Andrews is the place to do it with its huge double fairway and he pitched to 12 feet only to miss his birdie putt.

He found trouble off the second tee and failed with a 13-footer for par but bounced back at the third with a superb gap wedge to three feet for birdie.

His trouble started at the par-five fifth after finding that bunker and having to chip out sideways, which cost him a shot, and he dropped another at the next when his greenside chip took a wicked bounce on the undulating green and rolled off the putting surface.

He turned in 38 and bogeys at 12 and 13 were followed by a double-bogey six at the 15th after finding sand again, but he parred his way home for a back nine of 40.

“I’m more disappointed in the way I played than anything,” he said.

“I struggled off the tee. I struggled with everything, although my putting wasn’t too bad.

“It’s my swing, I’m not confident with it and I haven’t been playing very well all week.

“I’m not really looking forward to tomorrow but I’ll just get out there and see what I can do and try to get some sort of swing going.

“I don’t thing there’s any chance of me making the cut.”