Thursday

7.15pm How would you price up this match bet? Els defending his title against me catching an on-time Connex train. I'd probably make Ernie 8/11 favourite. Still, I'm going to sign off now and attempt to get back to my guesthouse in Canterbury with a pitstop for my Auntie's shepherd's pie on the way. It's been an unusual first day with Tiger losing his ball at the opening hole and Colin Montgomerie pulling out after falling over on the way to breakfast but, of course, the story has only just begun. Our tips need to buck up their ideas but they can all put themselves back in it with good performances tomorrow. A fascinating Friday awaits.

7.10pm Ernie Els makes par at the last to finish with a seven-under 79! Still, the phlegmatic South African still manages to smile his way through his press interview and feels that even par could even be enough to win this tournament. Whether he can reach that number is another thing but he hasn't ruled himself out yet. Hills don't think so either and offer him at 25/1. Woods is their 3/1 favourite ahead of 6/1 Love. It's then 20/1 for our tip Nick Price and the same quote for Sweden's Freddie Jacobson and US Open champion Jim Furyk.

6.45pm Angus Loughran tells me that he backed Freddie Jacobson at 100/1. Naturally he's very happy with the Swede's position (-1) and describes Jacobson as a "live runner" especially as he goes out at 7am on Friday morning.

6.30pm: The wind is still fierce and a colleague out on the course reports that they stood behind the tee at the 14th and it was difficult to stand up!

6pm Three players have withdrawn from the tournament today. Poor old Colin Montgomerie after injuring his wrist on his way to breakfast, Jerry Kelly with a bad knee (not for being +15, honest!) and, for no given reason so far, Paul Azinger.

5.50pm One of my spies on the course, who we shall call `Shaker', reports another big mishap. Paul Casey, after being in the sand 25 yards short of the green with his tee shot at 12, takes a six!

5.45pm Stats are often an excellent guide to who is playing well but so far they appear misleading. Hitting fairways has been touted as the key factor today and topping the standings is Ian Woosnam who hit 12 out of 18. Woosie is currently tied 35th. But Jay Haas, who hit 10, finished +9. Greens In Regulation (which means hitting the putting surface in the correct number – in one on a par three, in two on a par four and in three on a par five) is usually a very accurate guide. But not today. Anders Hansen and Corey Pavin have been the most accurate iron players so far, hitting 14 greens, but Pavin is +3 and Hansen +5. And to complete the confusion the player taking least putts today, Mike Weir, is also faring moderately on +3. However, leader Hennie Otto is next best with 26 and second placed Greg Norman took 27 so sinking putts is vital on these tricky greens. It helps though if you put your approach shots near the hole.

5.25pm So what's the state of the outright betting as the scores continue to balloon in the afternoon.

Hills currently offer: 10/3 Woods, 13/2 Love, 12/1 Els, 20 Singh, N Price, Mickelson, Furyk, Jacobson, 33/1 Harrington, Goosen, Garcia, Clarke, Romero, 40/1 Weir, Toms, Leonard, Howell, Couples.

5.20pm Time for a progress report on our tips. And this time we'll go through all of them. It's easy to get downhearted when all our over par but given the high scores today it's by no means a disaster. Nick Price (+1 after 15) is tied 22nd but while Robert Allenby and Sergio Garcia (+2) are both just five off the lead and also in the top 40. Darren Clarke has work to do from seven back while Ernie Els obviously needs to pull out something special after slipping to +5. We live in hope though.

5.10pm Press tents can be a bit quiet at times so it's good to see a bit of passion from betting boffin Angus Loughran. Angus has tipped Freddie Jacobson in his Daily Telegraph column and lets out a roar when the Swede bravely holes a putt at the last to finish an excellent one-under-par.

5.05pm Maruyama has a rival for worst shot of the day. Amateur Ricky Barnes topped one off the ninth tee and didn't make the fairway with his second shot either. Still, it didn't add up to the 11 taken by Jerry Kelly which actually ended with a 25-foot putt.

