Watson leads Golden Oldie march at Turnberry

TURNBERRY, Scotland (Reuters) - Tom Watson rolled back the years to grab an early one-shot lead in Thursday's first round of the British Open as a bunch of veterans took advantage of ideal scoring conditions.
With hardly a breath of wind at the spectacular Ailsa Course, the 59-year-old American fired a flawless five-under-par 65 to set the pace in the season's third major.
Thirty-two years after outduelling Jack Nicklaus to win the first Open staged at Turnberry, Watson upstaged his Spanish playing partner Sergio Garcia who opened with a 70.
"I played very well in the practice round and thought I would do well this week," Watson told BBC television after covering the back nine in three under.
Asked if he drew on memories of his 1977 triumph dubbed the 'Duel in the Sun', the eight-times major winner replied: "I don't dwell in the past.
"Certainly it has been at the forefront of conversations this week. A lot of kids playing in this tournament were not even born in 1977," five-times Open champion Watson added with a smile.
Australian John Senden, a late addition to the field after the withdrawal of Indian Jeev Milkha Singh on Tuesday due to a rib injury, birdied four of the last six holes for a 66.
Also at four under was in-form American Steve Stricker, who has won twice on the PGA Tour in his last four starts.
Much of the early running, however, was dominated by senior players with former winners Mark Calcavecchia, 49, and Mark O'Meara, 52, and Vijay Singh, 46, carding matching 67s.
Calcavecchia, who teed off in the first group of the day on a sun-splashed morning, made the most of the conditions.
PERFECT WEATHER
"The weather was perfect," the 1989 winner told reporters. "There was no wind and the early start doesn't bother me. I played well.
"I hate to say Turnberry was easy, because it's a really hard course, but if you're going to shoot a good score out there, today was the day to do it."
Calcavecchia tied for 11th when the Open was last held at Turnberry in 1994 and he felt the layout, stretched by 247 yards since then, now posed a tougher challenge.
"The fairways are narrower, there are more bunkers and it is longer," he said. "A lot of the holes are three-woods off the tee and I don't remember the rough ever being as thick.
"Thankfully I only hit it in there once today."
World number one Tiger Woods, a heavy favorite to win his 15th major title, was one over after 16 holes.
Watched by huge galleries in a high-profile grouping with Briton Lee Westwood and Japanese teen sensation Ryo Ishikawa, Woods offset a birdie at the second with a bogey at the third.
He then birdied the par-five seventh to reach the turn in one-under 34 before following another bogey at the 10th with a birdie at the par-three 11th. He aso bogeyed the 15th after hitting a poor chip and the 16th.
Title holder Padraig Harrington of Ireland, who is seeking a rare British Open hat-trick, was among the late starters.