2045: With the stragglers straggling their way through the final holes, I'm going to call it a day. Alex Cejka is now +5 after 16 but a few players have finished birdie-birdie so maybe he'll do the same. A mixed opening day for the tips but thanks to Furyk and Jimenez I can enjoy my evening meal this evening.

2040: Didn't see much of Furyk's round but I do know that he played his final 13 holes in an impressive two under. In interview he revealed that he missed a two-footer at the first and a three-footer at five before gritting his teeth and playing well from there on. He reiterates that he really likes this course so hopefully he can kick on from here. Just two back after day one is a good position to be in.

2035: Hunter Mahan, Boo Weekley and Steve Stricker may be standing in the naughty boys' corner but the good news is that Jim Furyk and Miguel Angel Jimenez are right in the hunt. Furyk is 14/1 joint fourth favourite at Sky Bet after his 71 while Jimenez is eighth in the betting at 25s after a 72. As you can see above, they were tipped at 25s and 45s respectively. Sergio Garcia remains favourite at a general 8/1 while Adam Scott is next best at 10s. Graeme McDowell and Retief Goosen can be backed at 14s, Robert Allenby at 16s while Rocco Mediate is available at 25s.

1955: Jimenez comes home in one-under 35 for a pretty solid 72. That puts him just three back so I can't be unhappy with that.

1918: Stricker didn't in the end decide to join the "Tindall 80 club" and finished birdie, birdie for a seven over 77. Not great but it could have been worse.

1905: Greg Norman reckons he practices more tennis than he does golf - perhaps not a surprise given that his new wife is former Wimbledon champ Chris Evert - but it hasn't stopped the 53-year-old two-time Open winner from rolling back the years and carding a level par 70 today. A superb effort. He talks a good game too and reveals that he has no temptation to play more than the handful of tournaments he schedules now as his body wouldn't take the extra stress and he's happier spending more time with his family. If he did commit more time to his game he reckons the only thing that would significantly improve would be his ability to shape shots as he's pretty happy with the rest. As we file out of the interview room, there indeed is Chris Evert who looks absolutely tiny in real life. I used to have a crush on her when I was about six - not that hard perhaps when the rest of the eye candy at Wimbledon in those days was Virginia Wade and Betty Stove.

1835: Robert Allenby birdies the last to join Rocco Mediate and Graeme McDowell, last week's Scottish Open winner, in the clubhouse on -1. The Racing Post boys will be enjoying the irony of that as there's a great little moment on their pre-tournament video when Bruce Millington almost loses his rag when Jeremy Chapman suggests that Allenby, without a win on the US Tour since 2001, is one to watch.

1825: Okay, perhaps today hasn't been a complete betting write-off. 25-1 tip Jim Furyk has carded an excellent 71 - some effort given that he was three over after fives holes. He's currently tied eighth and just two off the lead.

1815: Rocco Mediate would make a great dinner party guest. He's bright, he's sharp, he's witty and he's just a little bit quirky too. The only problem you'd have is getting him out of the door at the end of the night because the bloke will just not stop talking. When introduced as the clubhouse leader he says, with self-deprecation, that "I have no explanation for that." But, of course, Rocco being Rocco, he then spends the next five minutes telling us why. In short he explains that the 69 is on the board because he made every single putt he could have made and, in truth, he would have been happy with a 73 or 74. At one point he tells us that he "hit a little hooker down there" - presumably describing his shape of shot rather than revealing that he hit a 4ft prostitute with his tee-shot.

1750: Rocco Mediate, the clubhouse leader, comes in for interview. Back in a bit.

1745: England's Peter Appleyard is currently tied for second so are there any clues as to why this unknown is doing so well? Well, in the media guide it says he is a past winner of the Birkdale Goblet so perhaps this is a course he knows really well. His uncle, David Herd, played football for Arsenal and Manchester United while grandfather, Alex Herd, was on Manchester City's books.

1740: Steve Stricker is doing his best to join the 'Tindall 80 club'. To join you have to score 80 after I've tipped you and membership is growing by the hour. Stricker is +8 after 15 so has every chance of joining founder members Boo Weekley and Hunter Mahan.

1735: And we have a new clubhouse leader. Rocco Mediate, who came within a whisker of winning the US Open last month, holes his birdie putt at the last for a superb 69. However, Adam Scott has just birdied the 15th and now leads the way at two-under.

