You are what you eat. The bold Gary Player, for instance, exists on a diet of seeds, twigs and steam and remains as fit as a freshly buffed up fiddle.
Here at the Renaissance, on the first day of play in the Genesis Scottish Open, there was plenty of, well, food for thought.
While Nico Echavarria, Sepp Straka, Jake Knapp and Victor Perez led the way with six-under 64s, the lurking presence of the colourful German Marcel Siem, after a sprightly five-under 65, gave the golf writers the opportunity to quiz him on his new, healthy regime.
Given that we have discovered a meal between breakfast and brunch during the endless munching in the media centre mess that keeps the cogs of industry going, it promised to be something of an eye-opening blether.
“In the mornings I have ginger tea with fresh lemon and honey,” explained the six-time DP World Tour winner after finishing alongside his compatriot Matti Schmid, Scotsman Calum Hill and England's Marco Penge.
“I have a lot of salads and when I’m back at home, I like to make this mix of chilli, pepper and celery juice.
“But you have to be careful doing that at a golf tournament otherwise you will be on the toilet all day.”
That’s why the golf scribblers stick to the square sausage butties. Siem’s disciplined approach, meanwhile, continues to bear fruit. He’ll eat plenty of that too.
As he climbs the brae on the age front – he turns 45 next week – the former World Cup winner is well aware that he needs to cut back on this, reduce a bit of that and ca’ canny on the other.
Hip surgery last year, and a broken toe earlier this year, have added to the general wear and tear.
“I have to look after my body more now,” added Siem, whose six-birdie card was highlighted by a putt of some 25-feet for a four on the par-five 16th.
“I can still stand on the range and hit golf balls, I’ve done it my whole life. But it’s more about recovery, sleeping well, and not drinking.
“On Monday, I had two pints of Guinness and felt horrible the next day. I think I am getting too old to be drinking and playing golf. But it’s nice to enjoy a few pints after a good result.”
If he keeps going like this, Siem may afford himself a small libation when it’s all done and dusted.
On a packed leaderboard, that was as congested as the Sheriffhall roundabout at rush hour, the leading quartet of Straka, Knapp, Perez and Echavarria set a brisk pace.
Straka, who birdied four of his first seven holes afters starting on the 10th, has won twice on the PGA Tour this season. “Incredible,” the Austrian said when asked what adding a third in the cradle of the game would mean.
“But it would maybe be a little bit of a letdown from Bob (MacIntyre) winning last year,” added Straka with a chuckle.
In this funny old game, you never know what those pesky golfing gods have in store.
“It was pretty nice to get two wins for the first time in a year,” said Straka of his profitable 2025 campaign. “But expectations are funny.
“You hit one bad shot and all of a sudden you think you’re terrible. And then you hit a good one and you think you can’t be stopped. So, I try to kind of temper my expectations throughout the year.”
Knapp, making his Scottish Open debut, reeled off six birdies in his 64 while Colombian PGA Tour winner Echavarria birdied the 14th, 15th and 16th during a telling thrust.
Perez, a winner on Scottish soil back in 2019 at the Dunhill Links, made a late dash for the line and birdied four of his last five holes to barge his way into the logjam at the summit.
Scottie Scheffler, the world No 1, made an early statement of intent with a mighty eagle putt on his very first hole as he posted a three-under 67 in the company of the defending champion, Robert MacIntyre, who opened with a 68.
“Bob was definitely the crowd favourite today,” said Scheffler, whose own efforts were warmly appreciated by the sizeable galleries.
As for Rory McIlroy? Well, things are never dull with the Masters champion. For much of the day, the world No 2 see-sawed between one-over and level-par.
On the 15th, he was staring a double-bogey in the face after taking two to get out of the sand, but he holed from off the green to limit the damage to just one leaked shot.
That acted as a catalyst for a late flurry and McIlroy birded his last three holes in a battling 68 to finish with a flourish.
“It was a great finish,” he said. “Those last couple of gives me some momentum heading into day two.”
Supper would’ve tasted much nicer too. Whatever he was eating.
