Dave Tindall is our man at Hoylake this week and he'll bring you all the news and colour.

2040: It's been a mixed day for the tips. Pats on the back to Jim Furyk (-4), Mike Weir (-4) and Rod Pampling (-3) but jeers for Kenny Perry (+1) and Davis Love (+3). One day I'll stop backing DLIII! Right, time to head back to Bebington. Harry has put his Panama hat on so he's clearly itching to get going.

2030: The feeling that this tournament is wide open hasn't gone away on day one. Tiger is right there on -5, just one off the lead, while Ernie Els (-4), Phil Mickelson (-3), Vijay Singh (-2) and Retief Goosen (-2) are all bubbling just under. As are Sergio Garcia (-4), Jim Furyk (-4), Adam Scott (-4), and Darren Clarke (-3). And what about Mike Weir (-4), Stephen Ames (-2) and so on and so on. Tiger is just 2/1 with most bookies to win his third Open but if the course dries out again and plays like it did in practice, he may not be able to paper over some of the cracks in his long game as he did today. The advantage he has is that he's out at 8.58 on Friday morning, meaning he has a chance to post another good score and really give the chasing pack something to think about.

2020: That's just about it for the day. The press are now keeping their fingers crossed that Brett Rumford, at four-under playing the last, doesn't eagle it and cause a re-write of their nightleads.

1930: Tiger declines the invite to come into the press tent for interview and instead informs organisers that he's off to the practice range to hit balls.

1925: The stats tell us why Graeme McDowell leads the tournament. He's tied first for fairways hit with 13 and is third in Greens In Regulation (hitting the green in the right number) with 16. Jim Furyk and Lee Westwood have also hit 13 fairways while Chad Campbell hit 18 greens out of 18 - a fantastic effort. He could be one to watch.

1920: Tiger eagles the last and jumps to five-under and a tie for second.

1910: There are 15 names on the big leaderboard in the press tent and only two are American - Jim Furyk and Tom Lehman. US players have won nine of the last 11 Opens but they're not having it all their way so far. However, Tiger is now playing the par five last and will join the logjam on four-under if he makes birdie.

1850: Like Phil Mickelson, tournament leader Graeme McDowell adheres to the Boy Scout motto of 'be prepared'. In his press conference, McDowell reveals: "I've had my coach here all week. Twenty seven holes Sunday and Monday was unbelievable preparation. I was dissecting the golf course well. I was playing a lot of shots around the greens and really doing a lot of experimentation and different shots that I was going to require. I felt very, very prepared for the week."

1720: There may be three Europeans - Owen, Wall and McDowell - at the top of the leaderboard but not all our boys are in good shape. Padraig Harrington, the shortest priced European in the betting before the action started, shot a three-over 75 while Monty carded a one-over 73. Harrington said: "It was just one of those days. I couldn't do much right. I didn't pick any right shots. I picked the wrong club. All of that sort of thing all in one day. Now I'll try to play well tomorrow and make the cut and plod along in a nondescript way." Looks like someone needs a hug. Monty, not for the first time in his career, blames his putter. "How frustrating is that given the amount of putting practice you've done?" he's asked. "Very, very, very," replies Colin, stamping his feet.

1705: Do most players prefer those early morning tee-times when they can take advantage of the conditions and then put their feet up for the afternoon? Phil Mickelson certainly doesn't. After his three-under 69 the left-hander revealed: "I like the later tee times. It seems that later in the afternoon the wind calms down a little bit. I'm sure if I play well tomorrow, I'll have three late tee times. The morning round is always the crap shoot. You never know if it's going to get windy or rainy or what." Many would disagree with that argument although as a punter his comments are worth noting.

1650: After shooting a pleasing 68, our main tip this week, Jim Furyk, offered an interesting insight as to why his recent Open record is terrible after some fine finishes in the late 1990s. Furyk said: "I adjusted my game early in my career to really fit the US Tour. I adjusted my equipment, my style, to hit the ball higher, to spin the ball more and play that style of golf a little more and compete a little more often over on our Tour. But as I've got stronger over there, I've gotten worse over here so I've not done a very good job adjusting back to playing this style of golf." But Furyk goes onto say that he came over to England earlier this year to prepare and that he's made a few equipment changes that have helped this time. "I think the course suits me well. You really need to drive the ball straight," he concludes.

1635: Graeme McDowell has joined the leaders on five-under. His former caddie told me earlier this week that the Northern Irishman was low on confidence in Loch Lomond last week but a return to links golf might just snap him out of it. You can say that again.

