ST ANDREWS, Scotland - This is an easy area to find enchantment, to be captured by the mystery of a town as well as the history of golf.

The ruins of a 900-year-old cathedral prove an iconic sentinel at one end of a place constructed as much on great golf as of gray stone. A few cobblestone streets away, rests the Old Course no less a benchmark than a landmark.

Does the imagination take over as one prowls around in the mist and chill? Is it too much to note what happened to John Daly and Tiger Woods in the first round of the British Open on Thursday and believe they have made steps in their comebacks?

They've won the last three Opens played at St. Andrews. Daly, The Wild One, in 1995, and Tiger, The Chastened One, in 2000 and 2005.

On the first day of 139th Open, they reminded us what had been and what very well could be again.

Daly, now 44, slimmed by Lap-Band surgery, shot a 6-under-par 66, three shots behind leader Rory McIlroy, which had John going on about his "love'' of St. Andrews.

Not long after, the 34-year-old Woods came in with a 67 that he said was pleasing if not satisfying.

Maybe for both it was the round that made a difference, the round which enables Daly to enjoy the game as much as his fans enjoy him; the round which gives Tiger the confidence and the stroke missing even before the accident and revelations.

Daly seemed at peace with himself. "I've learned a lot,'' he said. "I've never run from my mistakes.''

Woods seemed at peace with his progress. And as importantly, his critics, the media. "I'm hitting shots that I haven't hit in a long time,'' said Tiger. "It's building.'' He stood waiting for more questions from the very people he had been avoiding.

It seemed like a different Tiger. He was, mostly, consistent during the round and relaxed after. Even when a British reporter asked about story that Woods' caddy, Steve Williams, was outspoken about Tiger's putting, Woods didn't glare. "I haven't heard about anything,'' was the unemotional response.

One of these days Woods was going to return to form. As he, McIlroy, Daly and everyone else who had the good fortune to play in the morning or early afternoon conceded, St. Andrews, the Old Course, never will play any easier.

"Today felt awkward because there was absolutely no wind whatsoever," Woods said. "And you never play a links course with no wind. You had to take advantage of it.''

Daly, wearing those multi-colored trousers - nobody in Britain uses the word "pants'' - which he says bring good luck, and certainly bring a lot of attention, took advantage of his return to a course he has embraced for a long while.

"It's my favorite course in the world,'' said Daly.

If Tiger doesn't go that strong, he too finds magic at a place with a bunker named Hell and a walkway crossing the 18th fairway named Granny Clark's Wynd.

Woods remains No. 1 in the World Golf Rankings. If he hasn't played like the best on the planet, neither has he played like the worst. The question remains whether he'll again be dominant.

The question about Daly, after the drinking bouts, the suspensions, the lack of self-control, is whether he'll again be a regular on the PGA Tour.

He's here because until they are in their 60s, Open winners get lifetime exemptions. Same thing for the PGA Championship. Otherwise, he needs a favor from a tournament sponsor.

"I've always been the man you're supposed to be when you screw up,'' said Daly, "and I've screwed up an awful lot, not just on Tour but in other aspects of life. And like I said, I think it's how you come back and deal with it.''

Tiger has dealt with his troubles the opposite way. He hasn't wanted to let in the public, although Woods seems resigned to the idea that change is necessary. The secrets are out, so just act as gentlemanly as possible and work on becoming a winner once more.

"It's getting better every week,'' Woods said when someone wondered if he were doing less searching than earlier in the year. "Every week I'm playing, the things I've been working on have been starting to come together.''

Tiger and Big John, well, Less Big John since he's lost 100 pounds, are appreciated at St. Andrews as much as they appreciate St. Andrews.

"I don't know,'' said Daly of his support, "whether it's motivation for fans or it's helping them. As long as it's positive, to me that's all that matters.''

Tiger was just as content.

"They've always been respectful,'' he said of the St. Andrews crowd. "There's no reason it would be any different. They were great out there today.''

In the first round of the 2010 Open, so were John Daly and Tiger Woods.