Rickie Fowler took early advantage of his spot in the final major of the year by carding a 2-under par 69 after the first round of The Open Championship at Royal Portrush on Thursday.

Fowler offset three bogeys with five birdies, including going 2 under over his final four holes to sit in a tie for 10th place after 18 holes during a rainy and extremely slow round.

“I think just not trying to get too cute or try and do too much, play a little bit conservative,” Fowler said when asked how he deals with different conditions throughout a round at The Open. “Bogeys are OK at times. You can get yourself into trouble pretty quickly out there if you maybe try and do too much.”

Fowler, 36, earned his way to Northern Ireland this week with a top-10 finish at the Memorial. He then opted not to come over early for the Scottish Open, deciding instead to play in the John Deere Classic, where he tied for 18th.

Once a regular around the first page of major leaderboards, just being in attendance is no longer a given for the world’s 110th-ranked player. Fowler did not earn a spot at the Masters or U.S. Open this year and missed the cut at the PGA Championship.

However, he has enjoyed some of his best major success at The Open. Among Fowler’s 13 previous starts was a tie for second at Royal Liverpool in 2014 and a tie for fifth at Royal St. George’s in 2011.

“I love playing over here. It’s a style of golf I love to play,” he said. “I know I can compete in any style of golf, but especially this.”

Fowler tied for sixth the last time The Open was held at Royal Portrush, carding a 66 on Saturday before struggling to a final-round 74. Still, it’s a course he feels very comfortable on — something he plans to take advantage of over the next three days.

“It’s a tricky golf course, depending on where the wind’s at and what kind of weather we have,” he said. “You have to think your way around it and hit — execute still but also know when you can maybe play on the aggressive side or when you need to kind of play conservative or just stay smart and take what the course gives you.

“Definitely nice to get off to a solid start because you can take yourself out of the tournament pretty quickly Thursday with a poor round.”

–Field Level Media