And on that bombshell… Thanks for reading today and we’ll be back tomorrow morning to see if Dan Brown’s fairytale can continue. He tees off at 11.04. Shane Lowry starts his second round at 09.47. Goodnight!
Dan Brown shoots 65 to lead Open
My oh my. Dan Brown knocks in his birdie putt at 18 from just inside eight feet and for the rest of his life he can say he was the solo leader of an Open. That flawless 65 pips Shane Lowry by a shot. What a day for the Englishman!
I’m going off the Open app now but it appears Dan Brown has hit his approach at 18 to 7ft 9in! A replay of his tee-shot shows that it bounced over a bunker when looking destined for sand.
Brown’s drive at 18 finds semi-rough down the left, leaving him 167 yards to the pin.
Brown can’t convert so it’s par at 17. One more chance to take the lead on his own.
Brown hits a super tee-shot at 17 and he’ll have 20 feet to take the lead on his own! Some numbers: he’s 1st for Strokes Gained: Off The Tee, 3rd in Putting, 57th for Approach and 63rd Around The Green. He’s holed 141 feet of putts which is more than anyone in the field, the longest a 41-footer at 10.
As for the final two holes, the par-3 17th is the sixth hardest hole of the day (3.24) while the par-4 18th is the second easiest (3.99). Brown walks onto the 17th tee.
The clock drifts past 9pm and Dan Brown still has the chance to end day one as the Open leader. He has a 12-footer for birdie at 16 to tie Lowry at the summit and in it goes, right into the middle of the hole! Great news as it means I can keep this blog going and not eat food for a bit longer.
A quick check of the odds and Lowry, a 33/1 shot pre-tournament, is now 5/1 although Scheffler reamains favourite.
4/1 Scheffler, 5/1 Lowry, 6/1 Schauffele, 16/1 Koepka, 18/1 Thomas, 30/1 Noren, Fitzpatrick, Morikawa, 40/1 Scott, Finau, Spieth, Straka.
Totting up on fingers, I make it four major winners in the top 10. That’ll be Shane Lowry, Justin Thomas, Justin Rose and Xander Schauffele. Using both hands now, two others – Alex Noren and Nicolai Hojgaard – have played in Ryder Cups. Plenty of quality up top therefore.
Those still out on the course include Andy Ogletree (+3), who sounds like Maurice Flitcroft entering the Open as Geoff Ogilvy. Scott Murray, the main man on this blog, will be too modest to mention it but his book on Flitcroft, which was made into a film, ‘Phantom of the Open’, is a great read.
Updated
Leaderboard update
With the day drawing to a close, here are the leading scores. If you’re catching up, defending champion Brian Harman finished with a 2-over 73 this morning while Rory McIlroy slumped to a 7-over 78.
-5: Lowry (F)
-4: D Brown (14)
-3: Thomas (F)
-2: Noren (F), N Hojgaard (F), Rose (F), Henley (F), Schauffele (F), Dean (16)
Updated
England’s Joe Dean is a surprise name on the leaderboard and he has the chance to leap to -3 after bashing his 297-yard approach at 16 to six feet away. His eagle putt lacks conviction but the birdie elevates the Open debutant to tied fourth.
Leader Shane Lowry chats to Tim Barter at the Skycart. “Yeah, it was enjoyable. Played some lovely golf, stayed out of trouble for the most part. Very happy with that,” he says. Tim asks Lowry if he’s playing as well as he did when winning the 2019 Open at Royal Portrush. “I’ve no idea,” quips the Irishman, laughing while skilfully avoiding the question. Lowry opened with a 67 at Royal Portrush so he’s ahead of schedule.
Maybe Scheffler knows that 85.7% of the last 14 Open winners ended day one inside the top 10. He makes sure he’ll be in that group by the close of play with an excellent approach that leaves him a kick-in birdie. He rolls it in and that’s a 1-under 70 for the pre-tournament favourite, who has six wins to his name this season including the US Masters. Playing partner Spieth cards for a 71.
Shane Lowry sets clubhouse lead of 66
Lowry picks up a couple of interfering blades of grass, taps down another loose impediment and circles his birdie putt at 18. Once over it, he quickly pulls back the putter and strokes the five-footer into the middle of the hole for birdie. A great finish to a superb round of golf: 13 pars, five birdies and a 5-under 66 to lead by two in the clubhouse and by one from Dan Brown, who just misses a birdie putt on 13.
-5: Lowry (F)
-4: D Brown (13)
-3: Thomas (F)
-2: Noren (F), N Hojgaard (F), Rose (F), Henley (F), Schauffele (F)
Updated
Lowry finds the fairway on 18 and has 178 yards to the pin. A par here and he sets the new clubhouse lead. With a gentle wind behind, he takes dead aim and his ball plonks down, ending just five feet away. Some ‘Ole Ole Ole’ chants as the Irishman strides down the fairway and onto the green. Back at 17 and Spieth and Scheffler both bogey after a pair of lengthy par putts that shave the hole but stay out.
Joint-leader Dan Brown still has six holes to play, a nightmare for the written press who have deadlines to hit. Closer to the finishing line and the usually amiable Scheffler scolds someone in the crowd. “You’ve gotta have your phones on silent,” says the world No 1 as his concentration is disturbed when swinging at 17. The result: a miss wide left of the green.