1625: A reader (well a friend to be honest) has asked me whether I saw any showbiz stars in the Ship pub in Hoylake yesterday evening. Did I just. It just happened to be 'Old Puppeteers' night although it turned into a big fight. Bob Carolgees and Spit were totally hammered and started laying into Keith Harris and Orville while Ray Allen and Lord Charles egged them on from the sidelines. Then in walks De Courcey and..... actually none of this happened. In fact there weren't any celebrities at all.

1620: Latest betting... Hills make Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson joint favourites on 5/1. Mickelson is two off the pace after carding a 69 while Woods is level after 6. Ernie Els is 9/1 third best after his four-under 68 while joint clubhouse leaders Greg Owen and Anthony Wall are both 40s. As for our tips, Jim Furyk is down to 20s from 33s while Mike Weir has been chopped to 25/1 from 100s after both shot 68s. Rod Pampling is a 66/1 chance after his 69. Kenny Perry was disappointing though and is out to 150s following his 73. Davis Love has started slowly (+1 after 5) and is 100s.

1605: Two Englishmen - Greg Owen and Anthony Wall - sit at the top of the leaderboard on five-under. Is it a brief moment in the sun or can they be serious challengers this week?

1600: The most recent venture outside was certainly good for the celeb spotting tally. Walking in front of me at the third were a trio of Everton footballers - James Beattie, David Weir and Alan Stubbs. And to redress the balance a little, when I went to get a bite to eat I passed ex-Liverpool goal machine Ian Rush. Four sportsmen = 100pts. I've also just eaten some scampi in the company of John Holmes but I can't claim any points here. It wasn't the American who shot 74 earlier today. Or indeed the deceased porn star. That would have been dead boring. No, it was John Holmes the work colleague who is here for the day with a now former co-worker John Boston. The latter is just one inch shorter than Peter Crouch so not a man to stand behind unless you're on a very slopey hill.

1545: A first glimpse of Tiger. Woods hits an excellent approach to the third but misses the birdie putt and mutters angrily to himself as he leaves the green. Nick Faldo also makes par and there's definitely no words being exchanged between the two so far. The third member of the group could be forgiven for feeling like a spare part but the man in question is the flamboyant Shingo Katayama. With his slightly silly walk and stetson hat he cuts a distinct figure and wouldn't look out of place walking with the Sunday gang in Tokyo's teenage fashion centre in Harajuku. He's an honest chap too. Once asked why he wore a stetson, Katayama revealed that he had a fat face and it made it look thinner!

1345: Just looking up at the scoreboard and I see that 150/1 tip Rod Pampling finished with an eagle to card three-under. That's a real bonus after I watched him struggle in the early part of his round. He's now just two back from leader Greg Owen while our main man this week Jim Furyk is just one off the pace after a 68. That said, there are about 500 players within two shots of the lead so just about everyone in the world must have a player they've backed nicely in contention.

1340: Mike Weir and Ernie Els are obviously pretty content in their press conferences after both carded 68s. Weir admits that his practice had gone so well that he'd hit very few balls pre-tournament. He describes links golf as "fun" and "different" and feels the Open is a tournament he should always do well in. The Canadian tells us that he was actually disappointed with his sixth place finish in the US Open where he felt his putter let him down. Today, he said he putted great and rolled it nicely. Nice one Mike. Els was relieved to see the rain as he felt the course was almost out of control when he practiced on Wednesday afternoon. If it stays soft this week he reckons there should be "a couple of 64s out there". Els says he feels comfortable with his swing and says his game is "right where I want it". Interestingly, he reckoned that four rounds in the 60s in the hard-fast conditions of Tuesday and Wednesday would have "won by a mile".

1305: Don't ever think that being in the press tent gives you a massive advantage on Betfair. The big Unisys scoreboard in front of us just showed Ernie Els finishing with an eagle to go to -6. It was there for a couple of minutes before the eagle suddenly turned into a par. The rest of the scores are well behind too.

1300: You've got to admire pure cheek and how's this for an exchange when a journalist parked his car.
Local scally: "I'll watch you car for a quid mate."
Journalist: "You're alright mate, I've got a doberman in the back."
Local scally: "Yeah, but can it put out fires?"

1240: So how is the 3rd hole spread bet going? So far 78 players have tackled the par four and the figures are: 6 birdies, 54 pars, 17 bogeys and one other (Mark Hensby's triple bogey). The current make-up is 22 so buyers at 150 need the wind to blow.

