If you only caught the tail-end of Graeme Robertson's post-round chinwag at the St Andrews Links Trophy you would have thought the Glenbervie player had been enduring a season of untold misery.

"I've had a few scores in the 80s this year," he reflected.

Yesterday did not bring one of those, though. On a pleasant day in the Auld Grey Toon, where there was enough of a breeze to cause plenty of mischief over the Jubilee course, Robertson posted a tidy three-under-par opening round of 69 for a share of third place as Northamptonshire's Ryan Evans surged to the front with a 66.

While he has tossed a few high numbers into the pot over the past couple of months, Robertson has demonstrated the kind of powers of recovery that would've had Lazarus politely applauding from the greenside. He shot 81 in the first round of the Battle Trophy at Crail on the domestic order of merit circuit but went on to win the event and battled back from an 81 in the second round of the Irish Open Strokeplay before losing out in a play-off for the title.

Golf, of course, is a game of wildly fluctuating fortunes and Robertson knows how quickly things can change. This time last year, the Stirling University student beat Derek Ernst 2&1 in the final-day singles as Europe's college golfers overcame their American counterparts in the Palmer Cup at County Down.

Fast forward 12 months, and young Mr Ernst is now a PGA Tour champion, and $1m richer, having plundered the Wells Fargo Championship recently. "He did look a good player and his win just shows how one good week can change a career," observed the Scot.

Robertson opted out of this weekend's Palmer Cup to pursue his Walker Cup ambitions with a strong showing in Europe's premier amateur strokeplay contest. He certainly made a good start to his title tilt. Despite a bogey on the opening hole, the 24-year-old kickstarted his latest salvage operation with a run of three birdies in four holes from the third before adding to his birdie haul with a putt of 20ft on the tough 10th.

"The Walker Cup is the priority and this event is more important for me in terms of selection," said Robertson, who finished third at the Links Trophy last year.

He was joined on the three-under mark by his Dubai-based countryman Daniel Hendry, who enjoyed an impressive debut in the tournament. The east coast may not have been as warm as the Middle East but the 19-year-old revelled in the sunshine and illuminated his 69 with a trio of birdies at 10, 11 and 12. "I'm just soaking all this up and enjoying it," Hendry said of his first competitive experience at the home of golf.

Englishman Evans also enjoyed his first taste of St Andrews and packed seven birdies into a 66, the pick of the bunch coming at the 16th where he holed a raking putt of 40ft.

Evans is one of that increasingly rare breed that combines full-time employment with top-level competition but a victory at the South of England Amateur Championship last year and third place at the recent French Amateur Championship show the 26-year-old knows how to put in a good shift. "I just have to pick and choose my events," said the IT worker. "I was actually pretty dreadful in practice but something just clicked today."

Nathan Kimsey, who led last week's Scottish Open Strokeplay at Southerness after round one, is in the thick of it again after a 68.