Strong arm of the Law at Northern Open

David Law continued his recent good form to lead the field with a three-under-par 68 at the end of a windy opening day at the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre Northern Open championship at Murcar Links.

Law (above) was one of only three players to return sub-70 scores over a tight course in testing conditions.

He leads by one shot from Buchanan Castle's Jason McCreadie and Neil Fenwick (Dunbar). Nobody in the field of 105 who finished before 3pm could do better than one-over-par 72s.

James Byrne, bidding to become the first man since Eric Brown in the mid-1950s to win the Northern Open three years in a row, had the misfortune to be first off the tee at 8am - long before the wind dropped slightly.

Byrne was blown away to an 84, which included a nine at the par-four ninth where he shanked an iron off the tee on to the beach.

Many players kept their drivers in their bags, fearing that if they missed the fairways they were in double bogey territory with punishing rough waiting the errant shot.

But Law, a regular on the Challenge Tour, had a completely different frame of mind - and it paid off.

"I consider my driving to be the strongest part of my game and with the course playing very long, I was not prepared to make it play even longer by taking an iron off the tee," said the 23-year-old Aberdonian who won the Northern Open in 2011 and was runner-up to Byrne last year at Meldrum House.

Playing on the Challenge Tour has undoubtedly raised Law's level of confidence.

He said:"I've settled down on the Challenge Tour and I'm beginning to get better results.

"I had my first top 10 finish in last week's event so I'm encouraged that I've brought that kind of form home with me for the Northern Open. I love this event and maybe it shows in the scores I get in it."

That gave him a one-stroke lead over McCreadie, who finished about half an hour before him with a 69, and also Neil Fenwick who was one of Law's playing partners.

Law birdied four of the first 14 holes - sinking a 12 foot putt for a third at the second, two-putting the par five fourth, holing a  six foot putt at the 10th and wafting a seven-iron tee shot followed by an 18 foot putt into the hole for a birdie two at the 12th.

Then he got home in two for a two-putt birdie at the long 14th before parring in from there.

Law wasn't perfect in the conditions, which saw an average score in the mid to higher 70s. He dropped shots at the seventh and 13^th.

McCreadie (above), winner of this title at Skibo Castle in 2004 and again in 2006, remains in the hunt to make it three.

He birdied the first, third, fourth, 12th and 14th with a bogey at the sixth and a double bogey at the seventh.

"I had a fair bit of luck out there,” he said. “I holed my fourth shot from about 80 yards for a birdie at the long fourth. That could easily have been a double bogey.”

"I only used my driver twice. Once to hit it way right at the fourth and the second time to hit a provisional ball off the same tee.

"After that I just tried to keep the ball in play. I holed a few putts and that helped.

"The dangerous holes are the sixth and eighth with the wind ready to blow you offline.

"But I covered the last 11 holes in two-under-par, thanks to the birdies at the 12th and 14th."

Like leader Law, Neil Fenwick has been strengthening his game away from the Tartan Tour.

"I've been concentrating on the PGA Europro Tour and I've achieved some encouraging results. I hope to get on to the Challenge Tour through that tour," said the Dunbar man whose 69 was highlighted by birdies at the first, fourth and short fifth in an outward 33. He got one more birdie, at the 14th, but dropped his only two shots at the 11th and 38th in 36 home.

"It is so tight out there off the tee," said Fenwick, "but I hardly missed a fairway.”

Greig Hutcheon, who had a 73, said: "This felt like playing a British Open course and the wind made it harder to score. There’s lots of punishing rough, narrow fairways but they were firm so if you could get your drives down them, they ran a fair bit.

“Every Northern Open should be played on a tough links like this just like Carnoustie in 1999 when our tournament sponsor, Paul Lawrie won the Open, of course."

A surprise score came from Scottish PGA champion Gareth Wright who carded a 79 which included an outward half of 43, due in part to a quadruple bogey seven at the seventh.