TROON, Scotland – Colin Montgomerie hit the first shot of the 145th Open. He also made the first double bogey.
And it was a good one, at that.
Montgomerie buried his approach shot at the par-4 first against the lip of a steep greenside bunker. He was unable to extract his first shot and then had to hit parallel to the green with his second effort. He managed to get up and down from there for an oddly satisfying 6.
“I tell you, the best shot I hit, probably one of the best shots of my life, was the fourth shot out of the bunker in the first, away from the hole.