Apart from blowing smoke out of his own twirling helicopter and writing the words ‘look up here, it’s me’ in the sky above Turnberry, Donald Trump did just about everything else to turn the first day of the Ricoh Women’s British Open into a self-obsessed circus.

Perhaps we all need to adopt the shrugging nonchalance of the happy-go-lucky teenager, Lydia Ko. “I was on the 16th and I saw the helicopter and I was like ‘man, that’s a really nice helicopter, I’d love one’,” said the world No 2 with a smile after launching her bid for a maiden major title with a six-under 66 to sit just a shot off the lead.

Ko had grabbed much of the early attention on the Ailsa Course. Unfortunately, Trump’s entrance, well, trumped much of that. The sad reality was that day one of the championship became something of a sideshow. “The Tour loves Donald, he’s done a lot for women’s golf,” said Cristie Kerr, who also opened with a 66. He may have served it better yesterday by staying away, though.

It was a bewildering, bamboozling spectacle as the American tycoon invited a salivating and elbowing scrum of newshounds on to his US Presidential bandwagon. He was so absorbed in the political palaver, you half expected him to forget he was actually on Scottish soil, take his campaign trail out on to the Ayrshire links, shake the hand of Doreen from Mauchline and say ‘I trust I can rely on your vote ma’am.’

Poor Lizette Salas, the daughter of Mexican immigrants who had spoken with quiet dignity on the eve of the championship about Trump’s recent Mexican rant , was surrounded by cameras and microphones after a level-par 72 and faced barking, brash questions like ‘is he a racist?’ instead of ‘what did you hit into the seventh?’ It was all spectacularly unedifying and lamentable on the first day of a women’s major championship

Mercifully, there was much to be admired on the course. Ko, off in the second group of the day just after 6.40 am, took full advantage of the inviting conditions to set the early standard with a rousing six-under round that included four birdies in a row from the second. It was her lowest score in a major championship to date. It was also worth the juddering 3.30am alarm call. “I kept pressing snooze until I started to think I should really get out of here,” said Ko of the desperate struggle to prise herself from the comforting embrace of the duvet.

Amid all her record breaking conquests, Ko has yet to win a major crown. Morgan Pressel was 18 when she became the youngest woman to win a major at the Kraft Nabisco Championship in 2007. Ko still has a few weeks to better that feat – she could o it here or at the forthcoming Evian Championship – but, unlike us fevered observers, the New Zealander is not consumed by this quest. She’s got plenty of time on her side, after all. “You know, my goal is to hopefully have one major in my career but It doesn’t need to be now,” said this extremely level-headed young woman who had benefitted from a links tune-up in the Scottish Open at Dundonald last weekend. “There is Morgan’s record but you see the headlines and you don’t really want to think about it. At the end of the day, we’re all trying to play our best. That’s all we can do.”

Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim was just 19 when she burst on to the scene with major victory in the Evian Championship last year and she signalled her intent yesterday with a seven-under 65 that thrust her to the head of the field. It was a round full of poise and purpose and almost featured an albatross on the par-5 14th where her second shot dribbled to within a few inches. Inbee Park, the world No 1 who is aiming for the career Grand Slam, birdied three of her last five holes in a 69 but not everybody prospered on the Ailsa Course. Karrie Webb, the decorated Australian and the winner of the Women’s British Open the last time it was at Turnberry in 2002, took 45 blows to reach the turn during a torrid spell that included an eight on the eighth en route to a crippling 80. Paula Creamer, the former US Women’s Open champion, also scribbled an eight on to her card after coming to grief in the sand on the fifth as she staggered to an outward half of 40. The salvage operation was superb, though, and a haul of six birdies coming home in a one-under 71 repaired some of the damage. “I’m pretty proud of myself but my caddie really helped me,” she said. “You end up feeling sorry for yourself but my caddie just told me to get me head out of my butt and let’s go. And I did.”

Creamer was joined on the one-under mark by Catriona Matthew, the 2009 champion, who led the Scottish challenge and illuminated her card with a putt of 25-feet for an eagle on the third. “Anytime you start a major with an under-par round, you are not going to grumble,” said the 45-year-old from North Berwick. Solid and dependable, it was business as usual for Matthew. Now that Trump has departed after his frantic flying visit, it will be back to normality too for the Women’s Open.