Jordan Spieth, the 2017 Open winner at Royal Birkdale, makes surely the best scorecard leap in golf: going from over par to under par in one swoop. Scheffler has an even shorter putt for eagle at 16 but his ball always looks left. Spieth eagles, Scheffler birdies and the two Americans walk to the 17th at -1. Tiger’s day is done and it ends with a bogey to sum up his day. That’s an 8-over 79. A tough watch. As for his playing partners, Schauffele signs for a well-crafted 2-under 69 to head to the scorer’s hut in tied fourth while Cantlay’s 2-over 73 is currently worth tied 43rd.
Lowry finds the front bunker at the par-5 16th and with his ball fairly near the face, he can only chunk out to 23 feet. From there he two-putts for par to stay tied with Dan Brown at the top. Back down the fairway, Scheffler launches a sumptious approach onto the front of the green, his ball bounding forwards and stopping 10 feet short of the flag. A great chance to make the fourth eagle of the day at 16 and leap from even par to -2. Up at 18, Brooks Koepka signs for a 1-under 70 that included four birdies on the spin from the 4th.
Tiger and Rory are a combined +14 for the day after Woods drops another at 17. Now McIlroy has given Tiger his new number after changing it following last month’s US Open despair, maybe they can share a consoling text. Some really weird scoring today and maybe Cam Smith’s +10 after 15 is the strangest of the lot.
Wowzers. Dan Brown (no more code jokes from now on) is tied for the lead with Lowry after holing a 34-footer for birdie at 11. Where has this come from? The Englishman was 61st in last week’s Sccottish Open and had missed his six previous DP World Tour cuts before that. There is a little big of logic however when noting that he also started fast in Scotland last week, an opening 65 putting him eighth on the first-round leaderboard.
Friday’s weather forecast from the good folk at the Met Office reads: “Overcast changing to sunny intervals by late morning.” Wind speeds pick up gradually in the afternoon so there may just be a hint here that the Thursday late/Friday morning wave will have had the best of the draw.
It’s worth noting that 12 of the last 14 Open winners ended day one inside the top 10. The two exceptions sat 12th and 18th. Right now, 15 players are under par so history suggests one of those will be lifting the Claret Jug on Sunday.
It’s just a par for Woods at 16 so he remains at +6 and tied 124th. Plenty of enthusiastic spectators are following him, with many happy to just gawp, but the applause is somewhat tinged with sympathy and Tiger must surely hate that. Back at 15, Lowry misses a decent birdie opportunity but he’ll have another chance at 16.
Dan Brown is certainly cracking the code today and the 29-year-old Englishman, who is playing in his first major, moves up to tied second with a birdie at 10. The 2023 ISPS Handa World Invitational winner (a DP World Tour event held in Northern Ireland) has authored seven par and three birdies.
-4: Lowry (14)
-3: Thomas (F), D Brown (10)
-2: Noren (F), N Hojgaard (F), Rose (F), Henley (F), Schauffele (15)
The par-5 16th is the only hole playing under par today (4.88) and Tiger has the chance for birdie or even better after ripping one down the fairway. The 16th has yielded eagles, South African Dean Burmester the latest to sign for a ‘3’ after holing from a greenside bunker. That helped him come home in 3-under 32 and sign for an even-par 71 after he’d earlier bogeyed both the front nine’s par 5s.
Scottie Scheffler’s birdie putt at 13 pulls up short, never threatening the hole, so he stays at even par. It’s fair to say he struggles to find the pace of links greens. In fact, the longest putt he’s made today is 3ft 9in.
Oof. Tom Hoge appeared on the leaderboard at -2 earlier. He’s no longer there. In fact, you won’t find him at -1, evens, +1, +2 or +3 either. The American took nine at the 11th a short while ago, visiting out of bounds and a thick bush before signing for a quintuple bogey. Still, good news about the par at 12.
Luke Thompson adds to the Donovan chat via email. “If we’re after a local Donovan reference, here’s hoping Rory gets a Hurdy Gurdy Birdie some time soon!” Hmmm. A shame JJ (Jennifer Juniper) Henry isn’t playing.
Lowry’s ball in the right rough at 13 is “sat up like a coconut” says Nick Dougherty in commentary. And from that tempting lie, the leader floats his approach to 25 feet. Chance for another birdie. A full 12 shots back on +8 are recent major winners Wyndham Clark and Cameron Smith. Clark’s record in the majors really is curious. In order of finish, it reads: Win, 33rd, 56th, 75th, 76th, Missed Cut, Missed Cut, Missed Cut, Missed Cut, Missed Cut, Missed Cut. And it’s looking like another MC here.
Shouts of ‘fore’ coming thick and fast now. Scheffler is the first to bellow golf’s early warning system at 12 and playing partner Jordan Spieth does the same after also leaking his approach right. A hole ahead and it’s Lowry’s turn to shout the dreaded four-letter word after losing his tee-shot to the right. A tricky little run of errant shots continues with Schauffele dropping a shot at 14 after failing to get up and down from a tee shot that bounded long.
Leader Lowry has already drained a combined 103 feet of putts over the first 11 holes and he’ll have to increase that average to avoid dropping a shot at 12. But he’s up to it! The 2019 Open hero curls in a par attempt from 11 feet and remains out in front. No surprise that he currently ranks 1st in Strokes Gained: Putting.
