Scottish Senior Open: Glenn Ralph leads defence from the front

The ravages of time abound on the over-50s circuit but Englishman Glenn Ralph put his myriad aches and pains behind him to make a purposeful start to the defence of his Cleveland Golf/Srixon Scottish Senior Open title at Fairmont St Andrews.

On a typically challenging and windy east coast day, which began with heavy showers but was eventually illuminated by glorious sunshine, the 54-year-old from Camberley harnessed the testing conditions and posted a neatly assembled four-under 68 over the Torrance course to share the early lead with South Africa's Chris Williams.

Ralph, who heads into day two a stroke ahead of Luis Carbonetti, Doug Johnson and English duo DJ Russell and Barry Lane, claimed the most notable success of his 37-year professional career last August when he landed the Scottish crown.

That triumph marked a memorable comeback from a broken ankle sustained during a swimming pool accident on holiday which kept him on the sidelines for most of the 2008 campaign.

Time has not necessarily been a great healer, however, and since that victory, Ralph has been diagnosed with type-2 diabetes as recently as two months ago, while the after-effects of the broken bone has led to the on-set of arthritis.

Tablets are being used to manage the diabetes while aid for the niggling ankle problem arrived in the shape of recently crowned British and US Senior Open champion Bernhard Langer's personal physician.

"I discovered these tablets while I was playing in a Pro-Am in South Africa earlier this year and one of my partners was Langer's physician," said Ralph, who explained that the tablets are designed to create a layer of cushion between the joints and so stave off arhtritis.

"Since taking these pills, the ankle has been fine but it still needs to be manipulated by a physio before I play. This was a great way to start my defence, very steady and just what I wanted."

While Ralph hirpled his way to the top of the leaderboard, senior tour rookies Terry Burgoyne and Andrew Oldcorn spearheaded the Scottish assault as they signed for two-under 70s.

Burgoyne, a Tartan Tour member who is the head pro at the Jonkoping club in southern Sweden, finished with a flourish and birdied four of his last five holes while Edinburgh man Oldcorn burnished a battling round with a putt of 30-feet for birdie on the 14th.

The 50-year-old former PGA champion has made an impressive start to life among the game's golden oldies but while five top-ten finishes in eight starts would appear a solid enough record, Oldcorn remains far from satisfied.

"Maybe I'm hyper-critical but I'm still not 100% happy with how I'm playing," said Oldcorn, a runner-up on the Senior Tour in Holland back in July. "I geared my season round last month's Senior Open at Carnoustie but played poorly and missed the cut and that was a big disappointment. I've regrouped these last few weeks and I feel my game is not too far away."

Former Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance, playing over the course he designed, opened his bid to reclaim the Scottish title he won in 2006 with a one-under 71 to sit alongside fellow ex European skip, Ian Woosnam.