Sergio Garcia, fifth at St Andrews last year, was among the leaders once more in the Open championship at Hoylake today.

Garcia got off to the perfect start with a birdie from nine feet at the first and picked up further shots at the fifth and seventh.

The Spanish Ryder Cup star then saved par from nine feet on the ninth after finding a greenside bunker off the tee, but missed a great chance for birdie on the 10th.

A superb 2-iron approach from 240 yards found the green in two but Garcia three-putted for par after charging his eagle attempt six feet past. At three under par Garcia was one shot behind the early clubhouse leaders SK Ho, Mikko Ilonen,  Marcus Fraser and Mark Hensby.

Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington are the only Irish players on the course and stood at one-over and two-over after nine and 10 holes respectively.

Earlier in the day it had been a story of delays as the Open returned to Hoylake for the first time in 39 years. After heavy rain overnight, the lingering threat of further thunderstorms in the area forced organisers to put back the start of play to 7am.

A food lorry then became stuck in the mud to the side of the second fairway and had to be removed by a JCB after a forklift truck was unable to shift it.

The lorry had been heading for the hospitality area when it became a victim of the overnight rain.

Rules officials treated the lorry as a "temporary immovable obstruction," allowing players hindered by it to a free drop.

Colin Montgomerie and Phil Mickelson, a month on from double bogeys on the last hole which cost them the US Open, had got off to a good start with birdies at the first, but Montgomerie bogeyed the fourth and seventh to drop back to one
over.

Mickelson also dropped a shot at the second but then eagled the fifth from 10ft to move to two under.