And as we look at the Mellow Yellow Open leaderboard, it’s Shane Lowry leading the way at -4. With flags on some greens looking limp, there’s a chance he can take it lower. Things can change but it appears as if the afternoon starters are getting the better conditions. Back at 11 and World No 1 Scottie Scheffler makes birdie to move into red figures for the day. And at 13, just a second red number of the day for Tiger, who moves back to +6.
-4: Lowry (11)
-3: Thomas (F), Schauffele (13)
-2: Noren (F), N Hojgaard (F), Rose (F), Henley (F), Koepka (14), Hughes (10), D Brown (7)
Updated
Joe Pearson emails in. “Since Troon isn’t that far from Glasgow, shouldn’t the 60’s music references be Donovan-related. I can’t be bothered to think of any at the moment, but that’s beside the point. If someone starts playing well when the sun comes out (it won’t), maybe he could be called a Sunshine Superman.” It’s a good start. There must be something we can do with Catch the Wind as well.
Shane Lowry! A fine drive at 11, an approach to 20 feet and a perfectly-weighted putt combine to secure the Irishman a birdie-3 and that, day one Royal Troon golf fans, gives him the solo lead at -4.
Updated
Tiger, now +6 after 11 following a double bogey at the ‘Railway’ hole, pulls his approach at 12 into the crowd to the left of the green. He looks sad, slowly lowering his head in disappointment as the reminders that he can no longer bend this game to his will continue. But playing partner Schauffele is very much in the prime of his career right now following a brilliant season littered with top 10s, including his breakthrough first major win: the US PGA at Valhalla a couple of months ago. A fine second to 12 leaves him 22 foot for birdie and it just misses left. Still, a tap-in on Royal Troon’s hardest hole today is very acceptable and keeps him tied for the lead. The golfing gods make sure the narrative continues as Tiger’s lengthy par putt following a hack onto the green charges at the hole but lips out.
Here’s Andy Bull’s report from Royal Troon on a very difficult day for Rory McIlroy.
Scott mentioned the Beatles and the Byrds earlier. I’ll add in the Dave Clark Five. Darren Clark, the 2011 Open winner, is five-over after 14 while 2023 US Open champion Wyndham is five-over after 11. They’ll be glad when it’s all over. * At the top, leaders Thomas, Schauffele and Lowry are asking ‘catch us if you can’. Anyway…
* Yes I know it’s Glad All Over.
Grillo kicks his putter in frustration as he becomes the 18th player to rack up a double bogey or worse at the ickle 118-yard Postage Stamp 8th. Proof right there that short par 3s are the best holes in golf. Long par 3s are absolutely rubbish. Not even a debate. And as Grillo drops back to even par, we now have a three-way tie at the top as Schauffle drains a 36-foot birdie at 11 to join Thomas and Lowry at -3.
Adopting the enthusiastic tone of the great Ian McCaskill, here’s the latest weather forecast. And, hellooo, there could be a few more spots of rain in a couple of hours while the wind looks set to drop gradually, falling from 10mph to 7mph. Out on the course, Lowry stays tied for the lead with a gutsy 23-foot par putt. Clenched fist as that one curls in from the left during its final revolutions. Grillo has needed two swishes to get out of the Postage Stamp bunker while, hurrah, Tiger’s tee-shot at 11 has been found! Rather than being run over by the 17.45 to Glasgow, it’s found some land just left of the railway track.
Koepka, in grey slacks and a long-sleeved salmon shirt, nails a 15-footer for birdie at the tough 11th. Always one of the hardest holes on the course, it’s averaging 4.27 today so that’s one against the head. It takes the five-time major winner back into the big bunch at -2, one back. But staying on 11 and Tiger, like Rory earlier, looks to have splayed one out of bounds and onto the railway line. Fun fact: Jack Nicklaus took a 10 there in 1962. Tiger hits a provisional but it’s probably three off the tee.
Leaderboard update
Good up and down from Lowry from off the green at 9 takes him out in 3-under 33. Time for a leaderboard update which shows an expanding bunch at -2. The Irishman opened with a 67 when winning at Royal Portrush.
-3: Thomas (F), Lowry (9)
-2: Noren (F), N Hojgaard (F), Rose (F), Henley (F), Jordan (11), Schauffele (10), Hoge (8), Grillo (7), Hughes (7)
This isn’t a good stat for Rory. Or indeed for Rikuya Hoshino and CT Pan who also shot 78s.
Re: Rory McIlroy - since 2000, only 5.6% of players who shoot 78 or higher in round 1 of The Open have come back to make the cut.
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) July 18, 2024
Best I can find after 25 years of research - or research spanning a 25-year time period to be more accurate - is Padraig Harrington opening with a 74 to win at Royal Birkdale in 2008. Overall, 13 of the last 14 Open winners started with a round in the 60s.
Bryson’s charm offensive which was turned up to maximum during his US Open win last month continues here despite his disappointing 76 today. Take a look at this.
Bryson's not too concerned after his first-round 76 at the Open. pic.twitter.com/8uhVFVouOM
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) July 18, 2024
Boom! Back-to-back birdies from Shane Lowry at 7 and 8 and the 2019 Open champion has joined Justin Thomas in a tie for the lead at -3. Fellow Irishman Paul McGinley gives some nice detail in commentary, noting that Lowry putts well on slow greens and that’s what he’s facing here. Great stuff from the brilliant winner at Royal Portrush five years ago, who opened with three pars and has now picked up shots at 4, 7 and 8.
