Rolling back the years, turning back the clock, rummaging in the archives? Call it what you like, Ronan Rafferty did it at Archerfield Links yesterday as he unearthed the kind of gem from times of yore that would have had the members of the Royal Archaeological Institute polishing their trowels in an excited fluster.

The 52-year-old Perthshire-based Northern Irishman illuminated affairs on day one of the Prostate Cancer UK Scottish Senior Open with a sparkling nine-under 63 as he surged into a one stroke lead over Dublin’s Philip Walton.

This was a real golfing blast from the past by Rafferty. The last time he had a 63 in a tournament on a main European circuit was 28 years ago in the final round of the 1988 Lancome Trophy. The good folk of East Lothian must have been wondering if the Antiques Roadshow had rumbled into town

"I've not been doing that well and I don't know whether I'm more surprised or you,” he said to the gathering of assembled scribblers. “I suggest it's a bit of both. As in 'oh my god, where's he come from?’.”

This was like the good old days for Rafferty, a seven-time winner on the European Tour in his pomp, as he rekindled the kind of from that made him Europe’s No 1 in 1989. Given that he is an avid collector of fine wines, Rafferty might have been tempted to shove his card into a bottle, stick a cork in it and call it a 2016 Archerfield vintage.

Having started on the 10th tee, the former Ryder Cup player got things going with a raking putt of some 35-feet on the 14th for a birdie and then bumped an 8-iron at the 16th from around 140 yards into the hole for an eagle-two. In fact, from the 14th to the first, Rafferty covered that six hole stretch in seven-under-par. “It was a real purple patch and after the birdie on the first I was thinking ‘wow, what’s just happened over the last hour and a half?’,” added Rafferty, whose best finish in three seasons on the over-50s circuit remains a share of fifth in the Wales Senior Open in 2014. “We all play to try to get ourselves up that leaderboard and, if there's a pro golfer who doesn't, then he shouldn't be playing the game. You only find out your flaws when you are on a leaderboard with people watching and I still need to do that because I've hardly been on a leaderboard in three years on this tour.”

Walton, who grabbed the winning point for Europe in the 1995 Ryder Cup at Oak Hill, also took advantage of the decent scoring conditions with a neatly assembled 64 as the predicted rain stayed off until later in the day and the wind remained modest. Walton still uses the long putter and since the ban came in on the anchored method of stroke with such a golfing tool, the 54-year-old has had to tweak his technique accordingly to stay within the rules. It’s not hindered his form on the greens. “I had five or six putts today that went in from between 25 and 40 feet so that made a huge difference,” he said.

Australia’s Peter Fowler moved into third place on his own with a 66 while Andrew Oldcorn was the pick of the Scots after a battling four-under 68.

The 56-year-old’s record in his home Open is hardly shimmering. In 18 previous rounds at the Scottish Open, both here at Archerfield and at its previous home of Fairmont St Andrews, Oldcorn had broken 70 just once. The omens for doing well yesterday were hardly great when he started limbering up on the driving range and was immediately struck with that feeling that most of us crude amateurs experience on a regular basis; a complete lack of timing.

“I warmed up very poorly and I was all out of sync,” said Oldcorn, a winner on the Senior Tour in Germany last month. “I would have snapped your hand off if you had offered me a 68 on the range before my round. I felt so uncomfortable and out of sorts and it wasn’t until the back nine until I got some rhythm in my irons.”

Oldcorn was joined on 68 by defending champion and Senior Open winner Paul Broadhurst, who was left a tad brassed off by leaking two shots on his final three holes.