Scottish Open 2016: Thursday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

Scott Hend and Felipe Aguilar are in a two-way tie for the lead at the 2016 Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open after each shooting an opening-round 69 at Castle Stuart Golf Links on Thursday. 

Tough weather threatened play all day during this qualifying series tournament for The Open Championship.

Here's what the leaderboard looks like after Day 1 of the tournament:

Position	Player	Round	Total
T1	Scott Hend	-3	69
T1	Felipe Aguilar	-3	69
T3	Padraig Harrington	-2	70
T3	Richard Bland	-2	70
T3	Y.E. Yang	-2	70
T3	Tyrrell Hatton	-2	70
T3	Andy Sullivan	-2	70
T3	Eddie Pepperell	-2	70
T3	Alex Noren	-2	70
T3	Graeme McDowell	-2	70

All scorecard information is via the European Tour's official site. 

Recap

Aguilar was pleased with his effort, particularly given the conditions, a fact he made clear via Twitter:

As well as Aguilar played, though, Hend was just as good. He made a great start to life on the opening nine by striking an eagle on the par-five second. But it was the hat-trick of birdies on the back nine that really gave the Australian his round of 69.

Hend wasn't the only player to collect a trio of birdies. Danny Lee hit three of his own over the first four holes to move to three-under after 12.

Another birdie on the 13th put Lee at four under and in sole ownership of the lead. But a bogey on the par-four 14 dragged him back into a tie for first place.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Things got worse when he could only manage par on the next three holes. The strong winds attacking the exposed greens on the back nine in Inverness, United Kingdom, were proving tricky. Lee fell victim on the 18th, when he hit a double bogey.

He eventually dropped out of the leading pack and finished two shots short of the lead.

Padraig Harrington was a late starter who made the most of his time on the back nine. He bookended five pars with a pair of birdies as he approached the tricky 17th.

One player wowing the crowds was flat-cap wearing Robert Rock. A particular highlight of his day came on the par-four nine. He set up his birdie with this superb drive to the green:

Yet, Rock's card was blotted by six bogeys, the first coming on the par-five second. Such inconsistencies ultimately left Rock at even par for the day.

Every player had to deal with tumultuous weather, with fierce winds a persistent issue as play progressed:

One player who really struggled with the wind was Phil Mickelson. The American was plus-three after 13 holes, largely due to four bogeys. He ended the day with six bogeys and finished at four over.

Given how 69 set the lead, players who finished two and three shots over will know a mid-to-late sixties scorecard on Friday will set them up well for the weekend. However, a lot will depend on the difficult and unpredictable weather.