McDowell finds form in Scotland

Former US Open champion Graeme McDowell enjoyed a welcome return to form on the opening day of the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open on Thursday.

McDowell’s sole top-10 finish on the European Tour this season came back in February and he missed the cut when bidding for a third successive French Open title last week, a second round of 78 being his worst score in 32 rounds at Le Golf National.

The 35-year-old admitted he needed to get back to basics and “clear his mind” of thoughts about technique and looked to have succeeded as he made a flying start at Gullane.

After picking up a shot on the par-five second, McDowell rolled in four birdies in succession from the fifth to reach the turn in 30 and lead by a shot from England’s Matthew Nixon, France’s Michael Lorenzo-Vera, Spain’s Adrian Otaegui and Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen.

Nixon had recovered from a bogey on the first with seven birdies in the next 12 holes to reach six under, only to card a double bogey on the 14th.

High scores were certainly possible on the composite course and former Open champion David Duval suffered a nightmare start, contriving to card a quadruple-bogey eight on the 390-yard opening hole.

Former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley and Scotland’s Martin Laird had also taken seven on the same hole, although Russell Knox celebrated taking Rory McIlroy’s place in the Open next week with a birdie there and another on the second to lie two under.

Defending champion Justin Rose was among the later starters alongside five-time major winner Phil Mickelson and Scotland’s Marc Warren, who was joint third behind Rose at Royal Aberdeen 12 months ago.

Olesen birdied the 15th, 16th and 17th to set the target on seven under after a flawless 63, with Nixon and Otaegui also safely in the clubhouse on five under.

“It’s been a tough time but I keep working on the right things and hopefully it will come,” said Olesen, who lost a play-off for the Mauritius Open in May after three months on the sidelines due to surgery on a hand injury. “I showed today I can still shoot low rounds.

“I hit almost every green – only missing the 18th – and hit a lot of fairways and greens today, which was the key.”

This year’s hand injury is not the only problem Olesen has suffered since finishing sixth in the Masters in 2013, the 25-year-old famously injuring his groin falling off a camel in Dubai.

“When I had to get down I pulled a muscle in my groin and it took a few weeks before I could walk properly again,” Olesen added.