Mark O'Meara has sympathy for pal Tiger Woods

Aside from a five-under-par start to The Open, if scandal-hit Tiger Woods was looking for another crumb of comfort to ease the pain affecting his personal and professional lives then one was to be found in the display of his good pal Mark O'Meara.

The 53-year-old, a winner of Masters and Open titles in 1998, shot a three under par yesterday, his best opening round in five appearances in Majors hosted by St Andrews, and he did it while concerned for his 81-year-old father, Robert, who is seriously ill back in the United States.

In the context of what Woods is going through, what is especially significant about O'Meara's performance is that two summers ago he was also in turmoil on and off the golf course as he struggled to come to terms with his wife wanting to divorce after 29 years of marriage.

Unlike with Woods, there was no salaciousness attached to O'Meara's sad situation. Instead, it was a case of a relationship losing its spark.

Yet as the world No1 faces up to the prospect of life without Elin, his wife and mother of their two children, O'Meara can offer a unique appreciation of what Woods is having to contend with.

He said: "I've been through this. I went through a divorce a couple of years ago.

"Though mine was not public like his, when you go through a period in your personal life where you struggle it's very, very difficult. It beat me up pretty good."