Four days after nearly making history at the British Open, Greg Norman labored to a 4-over 75 yesterday in the opening round of the Senior British Open in Troon, Scotland, to finish seven shots behind co-leaders Bruce Vaughan and Eduardo Romero.

In sunny conditions at Troon, Norman bogeyed six of the first 10 holes and was 6 over before he finally birdied the par-4 13th. He birdied the final hole with a pitch to 3 feet.

"Things just weren't going my way early on," Norman said. "I just had to hang in there and guts it out the best I could. The ball just wasn't rolling my way."

Norman, 53, led the British Open at Royal Birkdale with nine holes to play Sunday and appeared on course to become the oldest winner of a major before he finished third behind Padraig Harrington.

While Norman struggled, playing partner Tom Watson made every green and missed only one fairway in a bogey-free 70. Andy Bean, John Cook and Kirk Hanefield and Nick Job were one shot off the leaders.

Vaughan made eight birdies for a 3-under 68 on the links course. But his round was hampered by a double and triple bogey. He recovered to play the final six at 3 under

Other tournaments

• Canadian Open: Canadian Mike Weir shot a bogey-free 6-under 65 in Oakville, Ontario, for a share of the lead with Anthony Kim and Eric Axley in the suspended first round. Only half of the players were able to finish the round that was delayed for 5 hours, 42 minutes.

• Evian Masters: Lorena Ochoa shot a 7-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead after the first round in Evian-Les-Bains, France. Ochoa, 26, started with a birdie on the first hole and added six more on the back nine in a bogey-free round. Ahn Sun-ju, Candie Kung and Angela Park trailed by one stroke.

• Russian Open: Joakim Backstrom had a double eagle in a 7-under 65 to share a four-way lead after the opening round in Nakhabino, where John Daly struggled with a hand injury to shoot a 70. Backstrom is tied with David Carter of England, Roope Kakko of Finland and Fredrik Henge of Sweden.