KELSEY MacDonald may be 730 places lower in the world rankings than Lydia Ko ... but the Scots golfer finished just two shots behind the teenage superstar on day one of the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Dundonald Links.

While Ko, the world No.2, showed her class with a four-under 68 to finish in a share of the lead with Norway’s Suzann Pettersen, Nairn ace MacDonald led the home challenge with a two-under 70.

The 24-year-old has missed all five cuts on the Ladies European Tour this season, but she found her form on home soil with a round that was illuminated with an eagle on the fifth.

MacDonald is playing on an invitation from the tournament sponsors this week and, with plenty of home support, the former Scottish Women’s Amateur champion made the most of her chance and her early-morning tee-time.

She sits in 732nd place on the global order, and said: “When there are people that have significance in your life watching, that’s great because they don’t get to watch me play as I’m playing all over the world. The fact they can come here and watch me play on home turf is good for me.

"I was pretty blessed with the weather this morning. It was quite calm for me teeing off. The wind picked up towards the end and you could feel it, especially on 16 which is a pretty tough hole at the back.

"I kept hitting fairways, stuck it pretty close and gave myself chances. That’s what you have to do.”

Ko reeled off a quartet of birdies in a neatly assembled round as she moved to the front with a four-under card.

With the Women’s British Open taking place at Turnberry next week, Ko is relishing the chance to hone her links game at Dundonald and get used to the nuances of golf by the sea again.

The 18-year-old said: “I found myself in some pretty funky places and I got quite lucky with some of my lies. We got lucky with the weather, too. This course is hard enough without the elements.”

Pettersen, the world No.7, made a purposeful start to her campaign as she birdied four of her first five holes in a 68, but two-time Scottish champion Catriona Matthew had to settle for a two-over 74.

Glasgow’s Kylie Walker struggled to a 75, while Lanark’s Pamela Pretswell shot a 79.

Meanwhile, Colin Montgomerie moved into a share of the lead in the Senior Open Championship at Sunningdale before heavy rain curtailed play in the second round.

The Scot, bidding for his fourth senior Major championship and first on British soil, completed 12 holes before the suspension.

Montgomerie twice led outright on six-under par, but bogeys on the 10th and 12th holes, either side of a birdie on the 11th, pushed him back into group containing eight players.

Reigning champion Bernhard Langer, Miguel Angel Jimenez and American pair Jeff Sluman and Lee Janzen are among those alongside Montgomerie at five-under having failed to start their second rounds.

Championship director David Williams said: "The plan is to finish round two on Saturday and, all going well, start round three on a two-tee start.

"We will have probably an hour or so play left of round three on Saturday, and we'll finish that up on Sunday morning.

"Then the plan is to go three-balls off one tee and get back on track and finish when we're meant to."