Goosen off to a good start

Retief Goosen hit the ground running on the opening day of the British Open championship but the South African ace admits he is still some way short of his best.

Goosen struck seven birdies en route to a four-under-par total of 68, a total which could well see him in contention near the top of the leaderboard come the end of the day.

However, the two-time US Open champion, who dropped a shot at the seventh and two more at the par-four 13th, feels there is plenty of room for improvement.

“I’m still not hitting it as correct or as good as I know I can hit it,” he said.

“I’m not driving as well as I’d like. I hit one really good drive and that was on nine.

“It was cooler so the ball went shorter than in practice. At (holes) 15, 16 and 17 you had fairly long second shots.

“The good thing was I putted better today, and that’s the difference,” added Goosen, who admits he was helped by his knowledge of the St Andrews course.

“I’m not hitting the ball any better than I’ve been hitting the last few weeks or months, but knowing the course so well, I know where the bailout areas are.

“I know the greens very well and the breaks on the greens. That’s why I say I putted well today and I was fairly confident with all the lines I picked out.”

Although he feels he is not yet firing on all cylinders, the 36-year-old is almost certainly in a happier frame of mind than he was at the end of the US Open last month.

Goosen looked all set to record a hat-trick of US Open titles at Pinehurst when he entered the final round with a three-shot lead over the chasing pack.

But a dismal last-day score of 81 scuppered those hopes and he could only finish tied for 11th, well behind surprise winner Michael Campbell.

Goosen is refusing to dwell on the past though, and in his eyes that tournament has now been consigned to the record books.

“Pinehurst is pretty much history,” he said.

“I haven’t really thought about it at all. It was just one of those rounds. It is now forgotten.”