Scottish Open prep helps Kuchar to first-round lead

SOUTHPORT, England – For any players who remain unconvinced that the best way to prepare for The Open is to play the preceding Scottish Open, consider Matt Kuchar a voice of reason. Kuchar, who tied for fourth place last week at Dundonald Links, is playing his 13th Open this week, but even after so many trips around the ancient links, he still found himself relying heavily on last week’s refresher. “We had a couple awfully challenging days there at the Scottish Open,� said Kuchar, who opened with a 65 for a share of the first-round lead at Royal Birkdale. The Open: Full-field scores | Live blog: Day 1 | Full coverage “I remember being on the course at one point on the 12th hole Saturday. I had