Scott Jamieson recorded a bogey free 67 on day one of the Oman Open and then fired a warning to the rest of the field that he was not even playing well.
It has been very much a case of feast or famine for the Scotsman so far in 2019, with a top five at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and a tie for 11th at the Rolex Series Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA contrasted by three missed cuts.
His scoring at Al Mouj Golf showed his form from either side of Christmas but after making birdies on the seventh, 12th, 13th, 14th and 17th, he insisted there was better to come.
"It was a great day, five under, but I didn’t feel like I played particularly well," he said.
“Bogey free, which is always good. I had five birdies so it was a lovely start.
“I drove it well and putted well. I didn’t hit my irons particularly close but I think that’s difficult to do round here. The greens are firm with a lot of run-offs, you find yourself playing away from the flags.
“You can’t go for it here. You can hit some really good shots which would just run off the side of the green and then you’ll have a really tough up-and-down. You need to stay patient, play away from the flags and hope you can hole some putts."
Yusaku Miyazato also carded a 67 and the Japanese revealed an injury was helping rather than hindering his cause this week.
“My tee shots went very well and I putted very nicely today," he said.
"I’ve got a bit of an injury in my right foot, so during the practice rounds I was hitting at 60 or 70 per cent but that seemed to be working for me.
“It’s important to have a good first day.”
