PAUL LAWRIE rolled back the years to take his place towards the top of the leaderboard following the first day of the Open Championship at St Andrews.

The 1999 champion took advantage of the calm weather conditions to card an impressive six-under-par that left him just one shot behind leader Dustin Johnston in a tie for second place.

Lawrie had been on course for an even better finish but a bogey on the 17th saw him drop a shot and he eventually signed for a 66.

The front nine was particularly impressive, the 46 year-old from Aberdeen carding five birdies and four pars for a 31, then coming back with a 35 that included two birdies, six pars and that solitary bogey at the Road Hole.

With high winds expected during his round this afternoon, the Scot was pleased to have put himself in a great position after day one, although he wasn’t getting too carried away with three days still to play.

He said: “I am very pleased. I putted very well and hit the ball very solidly. It was quite calm-ish in the morning so it was important to take advantage of those conditions if you can.

“I knocked a few putts in and played very well out there, apart from on 17 which was probably almost a par-5 anyway. But it’s only the first round so there’s a long, long way to go.

“There’s an unbelievable amount of world-class players playing this week, so I’m not even thinking about Sunday as of yet. It was a good day, but there’s a long way to go.”

Lawrie had the full backing of the Carnoustie crowd when he took advantage of Jean van de Velde’s meltdown to lift the Claret Jug 16 years ago and he revealed the St Andrews galleries had been just as supportive.

He added: “It’s always really cool to play golf in Scotland in front of the best fans in the world. They cheer all the players, to be fair, but when you’re a Scot and you get it going out there, then obviously you hear your name a little bit more than the guys you’re playing with, for instance.

“I’ve been lucky enough to have a couple decent wins playing in front of them, so I kind of tend to enjoy it. I tend to play a little better in front of them. I don’t feel more pressure. I feel the opposite. I kind of feel a bit more relaxed and I kind of play some nice golf.”

The weather is expected to turn foul over the next few days and Lawrie isn’t particularly looking forward to it.

He admitted: “I never think or wish for bad weather. I don’t think any golfer does, to be fair. I have actually won tournaments in nice weather, not just bad weather, so it doesn’t matter what comes. I don’t wish for it. But when it does come, there’s not much you can do about it, you’ve just got to play your game and do what you can do and shoot the best score you can shoot.

“Getting upset about it or getting frustrated about the weather is going to cost you shots. My attitude is a little better and I just tend to kind of get on with it. But I’m not wishing for it to blow a gale or pour with rain, no.”

Lawrie, playing with Americans Ryan Palmer and Kevin Kisner, took nearly five hours to complete his round due to slow play and the amount of double greens on the Old Course. It meant some long waits on the tee but he did not want to make too much of it.

He added: “You just get used to it. It’s just part and parcel of it nowadays. You just kind of wait your turn, and when it’s your turn, you get on with it. If you get upset or get frustrated or let it get to you, then it’s going to cost you shots.

“You’ve just got to do your routine when it’s your turn and get on and hit it. Nothing you can do. I don’t find it difficult at all, to be fair.”

Lawrie revealed he had got a real buzz playing alongside the legend Arnold Palmer in Wednesday’s Champions Challenge.

“It was unbelievably cool to play with him. He hit two shots at the first and then he didn’t hit any more. But just to be out there with him, just to be out there kind of playing golf with him, I absolutely loved it.

“Darren Clarke and I had a whale of a time playing with him, and he gave me a wee hug at the last, and he said, ‘fantastic playing’, when I holed the putt at 18. That was a nice moment. It was pretty cool.”