'At one point, it was about getting round under 90'

Venue: Royal Troon Dates: Thu 18-Sun 21 July

Coverage: Live power and matter commentary connected BBC Sport website, pinch video clips each day. Daily highlights programme connected BBC Two from 20:00 BST. Click for afloat details.

Bob MacIntyre's first changeable of nan time astatine Royal Troon went right. So did his second.

His 3rd was straight... Straight into a bunker. His fourth, according to nan stats, travelled little than a gait and was still sitting successful nan sand.

Attempts five, six and 7 grimly followed earlier he could locomotion disconnected nan first.

The Scot's mind must person been scrambled arsenic he clambered up to nan 2nd tee.

A fewer minutes - and different sojourn to a greenside trap - later, a bogey was scrawled connected his card. Then another, aft he recovered a fairway bunker connected nan third.

Five complete aft three. Six complete for nan tournament.

An hr earlier, he would person had designs connected crashing nan leaderboard. Now nan trim statement was his biggest concern.

Still, astatine slightest it couldn't get immoderate worse for MacIntyre. Couldn't it, aye..?

Another tee changeable went correct connected nan par-five fourth. Another shot had to beryllium fished retired of nan bag. But finally, immoderate bully fortune. The first thrust was found.

One disfigured swipe later, it had moved 4 yards and was now unplayable.

MacIntyre dropped, hacked astatine it again, but contrived to spray it into nan bad worldly connected nan different side. Then different lash. More rough.

Eventually, he fished nan shot from nan spread having taken an eight. Eight complete aft four. Nine complete for nan tournament.

Five days aft nan champion time of his career, erstwhile he claimed nan Scottish Open title, he was eye-balling 1 of nan worst. "Carnage" he called it.

"I was staring a 90 successful nan face," MacIntyre said. "When I made that 8 connected four, my caput was wholly gone. You could spot maine getting angrier and angrier."

At that stage, MacIntyre mightiness person been forgiven for turning to playing partners Tommy Fleetwood and John Rahm and saying 'enough of this caper, lads, I'm done'.

But instead, he someway recovered nan resoluteness to not only find his style again, but to statesman repairing nan damage.

"[Caddy] Mike [Burrow] managed to talk immoderate consciousness into maine and make maine realise I hadn't played that severely but was shooting gazillions," MacIntyre explained.

"Once we calmed down, it was astir getting it nether 90, past nether 80, and we started hitting bully shots."

Nine complete became eight. Then seven. Another birdie astatine 15 came conscionable arsenic nan trim statement moved retired a changeable to six over.

Suddenly, pinch a sniff of prolonging his week's activity successful his nostrils, MacIntyre skelped his thrust complete nan pain astatine 16 and walked disconnected different changeable amended off.

An up-and-down astatine 17 and different par down nan past sealed nan woody and had him puffing retired his cheeks and looking to nan entity arsenic he ambled to nan recorder's tent.

"A twelvemonth ago, I'd person been gone and successful my car and up nan road. But my cognition has been superb nan past 12-15 weeks," MacIntyre said.

"I've sewage thing to suffer now. My upwind app says there's going to beryllium dense rainfall successful nan afternoon, truthful I'll conscionable propulsion everything astatine it and spot what happens."

Two different location hopefuls will beryllium successful a akin script aft Calum Scott and Ewan Ferguson besides did capable earlier successful nan day.

Ferguson, retired first successful nan much benign conditions, birdied 18 to grind his measurement to a doughty 73 and a five-over total.

Scott, meanwhile, besides recovered a birdie down nan agelong successful a 75 that near him arsenic nan starring Scot - and apical amateur - astatine four-over.

"The Silver Medal would astir apt beryllium nan intention," said nan 20-year-old from Nairn. "But I deliberation 2 bully scores and we tin move up that leaderboard."