Dornoch’s Jimmy Gunn bemoaned his putting following his opening round of five-over-par in the Scottish Open yesterday.
Gunn is making his European Tour debut at Castle Stuart but yesterday’s 77 leaves him with it all to do to make the cut.
The 35-year-old’s round included double bogeys at the first and 17th holes, along with a bogey at the 12th.
Strong winds made conditions tricky but Gunn refused to use the weather as an excuse. He said: “It’s the windiest it’s been all week, but I like playing in this kind of weather. The course is playing great and the greens are perfect. I just wish I putted a little better.
“I played a lot better than my score but I two-putted every hole. My putting has been pretty good, but the day before putts that were going right in the middle of the hole were just turning away at the end or coming up short.
“It was just one of those days. I think I had 36 putts – not good enough.
“I’m going to have to work on my putting. I’ve got an afternoon tee-time so I’ll come in early and do some work.”
Gunn has been based in the United States since turning professional in 2007 and plays on the Web.com Tour.
He said the emotion of his homecoming did not distract him ahead of his first Scottish Open.
He added: “It felt like another tournament to me. I like playing in big tournaments. I don’t get nervous or anything like that. I have to try to be patient.
“I know it’s not easy, but I’m probably going to have to produce a low score to make the cut.”
Among the best Scottish finishers is Stirling’s Craig Lee, who recovered from a poor start to finish one-under-par.
Lee was pleased with the way he held his nerve in Castle Stuart’s challenging conditions.
He said: “I had one bad shot in the first two holes, but ended up being three over par.
“I came back quite nicely with a couple of birdies straight after.
“I wasn’t thinking about packing my suitcase and going down the road, but I knew it was going to be a bit of a slog.
“When I got those shots back pretty quickly after that I was back to where I wanted to be so I was happy.
“It’s the first time I’ve had a proper wind round here. Players will find it a completely different golf course from what they’ve had in years gone by and the scoring backs that up.
“Being around level par is a pretty good score.”