His niggling injury is not as bad as he first feared and the doctor has said he doesn’t need an operation. There’s only one problem now for Craig Lee. “I need to think of a new excuse for the way I’m playing,” said the Stirling man with a smile.

A steady two-under 70 in the first round of the BMW PGA Championship certainly helped some of the pains that have been caused by a bothersome wrist problem. The 39-year-old still requires a cortisone injection at some stage but he’s also been injected with fresh peace of mind.

“I went for a scan the other day and the doctor said there’s no need for an operation and I can’t do it any further damage by playing,” said Lee. “That gave me that little bit of confidence in my game because I’ve perhaps been protecting the wrist a bit. It’s been wrapped up for two months and my big fear was having to have the op. If I had to do that, I’d be out for six weeks and I can’t afford to do that.”

Lee, whose best finish of the 2016 season was 10th in last month’s Spanish Open, enjoyed what he described as an “effortless” day over the exacting West Course. Things can always be better in this game, of course. “I hit 17 greens but I seemed to leave every putt about two-feet short,” he added. “If I’d brought my putter to the party today then it could’ve been very good.”

David Drysdale scribbled eight birdies down on his card – the same number as joint leaders YE Yang and Scott Hend – but four bogeys and a double-bogey on the 10th hindered his progress as he posted a two-under card.

Off in the very first group of the day, Drysdale was briefly sitting at the top of the leaderboard when he birdied the ninth but that lofty perch didn’t last long as he leaked two shots on the next hole. “There was a lot of very good stuff and a bit of rubbish too,” was Drysdale’s summary of events.

Richie Ramsay spilled a couple of shots on the run-in for a one-under 71 and was joined on that mark by his fellow Aberdonian, Greig Hutcheon. The Tartan Tour stalwart, who only arrived at Wentworth late on Wednesday night after competing in the domestic circuit’s P&H Championship, made light of his frantic preparation with a spirited 71.

Paul Lawrie, who is likely to be named as one of Darren Clarke’s Ryder Cup vice-captains later today, had a 72 but Marc Warren stumbled to a damaging 78.