The 34-year-old had to go through the final qualifying round to make the cut at Hoylake last year but after finishing 20th on the DP World Tour this summer he no longer has that worry.
He got off to a stellar start, and after birdying the second hole, he holed out from the 612-yard semi-rough on the fourth hole to move into a tie for the lead at three under with two-time American major champion Justin Thomas, who missed the cut last year after birdies on the seventh and eighth holes.
Former Masters champion Adam Scott had his own magical moment, as he birdied the first hole from a bunker and then made birdie on the 118-yard eighth hole, the iconic postage stamp hole, to move him to just one shot off the lead.
Justin Rose, who made it through the final qualifying round earlier this month, birdied the seventh hole to move to two under with Scott, and while he played better than his score suggested, he proved his quality on the next hole when he escaped with par after hitting sand on the tee.
The first headlines of the morning saw Tommy Fleetwood, newly crowned Scottish Open champion and local favourite Robert MacIntyre and two-time major champion Jon Rahm play their first round matches.
He was followed by world number four Ludvig Aberg, who birdied his first shot from 18 feet, while U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau made bogey after missing par by three feet.
The two former Troon District champions, Justin Leonard and Todd Hamilton, who led the team, found the competition difficult, and they shot 8 over par and 6 over par respectively after 13 holes.
Notable players in the afternoon included Tiger Woods, who was joined by PGA champion Xander Schauffele, Ryder Cup teammate Patrick Cantlay and world number one Scottie Scheffler, who was seeking his seventh win of the year.
Henrik Stenson, who won a close final-day battle with Phil Mickelson when the British Open was last held eight years ago, will take the stage at 12:42 p.m.