Y.E Yang may not be fluent in the English language, but he certainly has a way with words.

Take his thoughts on Port Royal's signature 16th hole which had the elite foursome reaching for their sand wedges after bunkering their tee shots.

"Yeah, it's a magnificent hole. Yes, you look around, it's quite nice, the ocean, great view, but it's a tough hole. So I think it's like a rose, pretty but with thorns," said Yang through his translator.

Yang, who shot an even par 71, struggled more than his rivals to get to grips with the recently revamped Port Royal which was understandable considering his nightmare journey that saw him only land in Bermuda at 6.30 on Monday morning.

The still bleary-eyed South Korean suffered an early setback at the fourth hole which he bunkered after hitting the lip with a "ridiculous" stroke which seemed to set the tone for the rest of his day.

"It was certainly discouraging, that, as you said, sort of set the tone. I was on a good pace, and being tired, and then hitting a ridiculous shot like that in a bad way sort of got a bit discouraging," said Yang, who overhauled Tiger Woods to clinch the PGA Championship.

"I'm not at my top condition right now.

"I did wake up a little bit early. The jet-lag going around the world has taken a toll on me a little bit. But I tried my best. Unfortunately I didn't hit under par. Fortunately I didn't embarrass myself by hitting over par.

"The weather, the whole golf course and the country of Bermuda has been magnificent so far. Hopefully tomorrow I'll end in on a stronger note,"

Still very much in the hunt for the 'pink jacket' is British Open Champion, Stewart Cink, who trails leader Lee Glover by two shots.

Cink said he was satisfied with his first round but had found the seaview course's greens anything but plain sailing. "I would guess I would have to say I was pleased with it," he said.

"It was the first time around the course and seeing all the holes in more normal kind of weather. I think the greens are tricky to read, because in Bermuda grass they are more grain and they are too young to have grain established.

"I tended to over-read the grain in my putts today and I'll maybe slightly adjust for tomorrow.

"But overall the course is in immaculate condition considering it was dirt a year ago. It's remarkable."

The affable American did manage to find time to enjoy the scenery from the treacherous 16th hole and admitted to being distracted by a bunch of brightly coloured parrot fish swimming in the South Shore waters.

"Okay, as far as the scenic views, the water here is just astonishing, the colour of it, when the sun shines," Cink said. "It's hard not to let your mind sort of be distracted and on the 16th hole there were some parrot fish, the water is so clear you could see them.

"The Premier, Dr. Brown, said you have to catch and release if you do catch one of those. He was clear on the law."

2007 Grand Slam winner Angel Cabrera has not written off his chances of chasing down Glover, but conceded it will be a tall order following his indifferent opening round.

"I lost it a little bit today when my round was going well. Unfortunately I bogeyed 17 with the wedge in my hands but tomorrow's another day with 18 holes left," he said.

"I don't like to make comparisons (between Port Royal and Mid Ocean) but I would say both courses are pretty good with a lot of scoring opportunities where you can make a lot of birdies.

"It won't be easy (catching Glover). Lucas is playing very well and it depends on whether I can make a few birdies in the first few holes and put some pressure on."