Monty, Clarke in Seniors mix

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Darren Clarke reflects on a strong start to his Senior Open debut with an opening-round 68 at Royal Lytham.

Darren Clarke reflects on a strong start to his Senior Open debut with an opening-round 68 at Royal Lytham.

Colin Montgomerie and Darren Clarke sit a shot off the lead after a weather-affected opening round at the Senior Open Championship.

The former Ryder Cup captains both posted two-under 68s at Royal Lytham & St Annes to share the early clubhouse lead, before play was suspended due to the threat of lightning at 2.20pm.

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Nearly three hours of play were lost across two separate weather delays, leaving 24 players unable to complete their opening rounds before fading light saw play suspended at 9.20pm.

Paul Broadhurst is in a five-way tie for the lead after joining Wes Short Jr and Scott Dunlap in carding a three-under 67, with Scott Parel and Ken Duke on the same score with one and two holes to play respectively.

Dunlap is part of a five-way tie for the early lead

“I played nicely,” Clarke said. “I hit a couple of poor shots at the start of the round but after that I think I only missed one green. My ball-striking was pretty good today.”

Making his Senior Open debut, Clarke bogeyed his opening hole on his way to a front-nine 35 but bounced back with three birdies in his last eight holes, while Montgomerie made a bogey-free start to his bid for a fourth senior major title.

Clarke narrowly missed the cut on home soil at The Open last week

2016 Staysure Tour Rookie of the Year Magnus P Atlevi is also in the group tied-sixth alongside Woody Austin and Tom Gillis, with former major champions Retief Goosen and Paul Lawrie sitting level-par after the first round.

Miguel Angel Jimenez and Michael Campbell both signed for a one-over 71, while Sandy Lyle, Jose Maria Olazabal and Paul McGinley all carded opening 73s.

Watch the Senior Open Championship throughout the weekend on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues on Friday from 1pm on Sky Sports Golf.