The first day of the 2009 British Open saw 59-year old Tom Watson take the leaderboard, with another champion Mark Calcavecchia sitting closely behind in second. And according to telegraph.co.uk, 20-year old Rory McIlroy stepped up to the challenge at the Ailsa course. 
He seemed to adopt a fearless approach to start, with his sure putting stroke giving him birdies at the second and seventh holes. But he appeared slightly challenged at the eighth, when he pulled his drive into thick rough and attempted to make the green in two.
But it wasn’t going right and he could only advance 30 yards into the deeper grass, which then took 20 people four minutes to find the ball. Although Rory didn’t let that deter him, as he managed to retrieve his game and finished on a solid 69.
