Golf: Lloyd won't blame long delay for his costly error

The Archerfield ace was reasonably pleased with a two-under-par 70 that earned him a place inside the top 50 alongside Bathgate's Stephen Gallacher.

But dropped shots at two of the par-5s on the Inverness course proved painful for the big-hitter as he trailed leaders Lee Westwood and Mark Tullo by five shots.

The first came at the 18th - his ninth - and was caused by a three-putt, while the other followed a delay on the second tee.

"When we arrived on the tee there were three other groups waiting, so we just had to sit down and have something to eat to try and kill the time," said Saltman.

"We had a 35-minute wait and when I eventually teed it up I snap-hooked it into the bushes and lost my ball.

"But I can't really use the delay as an excuse as it was the same for other people and, in the end, I made a good six."

After getting it back to a couple under by the end, he was ready to try and make a charge this morning in his second round.

"Those two par-5s were the difference between two-under and four-under - perhaps even better - so that's frustrating," added the 25-year-old.

"There was a lot of good stuff in there, as has been the case over the last few weeks.

"I've been consistent which is something I've worked hard to achieve. I've only missed three cuts this year which is good.

"I've been 25th-30th in recent weeks and to be lying 106th in Race to Dubai isn't bad because of the fact I've missed a lot of events due to my initial ranking.

"Now I'm waiting on the really big one and, after a solid start, I'm looking forward to getting out nice and early here in the second round and getting a bit of a flow. There's chances out there, but, at the same time, the greens are fiddly."

Gallacher, fourth at Loch Lomond 12 months ago, suffered a frustrating opening day on the putting surfaces at the 3?million event's new home.

"I played better than I scored. In fact, I couldn't have played any better," said the former Dunhill Links champion.

"I missed one green, but had 35 putts. I'm creating so many chances, but just can't get anything out of a round at the moment. I must have hit the hole four or five times. It's not that far away, but, at the same time, it's a little bit frustrating."

Gallacher was particularly riled by a three-putt at the long 12th and then did the same at the penultimate hole in the company of former Open champion Ernie Els and US Ryder Cup star Matt Kuchar.

"I was three-under playing 12, but, having failed to birdie that then taking four at the 17th, I've ended up feeling as though I've dropped three shots really," he noted.

"I've just got to keep playing the same and if I do start holing something then I know I can go low. I've just got to be patient. Last year I was averaging 30 putts per round and I need to try and get back to that."

David Drysdale made six successive cuts in this event at Loch Lomond, finishing in the top 30 on three occasions.

But, after an opening 73, the Renaissance Club touring pro will need to go low in his second round to keep that run going. "This course is fun - but I'm not having a lot of fun," he said. "Everything is fine on the range, but it's not on the course and that is both mystifying and frustrating."

ELLIOT SALTMAN was lying in a share of second spot after an opening two-under-par 68 in the Acaya Open, this week's Challenge Tour event taking place in Italy.

CRAIGIELAW'S Shaun McAllister trailed the leader by one shot heading into today's final round of the Audi Cork Irish Masters, a EuroPro Tour event being played at Fota Island.