"Normally, I don't hit the ball anywhere near as bad as I did, but if I can just get myself back in the position where I feel like I'm hitting it as well as I normally do, I'm happy I can put a good score on the board tomorrow."
Hendry, 37, struggled early, with a bogey on his first hole and three more by the turn, before steadying down the final nine.
"The advantage we had was the sun came out and it got a bit warmer," he said. "When we teed off, it was pretty chilly, but by the time we got through to about the eighth hole, jumpers were coming off and it turned out to be a pretty nice day, although the wind was still there.
"The nerves were pretty much gone by the third or fourth hole, but the rhythm of your golf swing changes. It gets a bit quick and it can kind of set the rhythm for the entire day, particularly when it's a little bit breezy and you're trying to hit different shots - higher or lower, depending on whether you're going with or against the wind.
"To be perfectly honest, it was a round that could have been a lot, lot worse, but I managed to keep it together and keep myself in the tournament."
Hendry was not the only one to struggle in the conditions - US Masters champion Sergio Garcia and 2013 Open winner Phil Mickelson share his three-over score after the first day, eight shots behind leaders Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka and Matt Kuchar.
"I managed to scrape a score together that hasn't put me out of the tournament yet," he said. "If I go out there and play solid tomorrow, I'm happy I can do what I need to do to make the cut, and then try and work my way up the leaderboard for the rest of the week."
Hendry is due to tee off alongside American Brian Harman and Scot Martin Laird for tonight's second round, 6.30pm NZT.
Fox has drawn Kuchar and Scot Richie Ramsay, beginning 7.30pm NZT.
