Ayrshire, Scotland (My Sportsbook) - Twice a winner at Turnberry, Tom Watson posted a bogey-free, five-under 65 to grab the early lead at the 138th British Open Championship.

Watson won the 1977 "Duel in the Sun" against Jack Nicklaus at Turnberry and also claimed the Senior British Open here in 2003.

Watson's 65 was his lowest first-round score ever in a British Open. The last time he shot 65 at the British Open was in the second round of the 1994 Open Championship, where he shared 11th place.

"A lot of it has to do with the weather. You see the scores today. I wouldn't be surprised if someone shot better than 65 today," admitted Watson.

With calm winds and good scoring conditions, the leaderboard is tight behind Watson.

Steve Stricker, who won the John Deere Classic last week, posted a four-under 66 and shared second place with John Senden, Camilo Villegas, Matthew Goggin and Stewart Cink, who bogeyed the last to drop out of a share of the lead.

Mark Calcavecchia played in the first group out, and the 1989 champion carded a three-under 67 and was joined in seventh by three-time major champion Vijay Singh and 1998 British Open winner Mark O'Meara.

Three-time champion Tiger Woods did not have a great day. After a birdie on the second, he gave that shot back as he bogeyed No. 3. Woods got back to red figures with a birdie on the seventh.

Woods tripped to another bogey on 10, then rebounded with a birdie on 11. After three straight pars. Woods came up short on the 15th and was unable to get up and down for par.

At the 16th, Woods' approach bounced off the right edge of the green and into a burn. After taking his drop, Woods pitched to four feet and rolled that in for bogey. He two-putted for par from over 50 feet on 17, then missed a 13- foot birdie effort at the last.

The closing par left Woods at one-over 71.

"The misses I had were the same shots I was hitting on the range, so I need to go work on that and get it squared away," stated Woods.

The early story however, was the 59-year-old Watson, who notched a bogey-free, five-under 65.

Watson got off to a fast start with birdies on one and three. He cruised to six consecutive pars from the third to turn in minus-two.

Around the turn, Watson rolled in another birdie try on the par-four 10th. He moved to four-under with a birdie on the par-four 12th.

Watson, whose best recent finish in the Open Championship was a tie for 18th in 2003 at Royal St. George's, connected on his final birdie at the 17th. That gave him the lead at minus-five, and Watson two-putted for par at the last.

"The body is a little bit old, but the enthusiasm out there today was very similar," Watson said. "It was a wonderful day to play. There was very little wind and the course is defenseless. I expect a lot of scores under par. It was a good beginning round for me."

If Watson were to remain the leader, he would be the oldest man to lead any of the four major championships after the first round.

Sam Snead, at 54, was the oldest player to lead any of the four major after one round. He posted a 68 to lead the 1966 PGA Championship after one round. Raymond Floyd, at the age of 49, was the oldest leader of the British Open. He shot even-par 70 in 1993 to lead after one round at Royal St. George's.

Watson's best previous first-round score in the Open Championship was 67. He did that twice, first in 1983 at Royal Birkdale, where he won, and then again in 1995 at the Old Course at St. Andrews.

On the regular tour, Watson last led a major after the first round in 2003, when he shared the lead at the U.S. Open before finishing tied for 28th. His last first-round lead in the British Open was in 1995, where he struggled in the second and final rounds and fell into a share of 31st.

Watson won his five British Open championships at Carnoustie, Turnberry, Muirfield, Royal Troon and Royal Birkdale. On the Champions Tour, his victories were at Turnberry, Royal Aberdeen and Muirfield.

Cink carded three birdies in a five-hole span from the fourth to move to minus-three. Around the turn, he birdied the 10th before tripping to a bogey on the 11th.

The 36-year-old Cink atoned with a birdie on the par-four 13th. He moved into a share of the lead with Watson at five-under with an eight-foot birdie putt on the 17th.

However, Cink found trouble at the last. He drove into a fairway bunker and could only blast out. He knocked his third some 40 feet from the hole and two- putted for bogey to drop into a share of second.

Among the groups of players tied at two-under 68 were Lee Westwood and Ryo Ishikawa, who both played alongside Woods. They were joined at minus-two by Anthony Wall, Graeme McDowell, Sean O'Hair, Anders Hansen and David Howell.