John Patterson had the worst round in the field at Royal Cinque Ports. He carded 28 points on 36-over gross. That is the lowest Trophy score of the day and the highest gross, a double that required real commitment.

The damage arrived in instalments. A quadruple bogey at the 1st, to establish the tone. A quintuple bogey nine at the 7th, to confirm it. Another quadruple at the 10th. Then a run from the 9th to the 11th that bled eight shots in three holes. A second quadruple bogey at the 16th, a par-5 of stroke index 7, was by that stage an administrative formality.

The bottom of the TEG 13 Wooden Spoon race did change hands four times over the round, though the traffic was routine rather than dramatic. Gregg Williams occupied the spot twice, at the 3rd and again at the 5th. David Mullin took his turn after a double bogey at the 4th. Both were released. Patterson's double bogey at the 2nd, followed in due course by the quadruple at the 16th, secured the position permanently.

He finished three points adrift at the foot of the field. Jon Baker led both the Trophy and the TEG 13 Green Jacket after the opening 18.

Round one at Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club was a grind for Gregg Williams and David Mullin alike. Both carded 94 gross. Both found exactly one hole on which to halt proceedings.

Mullin's round began in trouble and stayed there. A triple bogey at the 1st. Bogeys at the 2nd and 3rd. A double bogey at the 4th. Four straight holes without a par, and then, at the par-5 5th, one of the harder holes by stroke index, a birdie. It arrived like a telegram from a better round happening elsewhere.

Williams had the same story, only worse. After a double bogey at the 13th and a bogey at the 14th, he birdied the 15th, which is Royal Cinque Ports' hardest hole by stroke index. Handsome work. It also changed nothing, because earlier he had dropped six shots across three holes, from the 5th to the 7th. Three double bogeys in a row, not a net par among them. For both men, one birdie apiece was the only thing standing between a bad round and something considerably less dignified.

Alex Baker's opening round at Royal Cinque Ports never got going. A double bogey at the 4th was merely the overture. He then ran triple bogey, double bogey, double bogey through the 5th, 6th and 7th, losing nine shots in that four-hole stretch. The par-5 5th, the second-hardest hole on the course, took a triple in the middle of the slide.

The back nine offered nothing. A double bogey at the 10th. A quadruple bogey at the 11th, one of the harder holes out there. A triple bogey at the 12th. Another nine shots gone in three holes, and three consecutive holes without a net par to show for any of it. That second collapse also dropped him to the bottom of the Wooden Spoon race, from third to fifth, which is a long way to fall in ninety minutes.

Between the two stretches, Baker lost eighteen gross shots in seven holes. He finished round one on 102. The other eleven holes were, by comparison, a sanctuary.