Three-time champion Nick Faldo gave himself a chance to make it four when he
finished the first day of the Open only three shots off the lead today.
The 43-year-old Englishman, winless for three years, struggled with the pin
positions but a solid putting performance saw him finish with a two-under par
70.
"It was just difficult to get the ball close to the hole. It was as simple as
that. I struggled on that, some shots will release and some roll off the
green and basically I just didn't get it close enough," admitted Faldo. "But
I putted quite nicely to keep my score."
Faldo, playing behind pre-championship favourite Tiger Woods, complained to
officials during his round about people following the Woods match who kept
running across the fairways in front of him.
"You're all set for a shot and all of a sudden a thousand people start
stomping across your intended line of target," he complained.
Immediately after his round Faldo, always the perfectionist, went straight to
the practice ground.
"I've worked hard on the swing and I still need to keep working on it and I
didn't feel as comfortable as I would have liked out there today so I'll try
a few little thoughts out there on the range this afternoon and try and get
it right for tomorrow," he said.
Nick Faldo acknowledges the crowd after holing during his first round. Allsport.
Faldo, who won here ten years ago, insisted that local knowledge was not a
lot of help.
"You still need a bit of lady luck. On links it is very much in the lap of
the Gods. It's a major part of the course," he said.
Before his round started Faldo insisted that he still firmly believed he
could win here this week. "I believe I have another Major in me," he said.
