Strong winds wreak havoc at Troon

Alena Sharp thought the 6:30 a.m. tee time might offer relief from the wind. Not the case at Royal Troon, where fences fell down on the Scotland golf course as she warmed up on the range. Sharp cranked her first tee shot out of bounds Thursday in the AIG Women’s British Open and double-bogeyed the opening hole.

The Canadian veteran used to hate playing in the wind but has learned to enjoy the grind, an attitude that served her well in an opening even-par 71, one back of leader Sophia Popov.

Nelly Korda’s opening drive went 187 yards. She then watched her 5-iron balloon into the air 140 yards, landing short of the green. “I had a hard time walking,” said Korda, who added that she finds it fun to play in this type of weather. Korda finished at 1 over on the day, a fine score in a four-club wind.

Catriona Matthew, the great Scot, knows better than anyone how important patience plays on days like this. The 50-year-old European Solheim Cup captain and 2009 British Open champion didn’t miss a fairway in her 71, birdieing three of her last four holes.

Popov’s journey to Troon was certainly more eventful that most. The German qualified for the year’s first major by finishing tied for ninth in the Marathon LPGA Classic, using a pull cart. She then flew to Phoenix, where she played in a Symetra Tour event in temperatures that soared well over 100 degrees, finishing second. Popov arrived in Scotland on Tuesday and played one practice round before vaulting to the top of the leaderboard.

“It’s nice to kind of get a little bit of a head start,” said Popov, who played golf at the University of Southern California and has boyfriend Max on the bag. “You never know how things are tomorrow and how brutal the weather is going to be. No one can really prepare me for what’s going to come tomorrow. It might go totally sideways.”