4.45pm Well nine holes in the company of Ernie Els and friends proves to be a less than rewarding experience. The defending champion just can't get anything going and missed fairways and missed putts see him go out in four-over par. The omens weren't good when, unlike last year, I failed to see his Dad on the first tee. By the time I did catch up with Mr Els, Ernie was playing the ninth and struggling. No words needed to be exchanged. As ever Ernie's wife was plotting hubbie's progress on a home-drawn chart although it contained plenty of zig-zags with Ernie spraying his shots all over the place. Playing partners David Toms and Shigeki Maruyama fared even worse. Toms played his first nine in five-over 41 while Maruyama covered them in a woeful 44. He also played the worst shot I've ever seen a pro-hit as he shanked his tee-shot literally sideways at the windy par three sixth. Despite numerous Japanese cameramen clicking away, I'd be amazed if any of them tracked that shot. On my walk back to the press tent Els bogeyed the 10th and he'll now have to be careful that he doesn't miss the cut. The good news is that the fierce winds were starting to abate although Els has plenty of tough holes ahead of him.

1.40pm: “I left the golf course with a bad taste in my mouth,” said Tom Watson after his poor finish slid him back to level par from three under. I'm feeling in a similar way after the pasta dish in the press canteen although I do have my auntie's corned beef sandwiches to fall back on later. She lives just down the road from the Canterbury guesthouse I'm staying in this week and has done a great job watering and feeding me. I did get a 20-minute lecture about not eating enough greens but it's a small price to pay given that a shepherd's pie (plus peas) awaits me on my return this evening. That's if I find a train to get me home that is. Anyway, enough rambling. After a morning spent mostly indoors it's time to get out on the course. I've made something of a tradition down the years of following Ernie Els at Opens and intend to watch his opening nine this time. Let's hope our headline tip can put on a champion's performance. Just before I depart, Norman bogeys the last to finish on two-under-par. However, that could look a great score at the end of the day with the winds really picking up.

1.15pm: Here are William Hill's latest odds with Woods back to +3 after holing a monster putt on 15.

9/2 Ernie Els, 8/1 Tiger Woods, 12/1 Davis Love, 16/1 Sergio Garcia, 20/1 Vijay Singh, Justin Leonard, Padraig Harrington, Jim Furyk.

1.10pm: A chap called Godfrey has appeared on the big leaderboard at the front of the press tent. No, it's not the bloke off Dad's Army, it's qualifier Scott Godfrey. The 22-year-old is a former English Boys and English Amateur champion but apart from that the media guide says nothing about him.

1.05pm: As predicted by the forecasters, the wind is really starting to pick up. The roof on the press tent is starting to creak and flap. Will the afternoon scores be much higher. There's now a three-way tie for the lead at the top with Greg Norman and Sweden's Matthias Gronberg level with clubhouse leader Hennie Otto on three-under. Thomas Bjorn has started to make a move and lies just one off the pace.

1pm: A trio of bogeys have taken Tiger back to +4.

12.55pm: Bradley Dredge, our 33/1 tip for top GB and Ireland player, has started very promisingly with birdies at the first and fourth taking him to two-under-par.

12.50pm: Ernie Els, our headline tip this week, begins the defence of his crown in just over an hour's time. This brings back memories of last year when Ernie's Dad told me his son was “going to have a good one” – a stark contrast to the year before when Els senior informed me that Ernie's head wasn't right. Of course, those words proved spot on as Els won in a play-off and gave us a memorable 18/1 winner. Hopefully I can grab another word with his Dad this time. Ernie certainly looked in relaxed mood on the eve of the tournament, strolling down the 18th fairway with daughter Samantha. Cricketers Mark Nicholas and Barry Richards were also in the Els entourage, with Nicholas informing Els that he'd backed him at 7/1.

12.40pm: I ask Davis Love in his press conference if he's aware that Tiger tripled the first. He responds tersely that he didn't know and what's more isn't interested in Tiger Woods' score. Still, it's nice to know that I was the one to let him know. Love has spent the build-up to the Open playing the great links courses in Ireland so all the prep work seems to have served him well. He lies just one off the clubhouse lead.

12.15pm: A quick progress check on our tips. Thumbs up for Sergio Garcia who is two-under and in a tie for fourth. Hang in there is the message for Robert Allenby who is +1 after 15. But Darren Clarke gets the "Connex trains award" for poor performance after his miserable four-over 75.