1726: "Very tough course. Very tough in this wind. Very swirly. My iron shots good in the contact but in this wind they move a lot." Not my words, the words of KJ Choi.

1725: "It was miserable, miserable, miserable weather... it was just a miserable day." Not my words (although they could be), the words of Vijay Singh after his 10-over par 80.

1720: Boo Weekley, my 100/1 tip, shot an 80 today. Here's why: "I wasn't hitting it solid, and the wind made it worse. I was going up a club on every shot and that wasn't working. I needed to go up three or four or just go in. I haven't played golf at all since the baby (Aidan O'Neal) was born on June 23 except maybe three times. If this is the summer, I couldn't live here."

1705: It's going to be a late finish tonight. The final group out have only played two holes!

1700: Pelle Edberg, my next door neighbour at the Premier Inn, carded a 76 in the end after three late bogeys. For those watching on TV, he's the fella wearing a massive headband. Today's was bright orange and later I hope to bring you a world exclusive on what colour he'll go with on Friday. Is anyone betting on it as this could be a real inside coup and perhaps the best chance I've got of making money this week.

1655: Even the scorers are mocking me now. Cejka's par at four has been downgraded to a bogey :(

1645: Cejka is now getting TV coverage. He has a 15 foot birdie putt at four to take the outright lead but it just misses. Still, it must have been a cracking tee-shot. Forget the rest of them, this is now officially an Alex Cejka blog.

1640 : Look, it's been a bit of a disaster on the betting front so far and I'm starting to come in for some stick so stop what you're doing and take a photo of the leaderboard as it shows that my 250/1 tip Alex Cejka is joint leader of the Open at one-under! Okay, he's only played three holes but this might be as good as it gets.

1635: This is a bit racey but what the heck. Paul Artman writes: "Great addition to my vocabulary Dave so next time I feel like rubbing one out, I'll safely tell my mates I'm doing an onanism. Oh, I'm an exiled Londoner living in sunny sacramento, 90F and and not a drop of rain of here today, wonder why I ever left! I knew the tourny would be a crapshoot so I backed 8 players all at odds of at least 100/1 or more - Villegas, Pampling, Clark, Choi, Baddeley, Appleby, Wilson, O'Hern, Jacobson and Hansen. Couldn't they at least put you in a Holiday Inn, cheapskates."

1625: David Jacks writes: "Having followed your advice and lumped on both Mahan and Weekley, just wondering (living in hope really) what the worst first round score is for an Open winner?" Alright, David, don't rub it in. Not sure so can anyone out there help? The worst at Birkdale was by Peter Thomson who won in 1965 despite a first round 74.

1615: A rival site reports that the joint clubhouse leader is Canada's David Weir. Good effort by the Scottish centre-back although Brough Scott of Australia currently leads the way at one-under.

1611: Confusing times on the e-mail front after this latest one dropped in my inbox... "I'm Padraic in Fulham so ignore my mate who is representing himself as me. Pete of the Calcavecchia gag earlier is the reprobate using my name in vain. Did he fake my email too? I am watching the golf but on the sofa, eating fruit and doing the crossword to occupy my hand, I'm a reformed character these days. My La Z Boy Oasis has been moved on." Hmmmm. Not sure all these mentions of what hands are doing is hinting at a touch of onanism which, of course, has no place on this blog. Then again, my tips are playing like a bunch of....

1610: Am quite surprised to see Adam Scott leading at -1. He's got a poor record in majors despite being such a huge talent and I thought he'd turn his nose up at weather like this.

1600: The weather is definitely calmer for the afternoon starters but Harry has just handed me the sheet with the forecast for the next few days. His finger directs me to Saturday which says "risk of gusts 40-45mph and heavy showers". Excuse me for sounding like someone off Friends but... Oh. My. God.

