• Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Round One

Westy & G-Mac impress at Kingsbarns

Graeme McDowell made a welcome return to form after a difficult year © PA Photos

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Lee Westwood and Graeme McDowell are both within touching distance of the four players at the top of the leaderboard - Louis Oosthuizen, Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Michael Hoey and Markus Brier - following the first day of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championships.

McDowell fired a five-under 67 on the Kingsbarns course to move within one of the lead, recovering from a bogey at the 12th (his third of the day) to come home with four birdies and an eagle. It was a welcome return to form for the world No. 15, who has been struggling of late - just three top tens on the European Tour this season - and finished 12-over through 36 holes at the US PGA Championship last month.

However, he believes he has turned a corner after returning to former coach Clive Tucker. "At the US PGA Championship things came to a head," McDowell said. "Myself and my caddie had to have a bit of a heart-to-heart as to what we were doing and what we needed to change.

"It was a bit of soul-searching and Clive was the answer, a guy that understands my game very well and was probably a lot to answer for why I played well in 2010.

"I'm not breaking my ties with Pete (Cowen), I still want him to coach me but I needed another opinion on things. I've got more clarity of thought with my game, which excites me. At one point in August I really wasn't looking forward to a busy schedule at the end of the season."

World No. 2 Westwood started slowly at Kingsbarns, reaching level-par at the turn, but a run of five birdies in six holes on the way in took him to four-under. Also at Kingsbarns, Luke Donald hit a three-under 67, while Rory McIlroy is one shot worse off.

New pro Tom Lewis is at four-under, having finished with a double-bogey seven.

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