Australia's Peter O'Malley stumbled on a triple bogey at the last hole to card a six-over-par first round at the British Open at Royal Troon.

O'Malley opened the tournament as the first player to tee off in calm conditions and, after dropping a shot at the fourth, a birdie three at the ninth brought him to par at the halfway point.

But he struck trouble on the back nine, with bogeys at the 10th, 12th, 15th and 17th holes.

A birdie at the 16th gave him some hope but when he went out of bounds in front of the clubhouse by the green on the 18th, his triple bogey seven gave him a disastrous opening score of 77.

His playing partner, England's Gary Evans, carded a three-under-par 68, set up by a remarkable albatross two on the par five fourth.

Ernie Els was the early leader on four under after 11 holes, including a spectacular hole-in-one on the par-three eighth - the shortest hole in championship golf at 123 yards.

"I didn't play that bad but just got in a few traps, got a flyer at the last, missed the green by a yard and you're out of bounds, that's the way it goes," said O'Malley, who has had two top 10 finishes at the Open but missed the cut last year.

"The score I had didn't reflect the way I played."

Queenslander Andrew Buckle was close on O'Malley's heels in the second group to finish, but also signed a miserable-looking card with four bogeys, a double bogey and a birdie giving him a five-over total of 76.

In the next group, Craig Parry was also blown away on the back nine where he dropped four shots to plummet to a 76.

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