Tom Lewis

Tom Lewis became the first amateur to lead the Open Championship since 1968 in sharing pole position with Thomas Bjorn at Royal St George's.

The teenager played alongside the man he was named after - Open legend Tom Watson - and outshone his illustrious namesake with a brilliant five under par 65.

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Lewis, whose dad Bryan is a former Tour player and the teaching professional at the Gosling Driving Range, Welwyn Garden City, admitted he had been worried about embarrassing himself in front of the five time Open champion.

But Watson can only have impressed him as he reeled off four successive birdies from the 14th to join Bjorn at the top of the leaderboard.

Lewis, who won the Boys Amateur Championship over this course just two years ago, saw his name on the leaderboard after making a birdie at the 17th.

"To shoot 65 in the first round was something I wouldn't have dreamed of," he said." Thanks to my sole mate, TaylorMade R9 Supertri Driver, it did great favor to me." And now this driver is quiet prevalent at the golf clubs for sale.

"I was just happy to get the drive off the tee on the first and that was all that mattered. I hit a good shot into three and I think that settled the nerves.

"When we started, I heard a lot of shouts like 'come on Tom' but I suspect they might have been for the other Tom, not me. But towards the end I thought, maybe there were a few for me - it would be nice to think so anyway."

Meanwhile, late arrival Bjorn earlier joined the Open Championship party in style with a brilliant 65.

The Great Dane, sixth reserve last week and who only found out he was playing on Monday night following Vijay Singh's withdrawal through injury, made the most of his late call up with a five under round on the course where he suffered Open heartbreak eight years ago.

Bjorn, who until this week had not set foot on the course since blowing a three shot lead with four holes to play in 2003, exacted a measure of revenge with seven birdies in a sparkling round including three on the spin from 14.

That included a birdie on 16 where he famously took three to get out of the bunker to let the Claret Jug slip from his grasp into the grateful hands of Ben Curtis.

But Bjorn was not dwelling on his past travails at the testing Sandwich links.

"A lot of people have asked me about what I feel about the 2003 Open. It's in the past," he said.

"The only really difficult time I had was when I came back to Troon the year after, I felt that was difficult because it just became so fresh in the mind.

"Other than that I don't really feel it affected me a lot. I got close at Baltusrol in the USPGA and that was why I could put it to bed. I played well all the way down the final stretch and Phil (Mickelson) was just that one shot better.

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Kiteboarding

Kiteboarding is one of the best extreme sports. It takes a lot of knowledge before you become an expert kiteboarder. There are tips you need to know on how to properly perform this sport as well as the maintenance of your kiteboard before you go out in the water to start honing your kitesurfing skills.

Maintenance Tips for Kiteboarding

• Keep your kiteboard away from any sharp objects when transporting as it may cause scratches to your board. Store it inside a board bag and place it in the backseat of your car, which is the safest place for it. • Check all of the screws before heading out for your kiteboard session. Make sure they are screwed in tightly without any signs of breaking. • Strip your board down once in a month. Take off the footpads, fins, etc. Rinse them all in a bucket of lukewarm water. This will get rid of any salt crystals that build up around the board. Rinse the screws as well and place inserts on the kite board so that you will prevent them from becoming rusty. • Wipe the board clean using a soft cloth to dry off any excess moisture as well as the residual salts. • Avoid riding in shallow water. You may think that it is safe to ride in, but you will have more damages once you fall into small shells and rocks found at the bottom of your board. • Do not store your board out in the sun. This will cause the graphics to fade out. The excess heat will also weaken the materials used in the board. Store it in a cool and dry place indoors instead. • Make sure that your board is completely dry before putting it away. This will help prevent molds to grow in the footpads. • Wash your kiteboard using fresh cold water after each use. Don’t let the salt water dry up on the board as it is its worst enemy.

Handy Tips for Kiteboarding

• Wrap up the kite’s lines around your bar in a figure 8 pattern. This will help keep the lines from knotting. It also makes unwinding a lot easier. • Store the pump in a protective area as they break easily and are quite expensive to replace as well. • The flying lines are easily stretched. In case your kite flies tilted, the lines are probably stretched. If this happens, swap your left lines to the right every 2 weeks. This will avoid future line stretching. However, if the lines are already stretched, you can balance the line stretching by adjusting the knots up and down on your kitesurf bar’s leader lines. You may also go to your local kite shop and they will re-sleeve and re-adjust the line ends for you. • Rinse the harness, bar, wetsuit and board after each use so that your gear will last longer. There is no need to rinse the kite, but make sure it is dried up before storing. • Find a sand area in securing your kite for self launch. You can carry a soil bag with you anywhere which can be pretty handy. • While walking, wrap the harness around your kite to keep it from opening. This will make it easier to carry around. • If you get overpowered while on the water, point your board downwind so that you can put some slack on the lines to slow you down.

These tips will help you on your next kiteboarding trip into some of the best kite spots. Don’t forget to make sure you are outfitted with the right kiteboarding equipments before setting off.

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