1555: I'll always have a soft spot for David Duval after cheering him to a 25/1 victory at Royal Lytham in 2001. For various reasons, he's fallen off the golfing map over the last five or so years so it was good to see him carding a three over 73 today. I've just been to the "mixed zone" where players are grabbed for interview and Duval, as usual, talked eloquently about his round and current fortunes. The key, he said, was hitting the ball low today and he reckoned on one hole he hit a six-iron just six feet off the ground. Overall he feels a lot more confident than his bare results suggest and says he feels very good about the way he's swinging the club. He expresses surprise that Ernie Els and Vijay Singh shot 80 although he admits that conditions were extremely tough. He'll watch a bit of golf in his room before his afternoon tee-time on Friday altough he reckons his TV is so rubbish he can't guarantee that it'll pick up BBC1 or 2!

1523: If I'm sharing some Lenny Henry-based banter with next door neighbour Pelle Edberg later I'll have to stop and congratulate him for keeping his round together. He was +5 after five but he's now +4 after 16. I'd say a round of 74 of 75 would be "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......kayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy".

1520: And more from lazy Padraic.... "40% of the golfers don't fancy it - thats a joke! I am sitting here wondering whether I can take 4 days, just finished my second party pack of Doritos - would three packs in 5 hours be harder than a round of golf at Birkdale currently? - I think mine definitley takes more fortitude - you only need to think about the toilet's revenge tomorrow morning. Keep up the good work Dave."

1516: Padraic in London has e-mailed in to say: "As opposed to your Aussies (see 1300), I am sitting in my Fulham home, in my lazy boy, hand in the obvious position when in full tv veg mode and plan to move properly come Sunday evening. Golf is great to watch and you are not alone in your admiration for Brough Scott - there is an appreciation page on Facebook devoted to him."

1515: Ross Mooney writes: ''The Goose' is the man this week along with Furyk. They both are solid iron players and have proven in the past that par golf can win you tournaments, like Goosen's two US Open wins and Furyk's win a few years back. Furyk finished two shots off the play-off last time it was staged here and if he can hold his round together after a bad start he will be right in the mix. Backed Furyk on the nose at 27s and the Goose at 48s - poor old Mickleson the great pretender!!"

1512: Mickelson, being interviewed on TV, appears to be wearing lipstick. Perhaps it's a balm of some sort. He reckons that he'll need to shoot around par tomorrow to still be in with any sort of chance following today's 79.

1510: It doesn't feel like much of a consolation but it's not just the people I've backed who have suffered today. Links expert Ernie Els could only get it round in 80, the same number as fellow three-time major winner Vijay Singh. And Phil Mickelson only did one better than that with a 79.

1500: Boo finishes with an 80. Brilliant. Well done. That's two 80s in the bag so far after Mahan's earlier 10-over par disgrace. Stupid game.

1453: What is going on? Anthony Kim, who expressed his bewilderment at links conditions during his practice rounds, is leading the tournament at one-under.

1450: Not a bad lunch that. Pork chop, mash and a medley of greens. A tad overpriced but seems cheaper than last year.

1425: A quick check on the tips. Mahan has finished with a miserable 80 while Weekley is +9 after 15. Sigh. Hopefully the four afternoon starters will fare better although having said that Jim Furyk is +3 after 6 while Steve Stricker is +2 after 4. Definitely time for some food to boost the spirits.

1415: Retief Goosen's monotone musings aren't usually of much interest but there are a few decent snippets this time. He reckons his one over 71 would be worth six or seven under at a different venue in different conditions and feels that half of the field aren't up for it when the weather is as extreme as this. His warm-up this morning consisted of staying inside as it was simply too cold to go out on the range. Padraig Harrington follows him in and his interview is much more entertaining. The Open champ chuckles away several times when reflecting on his four over 74 and reveals that he's now about 90-95% certain of completing all four days having described his chances as 50-50 before the start. He played in similar conditions in last week's Irish PGA and says he "enjoyed" today's "battle". In fact, he states that he'd like the weather to stay the same so he could have another crack at it - a viewpoint unlikely to be shared by plenty of his fellow competitors! Harrington reckons about 40% of the field won't be up for it in today's weather and that helps the GB and Ireland players who are used to cold conditions. He also makes me feel better by saying that he set his alarm clock for 4.55am this morning - 35 minutes earlier than mine.

1335: Here comes Goosen at last. Back soon.

1330: The BBC's Hazel Irvine has collared Goosen first so we'll have to wait a bit. I've just been outside and it's still cold, wet and windy. On extreme days like this it's definitely worth making a note of which players have stood up to the elements and which ones have folded like a pack of cards as it could prove a big help when betting on future bad-weather Opens.