1235: Go on Mike Weir. Our 100/1 tip is now in a six-way tie for the lead on six-under.

1225: And joining the leaders at -4 now is world number two Phil Mickelson after he birdies the 10th. The cream is really rising to the top with Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia both three-under.

1220: Sporting Life colleague Harry Emanuel has backed SK Ho at 1000 on Betfair so his heart is thumping a little faster. He's already laid a chunk back at 190 to secure a nice profit.

1205: The bacon sarnie turns into a full English so I don't actually catch Jim Furyk and co until the first green. Jimbo has bunkered his approach but gets up and down. His drive runs into the bunker at the second and a bogey follows. +1 after 2. Not the start I wanted. But the American comes good at the third and holes a 20 footer for birdie and it really gets him going. A lovely up and down on five puts him into red figures and after almost holing his tee shot at six (unfortunately he misses the short birdie putt), he bangs in a 25 footer on eight and goes to -2. A par at nine sees him turn in 33 and a fine up and down from the left of the green takes him to three-under, just one off the lead. He's also really gossiping away to both partners so looks happy in these warm, still conditions. Our other tip, Rod Pampling, is much more erratic. Afer an early bogey he blasts his tee-shot straight into a gorse bush on the par five fifth. "Awww, he's not going to like that," says a member of the Pampling entourage but Rod bravely saves par. However, a three-putt on six drops him to +2 and I'm starting to think that I've backed a duff horse. But a 12 foot birdie putt on eight and another birdie at the par five 10th gets him back to level par and still in the game. Greg Owen plays some lovely golf from tee to green. Gosh, he's a good ball striker. But on the greens he's hit and miss. He holes a couple of good ones but he's way off with others. Nevertheless at two-under he's going well and I'm more than happy to have him at 400 on Betfair. I leave this trio at the 12th with Furyk -3, Owen -2 and Pampling level. The leaders at -4 are the unlikely trio of SK Ho, Marcus Fraser and Mikko Ilonen.

0815: Two of our tips - 33/1 Jim Furyk and 150/1 Rod Pampling - are going out at 8.39 (remember to add 30 minutes to your tee-times after the delay) so I'll fuel up with an overpriced bacon sandwich and follow them for the opening holes.

0810: So it's a doddle is it? It seems all we've heard this week is that scores will be incredibly low. Well the early starters aren't exactly tearing it up. In fact, the first five groups are a collective 6 over and that doesn't surprise me with some of the early pins tucked away.

0800: Peter Hedblom, Jerry Kelly and Steve Elkington all find the fairway with their opening tee-shots but Kelly after a poor approach and clumsy putt takes bogey. Still it's an improvement on his first hole at Sandwich three years ago when he took an 11! I walk the hole with PA reporter Mark Garrod who reckons if the tricky pin placement on the first is anything to go by, there won't be any super low scores out there. This trio of short hitters can't cash in on the second hole and, indeed, Hedblom makes bogey after finding the front bunker. I'm keeping a close eye on the third hole this week as a number of spread betting friends have played Sporting Index's 'Right-Off-Course' special. Points are awarded as follows: 1pt per bogey, 3pts per double bogey and 5pts for triple bogey or worse. This morning the line was quoted at 140-150. All my friends have bought, meaning they want to see everyone struggling and racking up some big numbers. It's not a good start though. The trio of Hedblom, Kelly and Elkington all take iron off the tee and play solid approaches to the middle part of the green. The flag is back left so there is no reason to flirt with the internal Out Of Bounds which runs down the entire right side of the hole. All three have tap-in pars meaning the score remains on zero. The next group all hit fairway, green and two-putt for par also. With not a jot of wind, the hole is playing fairly easy so far. Sorry chaps!

0650: Right, off to the first tee again.

0635: And the first shot.... has been delayed. Due to the inclement weather, the start has been put back to 0700. We trudge back to the press tent slightly bemused as it's hardly raining although there are a few puddles around and presumably there are some others out on the course that need to be drained. Time for a hot chocolate.

0615: I opened the front door this morning and - lo and behold - it was pouring down. On the drive in to Hoylake the rain eased to a spit and it's virtually stopped here at the course. However, it did feel a little soggy underfoot and the very early starters might just be getting a raw deal if the rough is wet and gnarly. It's definitely a relief that the heavens have opened however as it feels so much cooler. There's already a big queue at the gates and a real sense of expectancy. In 15 minutes time Peter Hedlom will hit the opening shot of the 135th Open championship and Harry and I are heading to the first tee now.