12.05pm: In second place in the clubhouse right now is the unfamiliar name of S.K. Ho. Hur Suk-ho, to give him his full name, is a 29-year-old from South Korea who loves listening to music. He's missed his last two cuts on the 2003 Japan Tour so his one-under start must be music to his ears.

11.50: A slap on the wrist for anyone who had written off Tiger Woods after his triple bogey start. A birdie at the 10th takes Tiger back to +1 and means he's played his last nine holes in two-under-par.

11.45: Tom Watson double bogeys 17 to ruin his chances of taking the first round lead. But there is a great story brewing at the top of the leaderboard as Greg Norman, the 1993 winner here, birdies the 11th to go into the outright lead on four-under. Another former Sandwich winner, Sandy Lyle, taps in at the last for a two-over 73.

11.25: There's a wonderful unpredictability about day one of the Open and who would have thought that I'd be attending a Hennie Otto press conference at 11.15am. The South African, who looks like a hybrid of about 10 different golfers – Olazabal, McGinley, Casey, Immelman all seem to be represented in his facial make-up – doesn't have much to say to be honest. A few of the journos try to investigate his rugby-playing past but Otto plays it down, saying he was a bit small and there's more money in golf. The fact that the microphones aren't working adds to the low-key feel so hopefully Tom Watson can stay at –3 and give us a few more juicy quotes.

11.05am: Retief Goosen, who is supposed to have a bad back, has moved to two-under. I can see my colleague Dave John wincing now. He was on the brink of tipping him a couple of weeks ago.

11.00am: Sergio gets into red figures with a birdie at the 7th. Our 50/1 tip is now tied eighth. I'll let you into a secret now. I and several others in the golf betting community managed to get him at 100/1 last month. Ladbrokes were the bookies to oblige although they quickly halved him in price after his good finish in the Buick Classic. I say this now as tied eighth might be as good as it gets. At least allow me to be smug for five minutes!

10.55am: Otto takes some of the shine of his day by bogeying the last but his three-under 68 still leaves him tied for the lead with Greg Norman.

10.50am: A few of the names who excelled at Muirfield last year are again in contention. Stuart Appleby and Thomas Levet, who both lost out to Ernie Els in the playoff, are two-under. And Gary "That's for you mum" Evans is also at -2.

10.45am: And what do you know, a few minutes later and the picture is looking much rosier after birdies for Allenby and Clarke.

10.40am: Our tips aren't setting the world alight yet with Clarke +2, Allenby +1 and Garcia level par. Early days though.

10.35am: Otto, who teed off in the very first group of the day at 6.30am, only has a couple of holes to play. If he stays at four-under he could well be brought into the press tent to be interviewed so I might hang around for a while. It's possible he could be our first round leader.

10.20am: A total of £172 at 1,000 has been matched on leader Otto on Betfair. At the time of writing he can be laid back at 75. Tiger drifted out to 10.5 after his triple bogey start and £266 was matched. Those backers could be very pleased with themselves at the end of today with Woods starting to fight back. A birdie at the fourth has taken him back to +2.

10.05am: Tiger steadies the ship with a couple of pars but he's now seven shots behind surprise leader Henne Otto. Who hell he? Well, Otto is a 27-year-old South African playing in his first Open. Apparently he could have represented South Africa's U23 rugby team but the final trial coincided with a golf tournament. He has three top 25s to his name this year. He leads by one from Greg Norman, who is rolling back the years at the scene of his Open win in 1993.

9.55am: On the way back to the press tent, I pass Padraig Harrington. He too has missed the fairway at the first and his missed approach leads to a bogey. At the practice putting green, Nick Faldo drains a few which could be a good omen.

9.45am: Drama at the first hole as Tiger opens his bid with a disastrous triple bogey. Tiger looks a bit on the glum side as he makes his way to the first tee but 20 minutes later he has a face like thunder. Tiger's drive is pushed way right and the rough is deep out there. But surely a search party of 30, including Gary Lineker, can find his little white sphere. Apparently not. Five minutes of trampling around produces nothing and Tiger makes the lonely drive back to the first tee on a buggy. Clearly angered by the failure to find his ball, Tiger aims his next shot at the shamed search party. Unfortunately he puts too much beef on it and his ball sails over their heads. This time it's found although Tiger tries to lose it again by hacking into the rough on the opposite side of the fairway. A chip and two putts later and he walks away with a seven! His mood must be foul although it's not the end of the world. Not long earlier Jerry Kelly took 11 at this hole and in 1993, winner Greg Norman started with a double bogey at the first.