1320: Padraig Harrington (+4) and Retief Goosen (leader in the clubhouse at +1) have just finished their rounds and are coming into the press tent to be interviewed. I'm off to hear what they have to say.

1300: An e-mail to cheer me up... "Dave. We are freezing our t*ts off here in Aussie at the moment! However, from the TV it looks worst than us!! Question: I think Pampling - the quiet achiever - can seek a win. Your thoughts?? Regards, Chuggers." Well, Chuggers, I've backed Pampling in previous Opens and he was in my thinking again this time. Wouldn't put you off him, let's put it that way.

1256: Mahan doesn't exactly manage a birdie at the par five 15th. Instead he takes a double bogey seven. Okay, now I am officially writing him off.

1250: Harry reckons the morning starters have been "shafted" and that the afternoon players will average two and a half shots better if the weather improves as forecast. The train-wrecks continue for those early groups and Open expert Ernie Els has collapsed to +6 and is struggling for par at the 15th. Phil Mickelson is eight over after 12.

1240: Don't forget that whilst chomping your way through a lunchtime sandwich or light snack, you can write a comment in the bottom of this page or contact me with your Open thoughts at daveattheopen@hotmail.co.uk.

1235: Hurrah. A birdie for Hunter Mahan! He's back to +9 now and about to take on the par five 16th. Maybe he's not totally done for just yet.

1227: The worst score of the day, an 84, now belongs to Aussie Scott Strange - no relation to Steve Strange, whose hits included Fade To Grey. The New Romantic's real name, as it happens, is Steven John Harrington - no relation to current Open champ Padraig. I'm wittering. Might be time for some lunch.

1225: The Poulter shank is back. After hitting two in the US Masters, he's just squirted another one out here. But, of course, it wasn't a shank really was it Ian. Just a difficult lie that perhaps only Tiger Woods could have escaped from. It was just too difficult for the world number two and all those below him.

1220: A big thankyou to Hunter Mahan for totally embarrassing me. After three straight pars he's gone double bogey, double bogey, par, bogey, bogey, bogey, bogey, bogey to slide to 10 over par.

1215: Conor Shields has e-mailed in to call Sandy Lyle a "big chicken" for pulling out. And he also reckons Sergio Garcia will win by three shots.

1210: Forget Helen Mirren, if you want an example of someone defying father time look no further than racing commentator Brough Scott. He's 65 years old but has the wiry frame and bouncy walk of a man half his age and was furiously texting away like a teenager when I walked past him. Good full head of hair too.

1200: Simon Dyson, whose uncle Terry played in Tottenham's double-winning team in 1960-61, limped round in 82 today. Dyson was sixth in last year's USPGA in hundred degree temperatures so he clearly didn't like today's cold and wet conditions despite not being averse to them coming from York. His disappointment is tangible as he says: "You build up for a massive tournament like this and the weather is the worst it's been all year." Asked just how hard it is, he replies: "You can't play. You put a four-handicapper on that first tee and they'd probably shoot 100. That's no exaggeration. It's nearly unplayable." Retief Goosen may not agree however as the South African, after a pair of twos at 12 and 14, is somehow one-under for the day. He leads by two shots from a big group on +1 which includes Ian Poulter, who has birdied the ninth for a well-played outward 35.

1150: World number two Phil Mickelson shot 85 in round three in the 1998 Birkdale Open and he's heading for something similar here. A par putt at the eighth lips out and that puts him seven over after just eight holes.

1145: I'm having my first strong "why didn't I back him" moments. It's KJ Choi who has triggered this regret and self-loathing as I was going to tip him at 100/1 with Paddy Power pre-tournament before changing my mind late in the day. The South Korean, a multiple winner in the US, is tied for the lead at level par after playing his first nine in 34.

1138: The world has gone mad. Boylesports make Miguel Angel Jimenez 15/1 to win the Open. Obviously, having tipped him, I fancy the Spaniard to do well this week but that's a ridiculous price unless a little windless pocket of sun is about to follow him around for his 18 holes.

1137: More reminders of the horrible weather. At +2 are David Frost and Rohan Blizard.

1130: If the sound of the press tent roof is a reliable guide, the weather is getting even worse.

