Cricket legend Shane Warne shot a net 75 around the Old Course as he and his professional partner Ryan Fox set the early pace in the Team Championship.
The Australia-New Zealand combination of Warne and Fox carded an 11-under par first round 61 and Warne revealed it could have been even better.
“I get seven strokes with my nine handicap but after eleven holes I was level par in net terms and I then missed a couple of short putts,” said Warne. “But to finish on a three-over par net score was great and it was a real pleasure to watch Ryan play his brilliant round of 68.
“We are trying to have a bit of fun out there, even though we are a Kiwi and an Aussie! Seriously, I think it’s good to keep relaxed and, for me, this is the best week of the year. There is no other sport where as an amateur hacker you can be competing alongside a top player in the same competition. They are also trying to win the individual title, so it’s very serious business as well as being huge fun.”
Warne & Fox were joined at the top of the first day Team Championship leaderboard by Aron Price & Ross Desmond and Thomas Detry & Rob Louw.