9.00am: Tiger Woods tees off at 9.09 so I'm off to the first tee to see his opening shot. Last year at Muirfield he sliced it into the rough. Joining him is our 50/1 ante-post tip Sergio Garcia.

8.55am: It's a solid start for our tips with Darren Clarke one-under after four and Robert Allenby level after two. Masters champion Mike Weir has encountered trouble early on and is two-over after three.

8.35am: Bad news. The sausage baps in the press tent have gone up to £2.20.

8.30am: The Open has been in play for just two hours and the Betting exchange Betfair has already traded over £2million in bets – an incredible amount at this stage.

8.20am: Fred Couples, who pulled out of last week's event in Loch Lomond with back trouble, has moved to the top of the leaderboard on two-under. Freddie's return to the winners' circle in Houston earlier this year was one of the highlights of the season but imagine the scenes if he could win here. Couples is a hugely popular figure in the British Isles and has racked up eight Open top tens down the years. His back problems are ongoing but he had treatment earlier this week and on the eve of the tournament Couples reported that he felt “real good”.

8.15am: You may think we have all-day live TV coverage in the press tent. Not so. There IS golf from Sandwich on the giant and little TVs in front of me but at the moment we're seeing re-runs from 1985.

8.00am: The rain seems to be easing a bit and the skies brightening slightly too. This is what the official forecast says. “Periods of showers expected today with moderate southwest winds increasing to 15 to 25mph with gusts to 30mph at times. Much cooler today as temperatures will remain in the middle to upper 60s. We should see the rain taper off and peaks of sunshine by mid afternoon. Drier weather with a return to sunshine expected for Friday.” This weather report was made at 6am so is certainly up to date. A closer inspection shows that the winds are meant to blow heaviest from 12pm to 6pm. It means the early starters could have an advantage but also it may help those finishing late in the day if, as predicted, the wind eases off.

7.36am: Our five outright tips are spread nicely throughout the opening day. Darren Clarke is the first of our quintet out (he's just teed off now) while Robert Allenby and Sergio Garcia, who plays alongside Tiger, are also morning starters. And if that trio disappoint, we can always look forward to Nick Price and defending champion Ernie Els in the afternoon.

0736 CLARKE with Davis Love and Shingo Katayama
0809 ALLENBY with Katsuyoshi Tomori and Hal Sutton
0909 GARCIA with Tiger Woods and Luke Donald
1316 PRICE with Ricky Barnes and Justin Rose
1354 ELS with Shigeki Maruyama and David Toms

7.30am: The first birdie of the day and appropriately it comes from five-time Open champion Tom Watson at the opening hole. Sandy Lyle, the winner here in 1985, is in a tie for second on level par after a regulation four at the first.

7.15am: The press tent is still fairly empty with only about 30 or so of the 300+ seats filled. The PA's Phil Casey hasn't had a bet so far which is unusual for someone who likes a flutter. Too hard to call he said. He wasn't convinced by my claim that Justin Rose was a big price at 80s although PA colleague Frank Malley did seem to agree and nodded sagely.

7.10am: Connex, the local train operators, have recently lost their contract for Kent and South East London. They are up in arms about it apparently so do they have just cause for complaint? Well try this for size. Despite promises of laying on more trains, there is just one scheduled service from central Canterbury before 8.30am. So I arrived with plenty of time to spare to catch the 6.08am this morning and guess what? It was cancelled! A mini-riot nearly broke out on the station and rightly so. Luckily I managed to blag my way into a taxi with two Aussies, a Dutchman and a chap from Pontefract. A good old moan got it off our chests but this can hardly bode well for the next few days. Connex, you are a disgrace.

7am: It's pouring down. Welcome to the Open! The press tent is a welcome place to be at present with the skies grey and throwing down rain. And the early starters don't seem to be enjoying it either. American Steve Flesch has started with a double bogey while the first two groups out have played the tough opening hole in a collective four over par.