1115: The first group have completed their rounds - four hours and 45 minutes isn't that bad in such foul weather - and the scores on the doors are: Parry 77, Glover 78, Dyson 82. Parry joked in his TV interview that 77 feels like three-under rather than seven over on a day like this and it will be interesting to see where it it leaves him at the end of Thursday's play.

1110: I'm staying in the Premier Inn this week - a clean and comfortable chain-type hotel only spoiled by a cardboard cut-out of a grinning Lenny Henry in the foyer. Wouldn't it be funny if I nicked it I thought last night before realising that, no, it wouldn't be funny. Strangely, given that I presumed he'd be pretty well off after banking 629,614 Euros last year and nearly 200,000 this year, in the room next to me is Swedish golfer Pelle Edberg. Perhaps he fell for Lenny's "come to the Premier Inn" advertising spiel or maybe he just loves his Trevor McDoughnut impersonation but either way I didn't expect a player of his stature to be choosing the budget option. I passed Pelle in the corridor last night at around 9.30pm and he said he was off for some sleep but the early night doesn't seem to have done him much good as he's four over after four holes today.

1103: Irish Dave writes: "What a shame Darren Clarke isn't there. I always backed him E/W for The Open in case weather like this arrived. Being Irish it gave him links golf and plenty of wind/rain experience coupled with the build to stand up to a gale. It made me feel he would be last man standing. Of course it never quite paid out..." Very true, Irish Dave, Clarke might just have come into his own on a day like this. Seems wrong that he's won an event this year and yet it wasn't enough to get him into the Open.

1102: Heath Slocum only got his place in the field when Toru Taniguchi pulled out this morning and he's certainly making the most of it as he's tied second after playing his first four holes in level par.

1100: Gary Pearce writes: "There doesn't look much wrong with Harrington's wrist to me, he is ripping it out of the rough. I suspect he was overplaying it to get the Woods hero worship treatment if he wins." A tad cynical Gary! You have to give Harrington credit, bad wrist or not, as he's played his first nine in 35 the joint best outward half so far.

1050: If I've stopped talking about the leaderboard it's because Hunter Mahan has gone south. He's gone from level par to 5 over due to an error on the scoreboard and back-to-back double bogeys. Darn it.

1035: Just had a press tent cup of tea and what a palaver. There are 36 varieties on offer in a big six by six grid and you have to select one from a draw and then place it into a machine like a printer ink. After some whirring noises which go on for far too long an "enjoy your drink" message appears and finally you can move to the adding milk section. The upshot of this is a lengthy queue and tempers can fray on a cold day like this when the demand for tea and coffee is high. If a fist-fight breaks out later today I won't be surprised. Now, me talking about me drinking tea is quite possibly a clear case of self-indulgence. Down the years in my Open blogs there have been plenty of instances where I've been self-indulgent so let's talk about each and every one of those.

1030: Two players have pulled out already. Toru Taniguchi of Japan due to a bad back and Sandy Lyle due to bad weather. Sandy was 11 over after nine and, reading between the lines, had basically had enough.

1005: Colm, an Irishman living in Switzerland, asks if the weather is going to be grotty all day as he's backed some of the afternoon starters. Well, that could be a wise move Colm as the forecast seems to get better. From 1200BST to 1600 it's set to be cloudy with rain at times (wind SW 15-20mph) while from 1600 to 2000 it improves to cloudy with some dry and bright spells (wind SW 15mph).

0955: E-mailer Paul Thorndike follows a rude word with "Throw something at Westwood for me." The anger is understandable as the great English hope has just missed another tiddler. He's now +4 after just three holes and out to 50/1 at Betfair having started the day around 20/1.

0945: There seems to be some technical hitches with the official Open online leaderboard. Ernie Els has just taken a 0 at the third and followed it with another 0 at the fourth. That makes him seven-under which is some effort in this weather.

0943: Oh dear. Tanihara may have sparkly silver shoes but they're not lucky ones. He's just double bogeyed the first.

0937: But now a genuine e-mail. Peter Cosgrove writes: "Just reading your blog as I sit at a desk In Dublin. I heard that Calcavecchia's wife was meant to caddy for him and pulled out - was it the weather or a blazing row - either makes a good story!" Bit of a mystery Peter. There is a caddies list printout I've just checked and next to Calc is a blank.

