Eaten alive on its last staging of the Open championship 10 years ago, Sandwich bit back on Thursday - and only a few emerged without teethmarks.

After a week of brilliant sunshine a strong wind arrived as if on purpose to turn Royal St George's, scene of the lowest scoring in the event's history in 1993, from a pussycat into a beast.

World number one Tiger Woods lost a ball with his very first shot, minutes after fellow American Jerry Kelly had taken 11 on the same hole.

While Woods recovered to shoot a none-too-damaging 73 defending champion Ernie Els could do no better than 78, not producing a single birdie. Others, though, fared worse.

Justin Rose had 79 and Paul Lawrie, Europe's last winner of a major title four years ago, crashed to an 81, but that still left him two ahead of 2001 winner David Duval and five in front of last year's joint runner-up Steve Elkington.

Yet the biggest drama of the opening round - not for the first time and possibly not for the last - concerned Colin Montgomerie. And the drama started hours before he even teed off.

Coming out of his hotel room for breakfast the 40-year-old Scot, having joked the night before that everything was poised for him to win by five, tripped over a step, fell onto some gravel and injured his wrist.

He managed only five shots on the practice range and, after coming close to not playing at all, covered the first seven holes in four over par and pulled out - not just of the Open, but also next week's Irish Open.

As he hurried away for an X-ray anybody finishing under par deserved a medal. It guaranteed them a place on the leaderboard.

The name at the top was there most of the day. Little-known South African Hennie Otto, 200th on the world rankings and a winner of the final qualifying competition at North Foreland on Monday after shooting 65 and 63, found that this time a three under par 68 was good enough for star billing.

Perhaps best remembered for throwing a set of clubs into a river after a bad tournament two years ago, Otto had teed off in the very first group of the day at 6.30am.

It was by no means pleasant then - rainy as well as windy - but conditions were to get far worse before they got better.

Recovered now from a back injury that he thought could end his career, 27-year-old Otto sank a 25-foot putt on the difficult eighth and 30-footers at the 12th and 13th to set a target that came under threat, but withstood attack after attack.

Otto had bogeyed the last and when Davis Love did the same he finished one behind. Then Greg Norman stood on the tee at the long 14th four under, but bogeyed that and the 18th to join Love on 69.

It was Norman, of course, who won 10 years ago, finishing with a 64 and a 13 under par aggregate.

A repeat of that and the Great White Shark will almost certainly be celebrating a third Open crown.

But he is not banking on it - he is 48, this is only his third event of the event following back trouble and this is a very different Sandwich.

"I don't think there was an easy shot out there today," said Norman.

"It was there baring her teeth all the way round.

"You hit some good shots that land in the middle of the fairway and end up in the rough and you hit some bad shots and they're really bad. You had to be extremely patient out there."

And talented. Take Norman's second to the long fourth.

Already one under he punched a four iron that landed 60 feet left of the flag, but curled all the way round to six inches. Only afterwards did he remember doing the same in 1993.

But delighted though he was with his efforts Norman is too wise an owl to raise his own expectations to unreal levels considering his age and lack of competition lately.

And he spared a thought for others. Including Woods and Kelly.

Hearing that the 2000 champion had had to go back to the first tee to play a second ball Norman commented: "The rough there is probably too thick and too gnarly. I don't like it when you miss it (the fairway) by 30 feet and you lose the ball.

"The rest of the hole aren't that. I think they just like making the first hole to intimidate you."

Norman began with a double bogey six a decade ago, but Woods walked off with a triple bogey seven and had to dig deep into his reserves to play the remainder in one under.

He birdied the fourth and 10th, bogeyed three in a row from the 12th, but then birdied the 15th and 16th. He is far from out of it.

Out of the Open along with Montgomerie, however, were not only Kelly, who injured a hand on the 17th en route to an 86, and Paul Azinger, who withdrew after playing the front nine in six over.

Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke had 75s, Luke Donald a 76 partnering Woods and Nick Faldo the same on the eve of his 46th birthday.

The late starters were all hoping the wind would die down. But Paul Casey was another to suffer - he was 13 over with one to play.