Justin Leonard hits the first shot of the 152nd Open at a cloudy Troon

Leonard won the Open in 1997.

Justin Leonard tees off the first tee watched by a large crowd with the sea and beach in the background

Former champion Justin Leonard got the 152nd Open Championship under way at Troon in overcast and breezy conditions.

The 52-year-old, who has an exemption for another eight years as a result of his victory here in 1997, has not appeared in a major since the Open was last in Ayrshire in 2016 as he now plays on the Champions Tour.

Before the first shot at 6.36am there was a moment of reflection for Ivor Robson, the official Open starter for more than 50 years, who died in October and whose family were present on the tee.

In a stiffening wind, blowing into their faces in a different direction from which the players practised, Leonard parred the first hole alongside another Troon champion in Todd Hamilton, who at 58 has only two years left in the event. He holed a testing 12-footer to also make four.

The third member of the group, local qualifier Jack McDonald, whose grandad is an honorary member at the club, also made par after his long birdie putt came up just short.

The current likely contenders for the Claret Jug were not due out until later in the day, with Rory McIlroy looking to put last month’s US Open near miss behind him when he tees off at 10.09am.

Just ahead of him, at 9.36am, is the group comprising two-time major winner Jon Rahm and his Ryder Cup team-mates Tommy Fleetwood and Sunday’s Scottish Open champion Bob MacIntyre in front of an expectant home crowd.

Rory McIlroy tips his cap after putting — Rory McIlroy is looking to put his US Open near miss behind him as he goes in search of his first major since 2014 when he tees off at Royal Troon later (Jane Barlow/PA)

World number four Ludvig Aberg and Bryson DeChambeau – the US Open winner – and defending champion Brian Harman and Viktor Hovland are due to head out in the two groups immediately preceding McIlroy’s.

Big names out in the afternoon include Tiger Woods, out with US PGA champion Xander Schauffele and his Ryder Cup team-mate Patrick Cantlay, and world number one Scottie Scheffler – looking for his seventh win of the year.

Henrik Stenson, the winner of an epic final-day tussle with Phil Mickleson when the Open was last held here eight years ago, is due out at 12.42pm.