0936: And the first e-mail is in... which I regret to say is some filthy spam.

0935: Bad news for anyone who's backed Lee Westwood to win the Open. He's +3 after just two holes and his putter is looking wobbly already.

0925: Phil Mickelson is about to tee off but I'm more interested in playing partner Hideto Tanihara as I've backed him for a top 10 finish. The Japanese player must have been on a shopping trip in Harajuku before he came here because, in a nod to the Sunday teenage shoppers in the famous Tokyo district, he's wearing silver golf shoes. You won't have trouble spotting his new bride either as she's dressed as a victorian maid.

0915: If you've nothing better to do and want to e-mail me, you have two options. You can write a comment in the bottom of this page or contact me at a new exciting e-mail address I've just set up called daveattheopen@hotmail.co.uk

0905: The next of my tips, Boo Weekley, goes out at 0931 alongside Monty and former Masters champ Mike Weir. My good lady wife has also had a small bet on Weekley this week. She backed him because "his ability to hit a low booring ball into the wind on difficult links courses makes him an interesting outsider in what looks a wide-open contest" while I've backed him because "he's got a funny name".

0900: Par for Mahan at the difficult second. A bit of rubbish weather doesn't bother this boy!

0855: Chris Hollins, son of former Chelsea star John, does the early morning sports news for the BBC and on TV earlier today he reckoned it was blowing 50mph. Now, I know it's windy but where exactly was Chris sitting? In the middle of the Atlantic? I'd guess it was about half that. Chris was right thought to tell BBC viewers that it's "absolutely p*ssing buckets".

0850: As we walked in earlier, Harry fist pumped after Justin Leonard, one of his main bets this week, made a par. He won't be too happy then to see his double bogey at the second. Another former Open winner Mark Calcavecchia almost took a six at the second, courtesy of a ridiculously errant tee-shot that nearly landed on the third fairway. The first of my tips, Hunter Mahan, has just made a solid par at the opening hole. With the wind blowing hard and the rain lashing down I can only wish him luck at the second.

0830: Two hours in pouring rain fighting an umbrella may not be everyone's cup of tea but, hey, it's the first day of the Open. It'll take more than atrocious weather to dampen my enthusiasm. Walking to the first tee, we passed Jeff Quinney coming out of the clubhouse. His expression was exactly as you'd imagine from a man brought up in sunny California who was getting a drenching in the cold of west Lancashire. Surprisingly, as the opening trio went to hit their tee-shots the wind and rain abated, prompting Simon Dyson to shed his waterproof top. That didn't last long though and by the second he was shivering again. Dyson and Craig Parry, who hit the very first shot of this Open, both made good saves from greenside bunkers but Lucas Glover made a messy five. The second hole is straight into the wind and I had terrible trouble brolly-wise, almost decapitating colleague Harry The Hat on several occasions. It's a brute of a hole for the players with the pin tucked onto the right of the green and and Parry, Dyson and Glover all made bogey. Glover, more used to Florida weather, looked as if he could rack up a huge score as he then missed the third green but he got up and down for par and then, from nowhere, birdied the fourth and fifth. He gave those straight back with a pair of bogeys so he's now back to +2. Looking up at the scoreboard in front of me, there's not a single player under par for the tournament. Five-time Open champ Tom Watson birdied the first to become the only man to get into red figures but a bogey at the fiendishly difficult second wiped that out. The first group have just reached the turn now with Parry and Glover at +3 and Dyson at +5. If the weather stays like this, anyone who breaks par today deserves a medal.

0625: Hello from Birkdale, where it's absolutely pouring down! Wind levels? Well, my umbrella inversed five times on the short walk from the car park to the media tent. In a word, it's grim. My Thursday mornings are usually spent at my two-year-old boy's music class - he graduated with flying colours last week despite losing concentration during "row row row the boat" in week eight and making repeated runs for the fire door. But, despite the atrocious weather, this morning it's my turn to make a beeline for the door so I can see the opening tee-shots of the 137th Open Championship. The three-ball getting sent on their way by starter Ivor Robson are Craig Parry, Lucas Glover and Simon Dyson. I've had a small bet at 300/1 about Parry being the first round leader so it's the little Aussie tubster I'll be watching carefully.