Thanks Scott. As I enter my darkened room featuring TV and a range of snacks (Galaxy, Ritter, Aldi crisps), Nick Faldo comes into the Sky commentary box. It’s Sir Nick’s 67th birthday today and isn’t he looking good. Faldo acknowledges the number 67 and says it brings to mind the score he shot at Augusta in the final round of the 1996 Masters. Hee hee. Hopefully Greg Norman isn’t watching.
… and with that, I’ll hand over to David Tindall, who will take this baby all the way home. See you tomorrow!
Brooks Koepka’s approach into 9 disappears down a swale to the back right of the green. He can’t get up and down and turns in 35 strokes. Mackenzie Hughes goes from bunker to bunker at the par-three 5th and does well to limit the damage to bogey, but he’s back to -1. And there’s disaster unfolding for Collin Morikawa at the Postage Stamp. He mishits his tee shot so badly that it stops short and wide of the bunker guarding the right-hand side of the green. A stroke of good fortune, but then he duffs his chip into the side of the bank, his ball toppling back before being gathered into the trap. Then his first attempt to escape only just makes it out, and rolls apologetically back in. He knocks his second sand shot to three feet, and makes the double-bogey putt, but he’s taken a real licking there. The 2021 champion is +3. The Postage Stamp, though. What a hole!
Updated
Mackenzie Hughes sends his third at the par-five 4th to ten feet, setting up his second birdie of his round. The 33-year-old Canadian, based in North Carolina, joins the group at -2. Meanwhile a second birdie on the bounce for Sepp Straka, this one at 12, and the Austrian slips back to level par. “On Tony Kornheiser’s podcast yesterday, he and Steve Sands (Golf Channel/NBC) discussed the whole Monty situation,” begins Joe Pearson. “Sands mentioned that many of the golfers and commentators feel the same way as Monty, but nobody will say it out loud or on the record out of respect for Tiger and his place in golf history. Personally, I worry about him at a tournament like this. Cold weather and old bones just don’t go together.”
Tiger’s not lost it! He whips a super-ballsy lob up onto the green, flirting with the Coffin bunker on the other side, but stopping just short, using the shoulder of that trap to bring his ball back into the centre of the green. He can’t make the 20-foot putt he’s left with, but bogey was a result from where he was, the fault was all with the tee shot. Nevertheless, despite that textbook example of damage limitation, he stomps off in a mood. He’s +4, and his mood is probably not helped by the antics of his playing partners: Patrick Cantlay holes out from one of the bunkers to move back to level par, while Xander Schauffele, having been the only member of the three-ball to find the green from the tee, calmly rolls in his birdie putt. He’s -2 and looking in control of his game.
Ugh, real bother for Tiger on the Postage Stamp. He sends his tee shot so far wide right it misses the deep bunker and settles in extremely thick rough. To say he’s shortsided is to seriously underplay the situation. If he can hold the green from where he finds himself, it’ll be one of the shots of the day.
A clearly disappointed Rory McIlroy speaks to Sky. “It felt OK … I’d come in here playing really well … it was more the conditions got the better of me … those cross-winds … once we turned those left-to-right winds … I was struggling to hold the ball … it was definitely tricky … it was difficult … you try to come up with a strategy but when the wind is like that, other options present themselves and you start to second-guess yourself … I’ll just come out and try to be better, to be here for the weekend … I’ll have to do a better job in those conditions … try to shoot something under par … at least be here for the weekend … if not try to put myself up the leaderboard a bit more and feel like I have half a chance.”
Another careless three-putt bogey for Tiger. This one at 7, and the great man is +3. Hopes of a fourth Open to go alongside his victories in 2000, 2005 and 2006 already looking the slim side of unlikely. A shiny brass penny for the thoughts of Monty, who was taken down in style during a press conference earlier in the week, but may have had the semblance of an argument.
Jordan Spieth follows up his short missed putt on 4 by finding a deep bunker to the right of 5. His ball plugs. He can’t get it out first time, and though he splashes out close with his second attempt, that’s a shot gone. Minutes ago, the 2017 champion was hoping to rise to -2. Now he’s back to level par.
Sepp Straka takes a step backwards at 11. He’s always out of position after flaying his tee shot into thick nonsense, and in fact does well to limit the damage by nailing a ten-footer for bogey. He’s -1. Meanwhile Jordan Spieth lets a glorious birdie chance slip by on 4, misreading a seven-foot putt after getting his hopes up with a lovely wedge in.
Updated
Four birdies in a row for Brooks Koepka! The latest at 7, and this is some roll he’s on Despite his stellar resumé – hey, you can’t argue with three PGAs and a couple of US Opens – you get the feeling that Koepka will never be truly satisfied until he claims the Claret Jug. Easy to forget that he put the hard yards in on the European Tour as a young man. Like Arnie all those years ago, he knows how important an Open is to a golfer’s legacy. He’s after one. He looks so calm as well. He’s -2.
Updated
Some things are worth waiting for. In the antepenultimate match to go out today, the 19-year-old Spanish amateur and debutant Jaime Montojo holes out from 132 yards! Three gentle bounces and in. An eagle, and that’s a simply outrageous way to start one’s Open Championship career. The young man raises both arms in celebration, leaps into the air, high-fives his caddie, then gives him a quick hug. Grinning and laughing all the time. Pretty restrained under the circumstances, to be fair. I’d be doing laps of the entire property.
