SANDWICH, England  — Casting aside memories of his 2003 meltdown, Thomas Bjorn returned to Royal St. George’s with a flourish Thursday.

Bjorn opened with a 5-under 65 to claim the lead in the British Open, the major title he was denied the last time it came to this course on the English seaside.

The 40-year-old Dane ripped off three straight birdies coming down the stretch. Even with a stumble at the final hole, he was in the clubhouse with a one-stroke lead over Miguel Angel Jimenez and far ahead of U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy, who got off to a sluggish start.

Not bad, considering Bjorn only got into the tournament Monday as an alternate, giving him a chance to make up for his collapse eight years ago. He threw away a two-stroke lead in the final three holes, best remembered for needing three swings to escape a bunker on the par-3 16th.

Ben Curtis went on to claim the claret jug in one of golf’s greatest shockers.

This time, Bjorn made a 2 at No. 16, the capper to his streak of birdies. As for Curtis, he’ll have trouble just making the cut after playing the first 14 holes at 6 over.

Bjorn insisted that he wasn’t trying to make up for ‘03.

“A lot of people make a lot of things about that, but the only way a can play golf is to concentrate on the shot in front of me,” he said. “It never entered my mind.”

The clear favorite was McIlroy, coming off his dominating win at Congressional. But the 22-year-old from Northern Ireland struggled right from the first tee, making bogeys on two of his first three holes. He was still at 2 over after the 13th.

Bjorn played well early in the year, winning the Qatar Masters against a strong field and beating Tiger Woods in the World Match Play Championship. But the Dane missed the cuts in four of five events before the Open, needing help just to make it to the first tee.

He was the last player into the field, getting his spot when Vijay Singh withdrew.

“I got in Monday night, so that gave me a couple of days to prepare,” said Bjorn, who would’ve tied the Round 1 scoring record at Royal St. George’s if not for a 2-foot miss at the ninth.

The 47-year-old Jimenez was right in the mix as well. The Spaniard capped off a bogey-free round with a brilliant chip at the 18th, saving par with a short putt after he drove into the tall grass.

McIlroy was having trouble keeping it straight off the tee and looked shaky with the putter, hardly resembling the player who blew away the field last month.