Bjorn holds clubhouse lead with opening 65

Thomas Bjorn shot a fantastic 65 in the opening round of the 140th Open Championship to hold the clubhouse lead on five under par.

The Dane famously came close to winning the Claret Jug the last time the tournament was held at Royal St George’s in 2003 before his challenge was halted by a double bogey at the 16th.

But that tricky par 3 was one of seven holes birdied by the Dane today – he also picked upshots at the 2nd, 7th, 8th, 12th, 14th and 15th. The only blemishes on his card were bogeys at the 9th and, disappointingly after getting to -6, the 18th.

In a dramatic press conference after his round, the Dane broke down when someone asked how proud his father would have been of him today. Bjorn’s father passed away eight weeks ago, and for what seemed like an age Thomas just wept. “Well, he meant a lot to me,” he eventually managed. “He would have been very proud of what I did today. That’s all I’ve really got to say.”

This is Bjorn’s 4th tournament in a row, and he is greatly helped by the fact that he has an experienced caddie on his bag in Philip Morbey. It is also significant that he was one of the last players to get into this field, only getting in when Vijay Singh pulled out with an injury.

Bjorn currently has a one stroke lead over Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Earlier in the day American veteran Mark Calcavecchia had shot a 69 (-1) in the second group out on the course. Other notable early rounds include a 68 from Simon Dyson and a 69 from Danny Willett.