-3: Thomas (F)
-2: Noren (F), N Hojgaard (F), Rose (F), Henley (F), Straka (10), Montojo -a- (1)
Updated
Birdie for the 2019 champion Shane Lowry at 4. Coming behind, the 2017 champ Jordan Spieth, who birdies 3. Meanwhile on 2, Emiliano Grillo and Mackenzie Hughes both make birdie to join what is now a 16-strong contingent under par.
-3: Thomas (F)
-2: Noren (F), N Hojgaard (F), Rose (F), Henley (F), Straka (10)
-1: A Scott (F), Wallace (F), Kirk (F), Jordan (7), Koepka (6), Schauffele (5), Lowry (4), Spieth (3), Grillo (2), Hughes (2)
Xander Schauffele tied for second at Carnoustie in 2018. He’s not done too much at the Open since, but having broken his major duck in the PGA earlier this year, and finished in the top ten at the other two majors, this could be his time. Birdie at 5 moves him into the red. Meanwhile it’s three birdies in row for Brooks Koepka, the latest thanks to a 30-foot rake at 6, and he’s turned things around in the shortest of order. He’s -1.
Scottie Scheffler makes good his mistake on 1 with a simple birdie at 3. Tee shot down the middle, wedge to six feet, pop in the putt. He’s back to level par. Meanwhile Sepp Straka gets himself out of that pickle down the side of 10, lashing his second into the heart of the green and taking two careful putts for par. He remains at -2.
Sam Burns was five over after six holes on the opening day of the recent US Open. He ended the week at Pinehurst just six shots shy of Bryson DeChambeau. A very costly slow start. But he looks determined not to make the same mistake twice. Having opened this afternoon with two bogeys, he’s set about repairing things quickly by raking home a 25-footer across 4 to return to +1. That US Open finish was his first top-ten at a major; the 27-year-old from Louisiana could be trending in the right direction, just in time.
Trouble for Tiger at the par-three 5th. He’s up against the face of a pot bunker, and can only pitch out backwards. Double bogey upcoming. He topples backwards and nearly falls over, that core strength not what it was during the glory days. He’s +2. Speaking of which … “Is Henley really a surprise? It may not look like it out there, but it is July and he is one of the boys of summer.” Antony T there, taking a crowbar to the side of that Cadillac with the Deadhead sticker. But hey, any excuse to spin the classics.
Sepp Straka had bounced back with birdie on the Postage Stamp. A lovely tee shot to three feet. Par at the 9th meant he turned in 34 strokes, but he’s just hoicked his tee shot at 10 into trouble down the right. The back nine has given much of the field all manner of gyp; could last year’s joint runner-up be the latest to feel the hurt?
Patrick Cantlay has had an interesting start. Staunch par-saving putts on 1 and 2. A tiddler missed at 3. A long birdie effort drained on 4. He’s level par. A clumsy three-putt bogey for his playing partner Tiger, though. He’s level as well.
An absolute nightmare start for the 2022 champion Cameron Smith. Having bogeyed the opening hole, he sends his tee shot at 2 into an unplayable position down the right. The resulting drop leads to a triple bogey. In the blink of an eye, he’s +4. Plenty of time to put things right, at least, as demonstrated by Brooks Koepka, who follows back-to-back bogeys at 2 and 3 – and he had to work to save his par on 1 – with birdie at 4. The five-time major winner is +1 … and he’ll be back to level par very soon, because he’s just sent a gentle draw into the par-three 5th to kick-in distance. A few more joules of energy and that would have been an ace.
Updated
The world number one Scottie Scheffler has already won six times this season. The only player to have notched such a number before July in the last 65 years is Arnold Palmer, who did it twice, in 1960 and 1962. Arnie finished as runner-up at the 1960 Open; he went on to win in ‘62. Promising omens for Scheffler, but he hasn’t had the ideal start, finding rough then a deep bunker at 1 to open with bogey. His tunic-style waterproof jacket is lovely, though, the sort of thing you could picture a Beatle or Byrd wearing in 1966.
Corrections and clarifications: On reflection the Byrds reference may have been wide of the mark. It’s the sort of coat John Lennon would have worn while battering away on his electric piano while wearing a sailor’s cap, Rubber Soul / Revolver era...
Updated
McIlroy shoots 78
Rory McIlroy finishes as he started, with bogey. The result of sending his tee shot up against the face of a fairway bunker. A 78; he’s +7, and the opportunity to bounce back immediately after a major-championship collapse, as he did at the 2011 US Open, is pretty much kaput already.
Updated
One of the biggest roars of the day so far as Tiger takes putter from just off the side of 3 and steers in a huge right-to-left swinger. A modest punch of the air by the quietly determined living legend. He’s now one of just 13 players under par.
-3: Thomas (F)
-2: Noren (F), N Hojgaard (F), Rose (F), Henley (F), Straka (8)
-1: A Scott (F), Wallace (F), Kirk (F), McNealy (16), Todd (8), Cole (6), Woods (3)
Updated
The defending champion Brian Harman nearly birdies the last, but his 20-footer shaves the high side of the cup. Bogeys at 15 and 17 won’t enhance his mood, exactly, but once it all comes down, he’ll be happy enough with an opening round of 73. No disgrace in this defence, and he wears a smile as he departs, a mixture of contentment and relief no doubt.
