Nothing kills the golfing momentum quite like a prolonged plooter on a tee. And when you get to a certain vintage, such faffing can have considerable repercussions.

“There were four groups waiting on the tee and I probably should’ve had a seat in the clubhouse but once you sit down you sometimes feel you’ll never get up again,” said Gary Orr with a wry grin after a battling three-under 68 on day one of the Scottish Senior Open at a blustery Craigielaw in East Lothian

With a two-tee start in operation, the log-jam on the first just about prompted a crisis meeting at Transport Scotland as the driveable nature of the downwind hole led to the kind of queues you’d get at the Sherriffhall roonaboot during the Edinburgh rush hour.

By the time Orr, who started on the 10th, got to it, the 51-year-old had to twiddle his thumbs for 40 minutes. The hanging around didn’t hinder the Helensburgh veteran too much, though, and his six-birdie round left him in fourth place, just two shots behind the Welsh leader, Stephen Dodd.

This steady, consistent and fairly neat-and-tidy performance was in-keeping with Orr’s season among the over-50s. In nine events during the 2018 campaign, Orr has not finished lower than 28th while his haul of five top-10s include a second and a fourth in his last two events.

“I just need to get over the line somewhere,” said Orr as he strives to claim a first victory since he notched a double whammy of titles on the main European Tour back in 2000. “Hopefully it this week but, if not, it might not be too far away. Winning this event would be ideal.

Having suffered with his bothersome back for a number of years, Orr has learned to manage the aches and pains and is reaping the rewards of a less-is-more approach.

“I think I probably practice less than I used to,” he said. “I think that has helped keep me focused. When you can’t practice as much, you actually use your time better.

“I used to practice very hard but it probably wasn’t all that productive, really. I use my time better these days and I think I’m a bit more consistent because of that.”

With the wind over the exposed Craigielaw links a constant menace, and the eventual downpours adding to the rigours, Orr harnessed the conditions to good effect. “On a day like this, if you can get under-par early, it gives you something to try to hang on to and I did that quite well,” added Orr, who knocked in a good par putt of 10-feet on his first hole to get things off to a solid start.

Dodd, a former World Cup winner, got off to a spectacular start with a three-birdie salvo on his way to a 66. Since the middle of July, the 52-year-old has been in terrific form among the golden oldies.

A win, two seconds, a third, a fourth and a sixth have hoisted him up to third on the order of merit and the Cardiff man is relishing the playing opportunities on an energised Senior Tour that is slowly building itself up again after a couple of lean years. “We’ve been playing a good run of events over the last eight weeks and my form has stayed with me,” he said. “I’m enjoying being competitive again.”

Asking Ian Woosnam if his battling 67 got those competitive juices flowing again was greeted with an honest response. “I was thinking about getting back into the clubhouse to be honest,” he said after his buffeting in the boisterous conditions.

Despite a couple of late bogeys, Woosnam, the former Masters champion and Ryder Cup-winning captain, finished with a flourish and trundled in a birdie putt of some 20-feet on his last hole.

The fact he didn’t have a pre-tournament practice round made the 60-year-old’s effort all the more admirable. “I didn’t feel that great the day before so didn’t bother playing,” he said. “Maybe that’s the way forward? Sometimes it’s better not to know too much about a course.

“It was pretty cold and I my body was a bit stiff but I hung on in there. It was a grinding day and I just tried to do the simple things. This was a bit like how I used to play.”