Miguel Angel Jimenez rolled in a 66-foot birdie putt at the final hole for a 6-under 64 to claim the opening-round lead at the British Open yesterday.

The ponytailed Spaniard, known as 'The Mechanic', birdied the final two holes in a bogey-free round that knocked Tom Watson and Ben Curtis out of the top spot on the leaderboard on a calm day at Turnberry.

Perfect day

"You look at the sea, and it looked like a pond - so nice, so calm," Jimenez said. "You can't ask for a better day. No wind, no nothing, and it took care of me."

At 45, Jimenez beat his previous low score in the Open by three strokes and just missed the major championship record.

The 59-year-old Watson, a five-time winner of the claret jug, held the lead for most of the day after his 65.

His score was matched by Ben Curtis, the surprise winner of the 2003 Open, and Japanese Tour regular Kenichi Kuboya, who surged into contention after most of the fans had headed for the pubs with a birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie finish.

Tiger Woods struggled to a 71.

On a day for going low, the world's No. 1 player struggled, hitting one wayward shot after another - including a dunk in Wilson's Burn, which led to the last of his four bogeys at No. 16.

When the round ended, Woods headed back to the range to work on his swing, which looked downright ugly with his right hand flying off the club. His first signs of frustration emerged at No. 3, when he took an angry swipe and mumbled something under his breath. By the time the day was done, he had angrily tossed away his clubs several times.

Defenceless course

Thirty-two years after his epic 'Duel in the Sun' with Jack Nicklaus, Watson took advantage of pristine conditions at Turnberry.

"Not bad for an almost 60-year-old," said Watson, who turns 60 in September. "Obviously, I enjoyed it. I played very well, kept the ball in play, made a few putts. The course was defenceless today. As a result, you're seeing a lot of scores under par. I suspect by the end of the day 65 will not be in the lead."

Watson kept the ball in the fairway, rolled in five birdies and bailed himself out the few times he got into trouble, including a testy 6-footer at the final hole to preserve a bogey-free round.