A par-par start for Tiger Woods. A street-fighting up and down from a deep bunker to the side of 17 by Rory McIlroy, who remains at +6. Bogey for Sepp Straka at 6, the result of finding a deep greenside bunker; he’s -1. Meanwhile a jet leaving Prestwick rips through the sky overhead, departing in the same direction as so many of the field’s hopes and dreams.
DeChambeau's disappointing 76
A par-par finish for Bryson DeChambeau. He shakes his head sadly as he signs for a 76. That eagle on 16 has kept the US Open champion hanging on by his fingernails, though. Not quite out of things yet at +5, given how difficult Troon is proving for the rest of the field. Back on 1, Collin Morikawa can’t get up and down from the side of the green, and he starts out with bogey.
Updated
Here’s an idea of how much the wind is beginning to affect play. Collin Morikawa, who knows a thing or two about links golf having won this title at Sandwich in 2021, is hitting into 1 from 154 yards. The wind-adjusted distance is calculated at 191 yards. Morikawa still comes up 20 yards short, the wind also taking his ball off to the left. It’s expected to pick up as well. This could be fun. In the clubhouse, Justin Thomas has the metaphorical feet up and cigar on, rolling a ball of brandy around a large tumbler.
A strong finish worth noting by Min Woo Lee. Minjee’s younger brother birdied 15, 16 and 18 to sign for a level-par 71; stage one in the quest for a third major in the family, to go alongside his sister’s 2021 Evian and 2022 US Open titles, is complete.
Bogey for Tommy Fleetwood at the last, and it’s a disappointing opening round of 76 for the 2019 runner-up. He’s +5. A par for his playing partner Jon Rahm, and that’s a 73 that could have been worse given some of his wholly uncharacteristic hacking around. But the third member of the group, Bob MacIntyre, clips his second to five feet, and tidies up for a closing birdie that gives the new Scottish Open champion a very acceptable first round of 72. He’s +1, four off the lead set by Justin Thomas, one that’s unlikely to be superseded by much, if at all, given the cold, wet and windy conditions this afternoon.
Updated
“Get away with it!” That was Russell Henley screaming at his ball after a mishit from the centre of the 18th fairway. The ball obeyed the order and bumbled its way into the heart of the green, to the point that Henley was disappointed upon missing a 15-foot birdie chance. He’ll be more than pleased with his 69, though. His playing partner Tony Finau signs for a level-par 71.
Also raking them in: Sepp Straka. The Austrian follows up birdie on 4 by draining a Texas Wedge from 60 feet at the par-three 5th. Straka tied for second at Hoylake last year, six back from Brian Harman. One place better this time? He’s started in the manner required.
-3: Thomas (F)
-2: Noren (F), N Hojgaard (F), Rose (F), Henley (F), Straka (5)
Say what you like about Bryson DeChambeau, the guy’s a showman. He’s had a miserable day today, and stands over a monster putt on 16 at +7 for his round. Is he giving up? You know the answer to that, don’t you. He rakes a 55-foot left-to-right swinger into the cup, one of those that looks in from the second it leaves the bat, and fist-pumps the air with a huge smile as the crowd go ballistic. What an entertainer! Gotta love Bryson. He’s +5.
Rickie Fowler – joint runner-up at Hoylake in 2014 behind Rory McIlroy – would be an awfully popular winner. He’s not shaping up to please the masses, though. Wild drive at 2 and 3 are super costly and result in back-to-back double bogeys. He’s +4 with the shake of a lamb’s tail. Speaking of McIlroy, he makes a horlicks of 15, sending his tee shot into more deep rough, then squirting his second into a bunker well short of the green. He splashes out well to 12 feet, but can’t make the saver, and this is turning into yet another first-round Open nightmare for McIlroy. He’s +6.
Jon Rahm zig-zags his way down the par-five 16th. From the centre of the fairway, he carves a dreadful second into deep oomska down the right; in attempting to then ease a wedge onto the green, the long grass grabs the shaft and his ball dumps into a bunker. He nearly flies the green with his fourth; two putts later and it’s a bogey that takes him down to +2. On his face, an out-of-sorts look of disbelief. On his cap, his LIV Golf team logo. Not sure what the name of his team is without checking. The Remorseful Buyers?
A one-under 70 for Chris Kirk. The 39-year-old from Tennessee’s tie for fifth at the 2022 PGA Championship is very much a career outlier; his next best finish at a major is a tie for 19th at the 2014 Open. But he’s been enjoying a late-career surge on the PGA Tour, with victories at the Honda Classic last year and the Sentry in Hawaii back in January. He was the width of a dimple away from birdie at the last today, too; he’s nicely set after the opening round.
Updated
A disappointing three-putt bogey for Tommy Fleetwood at 15. He’s +4. Hats off to the defending champ Brian Harman, though; he whips up from the awful lie over the back of 14 to six feet, and rolls in the saver to remain at level par. However he pulls his tee shot at 15 into thick rough down the right. A reminder that nobody has retained the Claret Jug since Padraig Harrington in 2008.
Trouble for Sam Hutsby at the Postage Stamp. His tee shot dies apologetically to the right and drops into the bunker. He tries to get too cute with his splash out; the ball topples back into the trap. He makes sure of getting out next time, but at the cost of sending his ball 15 feet past the flag. Two putts, and it’s a double bogey. The debutant drops to -1 and leading the Open was fun while it lasted. If it’s possible to measure out time in distance, Hutsby led the Open for 123 yards.
