So it's no surprise that a star like Rory McIlroy didn't soften his performance during the first round of the Scottish Open: "It was a scrappy start," he summed it up. It's fair to say that things improved markedly for the Northern Irishman as the day progressed.

Knapp is loving links golf so much he'd like to extend his stay another week, and he took a step toward that Thursday with a 6-under 64 that put him in a four-way share of the lead.