Westwood struggles to hang on as awful conditions bite

The in-form Englishman had heavily criticised the 17th before The Open began, but it was the early holes that caught him out.

One of the pre-tournament favourites after finishing third in the US Open, he went to the turn in 40, six-over par, but showed signs of improvement with a birdie at the 10th.

Westwood set out at 8.58am exuding the confidence built by his superb display at Torrey Pines last month - when only his failure to birdie the final hole locked him out of a play-off with Rocco Mediate and ultimate winner Tiger Woods.

But his credibility as Britain's best hope at Birkdale was being dramatically and almost disastrously challenged within minutes this morning.

At the par-four first, although just off the green, he asked for the pin to be withdrawn, an indication of his confidence. Three putts later, however, his mood had dramatically shifted, with his both touch and his optimistic outlook already blown away.

The bogey start was followed by a double bogey at the second, another three-putt at the third and, by the fourth, his opening odds of 26-1 had already begun to drift.

Westwood knows more than most how golf is a game of agonising lows as well as soaring highs.

Having become European No 1 in 2000 he tumbled out of the world's top 250 in a spectacular fall from grace. Yet he slowly fought his way back up the world rankings, and the guts that took him back into the world's top 20 were embodied by the shot that saved him another double bogey at the sixth.

He had marked in readiness to putt on the front edge of the green after fighting out of rough and then a pot bunker but the wind was so strong that his ball rolled off the surface and he was suddenly faced with a chip of extreme difficulty, yet he somehow managed to hole out from 30 yards.

The dreadful weather forced scoring so high that by lunchtime the prediction was that it would create the highest cut at the championship since 1974, when it was plus 14 at Royal Lytham. And, to his credit, Westwood kept hanging in there and that putting touch which had stood him in such good stead last month in California suddenly, almost miraculously, returned with the 20-footer that finally brought him a birdie at the 408-yard tenth and the chance to repair some of the damage of the opening holes.