All of the players arrived early in the week to practice. The right idea, naturally, though the benefit has been moot. Problem is, there was no wind until today; now it’s blowing hard, the course is playing totally differently, its defences up. That will explain plenty of the misjudgements: Rory McIlroy only just making it onto the front of 13 with his approach, the defending champion Brian Harman wheeling around in disgust as he whistles his tee shot at 14 over the green and into thick filth. Jon Rahm missing yet another fairway, this time at 15. It’s a war of attrition.
Tyrrell Hatton gets up and down from a deep greenside bunker at 12. That’s a par … his 12th of the round so far. Slow and steady could well win this Open. His playing partner Rory McIlroy chips up to four feet and does indeed stop the rot, remaining at +5. Up at the top, Sam Hutsby birdies 7, and the journeyman pro, who has two Challenge Tour victories to his name – the 2014 Kazakhstan Open and last year’s Andalucia Challenge de Cadiz – is now joint leader of the Open Championship. He’s eight strokes better off than the four-time major-winning McIlroy; the unique beauty of Thursday at the Open, right here.
-3: Thomas (F), Hutsby (7)
-2: Noren (F), N Hojgaard (F), Rose (F), Henley (F), McNealy (11)
A nerve-settling scramble for Jon Rahm on the par-three 14th. His tee shot topples over the back of the green, but he does well to get up and down, avoiding the fate of back-to-back bogeys. Whether Rory McIlroy can stop the rot is a different subject altogether: he pulls his approach at 12 wide left of the green, and now wears the look of a man who wishes he could be anywhere† but here.
† Except Pinehurst
Updated
… but let’s not get too negative. Here’s a reminder of the top of the leaderboard, with both Russell Henley and Maverick McNealy making fine par scrambles at 14 and 10 respectively. A hat-tip to Portsmouth’s Sam Hutsby, as well, making his Open debut at the age of 35 having qualified at Dundonald a couple of weeks ago.
-3: Thomas (F)
-2: Noren (F), N Hojgaard (F), Rose (F), Henley (14), McNealy (10), Hutsby (6)
-1: A Scott (F), Wallace (F), Kirk (16), Lawrence (8), M Kim (7), Kawamura (6), Ferguson (5)
Golf is hard. Here are some selected strugglers, big names in danger of playing themselves out of the conversation from the get-go.
+3: Fleetwood (13), Åberg (12), T Kim (12), Hovland (11)
+4: Homa (11), Zalatoris (10)
+5: Im (F), McIlroy (11)
+6: DeChambeau (12)
+7: Theegala (12)
A par for Matt Wallace on 18. That’s a one-under round of 70 that featured a hole out from 85 yards for eagle on 4 and a triple bogey at 9. Again, plenty of the strugglers would grab that with both hands. Speaking of which, Jon Rahm’s wild tee shot at 13 costs him a bogey that drops him to +1; Rory McIlroy ends up with double at 11, his second in four holes, after sending his tee shot OB. He did pretty well to limit the damage as well, having sent his approach over the back of the green, then chipping back up to three feet. But he’s +5.
The clubhouse leader Justin Thomas (-3) speaks to Sky. “I felt like I played so well today … birdies at 17 and 18 at any level is nice … I don’t like tweaking stuff but if it’s not working I will … I’m a golfer, there’s always room for improvement! … I’m playing really well, feel really confident … I’m getting better throughout the year … it’s nice to get off to a good start in a major … I love links golf.”
Justin Rose, having just carded the seventh sub-70 opening round at the Open of his career, speaks to Sky. “A bit disappointed … I could have done with a slightly warmer putter … a couple of breaks that could have gone the other way … so all in all, pretty happy.” No cartwheels from the 2013 US Open champion, then, even though he could sell that 69 for cash money to plenty of other big names struggling out there.
Yep, it’s all going south for McIlroy quicksmart. Or more specifically east. His tee shot at 11 curves towards the railway line and over the wall. That’s out of bounds. A look of resignation plays across his face. See also: Jon Rahm, who carves a wild tee shot at 13 into a gorse bush down the right. He’ll be forced to take a drop from there.
Thanks David. Now then, Rory McIlroy’s putting woes are well documented, there’s nothing to be gained by raking over old coals. However, here he is, having just missed the 10th green to the left, drawing a Texas Wedge and leaving it eight feet short. He can’t make the tester he’s left himself, and cocks his head back in despair as he drops to +3. With most of the hardest holes still in front of him, that ten-year drought is in danger of turning into 11, just like that.
Leaderboard update
As I hand back to Scott Murray, here are the latest scores on the doors. Thomas leads and it’s a seven-way tie for second. A total of 14 players are under par.
-3: Justin Thomas (F)
-2: Noren (F), N Hojgaard (F), Rose (F), Kirk (14), Henley (12), McNealy (8), Hutsby (4)
Updated
A quick look ahead to some of the key afternoon tee-times…
2.26pm Koepka, Clark, Matsuyama
2.37pm Woods, Schauffele, Cantlay
2.48pm Morikawa, Burns, Kim
2.59pm Lowry, Smith, Fitzpatrick
3.10pm Scheffler, Spieth, Young
Justin Thomas sets new clubhouse lead
A birdie-birdie finish from Justin Thomas and last week’s first-round leader at the Scottish Open has now set the new clubhouse target here of -3. JT separates himself from the pack with a 25-foot putt at the last. That’ll make lunch taste sweeter although we’ll never really know how sweet it would have tasted without that putt going in. Could it, in fact, now be too sweet? Something to ponder.
