Robert Rock sitting pretty after superb start

Rock, from Armitage near Rugeley, fired a superb six under par round of 65 to sit sixth on the overnight leaderboard in the £5.4million event at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick.

The 43-year-old carded seven birdies, dropping just one shot at the 15th, to end the day three shots behind leader Lee Westwood.

Westwood made the most of a favourable draw and some previous local knowledge to fire a flawless 62 in pursuit of a second Scottish Open title, 22 years after the first.

He carded two eagles in the space of five holes and added five birdies to finish nine under par, a shot ahead of Sweden’s Alexander Bjork and Holland’s Joost Luiten.

Scotland’s Scott Jamieson headed the 15-strong home challenge on seven under, with compatriot Craig Lee another stroke back alongside Rock and Finland’s Kalle Samooja.

Wolverhampton’s Aaron Rai was tied 39th after shooting a 70.

The early starters were faced with cold, damp and windy conditions, but Westwood was among the afternoon wave who acknowledged they had benefited from considerably calmer and warmer weather.

“I opened the curtains this morning and thought, ‘ooh, that looks rough’,” said the 47-year-old, who won the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond in 1998.

“But that was the forecast, chilly and damp and then clearing up as the day went on.

“You’ve still got to make hay while the sun shines or the wind drops and I did that. You’ve got to be patient. If you’re not three or four under early you can start chasing and getting aggressive. You have to break it down and play the course on its merits.”