Watson and Couples take an early lead

17-Jul-2003 06:53(BST)

(OpenGolf.com) Tom Watson had a slightly bemused look on his face as he paced slowly outside the Royal St George's clubhouse just after six o'clock this morning, for Britain's notoriously fickle weather had suddenly turned the bright, hot sunlight of practice days into the lowering grey skies and spitting rain that he has so often encountered on his way to winning the Championship five times.

In the fifth match of the day, leaving the first tee at 7.14am, he was paired with the 1985 St George's champion Sandy Lyle and former Masters winner Fred Couples.

And he got off to a start reminiscent of the days between 1975 and 1983 when he was five times the champion in a nine-year spell. At the 442-yard first, with wind and rain blowing strongly across the hole from the right, he opened his round with the first birdie of the championship.

This is his 28th Open appearance, one more than his playing partner Sandy Lyle, who became the first home winner since Tony Jacklin's 1969 victory when he claimed the title here in 1985.

Lyle started with a par, but dropped a shot at the newly lengthened second hole, where the carry over the bunkers on the corner of the dog-leg is now 270 yards.

Couples, who won the US Masters in 1992, birdied the hole to join Watson at the head of the leaderboard - a case of early morning deja vu.