Updated
Justin Rose ties clubhouse lead
Justin Rose makes par at 18 and his 2-under 69 gives him a piece of the clubhouse lead alongside Alex Noren and Nicolai Hojgaard. Can the afternoon starters fare any better than this? At least we’ve just seen our first eagle of the day thanks to Stephan Jaeger draining his approach from 127 yards for a 2 at the 13th. A great moment in a round which featured five straight bogeys on the front nine. The German is now a more respectable +4.
Henrik Stenson, the last winner here at Troon in 2016, starts his round in a bobble hat. Very Alfred Dunhill Links. The Swede shot a remarkable 20-under eight years ago when beating Phil Mickelson in a thrilling duel. Mickelson was 11 clear of third place!
Just 12 players under par so far with the air heavy and conditions challenging. Jon Rahm’s round has threatened to derail a couple of times but the Spaniard, who sometimes appears to be acting out a morality play after suffering a big dip in form since taking the LIV money, is hanging in there well and sits at even par after 11. In the majors this year, Rahm was 45th when defending his Masters crown, missed the cut in the US PGA and he pulled out of the US Open with a foot injury. McIlroy overcomes a loose tee shot at 9 with some good recovery play and that completes an outward half of +2, his scorecard spoiled by the double at 8.
The current weather forecast suggests light rain through the rest of the day and winds perhaps just dropping a little around 5pm. The final trio hit off at 4.27pm local by the way. Tiger Woods starts at 2.37pm alongside fellow Californians Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay. Schauffele, who won the recent US PGA, has been runner-up in another Open held in Scotland: Carnoustie in 2018.
Nicolai Hojgaard completes a 2-under 69 with a par at 18 so we now have a Dane and a Swede – both Ryder Cuppers in their time - sharing the clubhouse lead. Justin Rose is one of four others at -2 and he’s playing the final hole now. A leaderboard update.
-2: Noren (F), N Hojgaard (F), Rose (17), Kirk (12), McNealy (6), MW Kim (4)
Simon McMahon sends an email. “Hi David. In amongst all the (understandable) euphoria of Bob MacIntyre’s Scottish Open win last week, the point he made about starting to win only after he stopped thinking about winning, is one that I’m sure won’t be lost on others, maybe McIlroy among them? Golf is like no other sport regarding the psychological turmoil it can inflict on participants, even the greats. Get me, sat here on my sofa, offering advice to a four time major champion. But the point stands, I think.”
It does. Talking of MacIntyre, he’s just completed a front nine of even-par 36. A birdie at 3, a bogey at 5 and pars the rest of the way, the latest a two-putt conversion from 35 feet at the 9th. Rory is now heading there at +2 after a double bogey on the Postage Stamp 8th.
From a fairly diddy 118 yards, McIlroy’s aggressive tee-shot at the Postage Stamp lands just right of the flag but there’s hardly any room there. His ball looks as if it may hang on but, no, it falls away into a bunker. A mistake. Tyrrell Hatton, also at even par after 7, plays it safer, his ball spinning and staying on the front of the green. This is a tough bunker shot with the face high and Rory compounds his initial error, getting too cute with his splashout, the ball not travelling far enough and dying a slow death back into the same bunker. His second attempt, from an easier lie, is understandably overhit and he’s now staring at double bogey.
Steady enough start for McIlroy and not making birdie on either of the par 5s at 4 and 6 isn’t particularly costly given that they’re playing into the wind today which is unusual. A quick delve into the stats shows his putter is a little cold (-0.53 SG: Putting) but it’s very early days. McIlroy now heads to Postage Stamp 8th at level par and two back.
Updated
A first birdie of the day for Tommy Fleetwood and it comes at The Postage Stamp. His two at 8 returns him to +2 and, let’s get some context here, he’s only four off the lead despite the sticky start. It’s harder to put a positive spin on DeChambeau’s front nine (+6 after 8) although I’ll try. He’s only eight back. Paul Lawrie was 10 behind with 18 to play at Carnoustie in 1999 for goodness sake.
It’s rare to see no-one better than -2 when the clock strikes midday in round one of an Open. But that’s the reality. A reminder though that Younghan Song, Matt Wallace and Justin Thomas all hit -4 earlier before running into trouble. Song finished with an even-par 71, Wallace is also at levels with five to play while Thomas is -1 after 14.
Eight straight pars for Justin Rose, who remains tied for the lead at -2 with just three to play. Rose, remarkably, has been the first-rounder leader at the US Masters on four different occasions. In the Open Championship, he’s ended the opening lap inside the top 10 just once since 2003 although that was relatively recently: 2021 at Royal St George’s via a 67. The bunch on top at -2 is still five players but it’s a revolving cast list. Nicolai Hojgaard and Minkyu Kim of Korea are the new entrants, with Adam Scott and Russell Henley dropping out after bogeys.
-2: Alex Noren (F), N Hojgaard (16), Rose (15), Kirk (10), MW Kim (2)
Dry skies now so the official look is jumpers rather than raingear although Justin Thomas is rocking a hoodie which, in some ridiculous fusty golfing circles, will be causing a shitstorm. Rory looks glad to be shed of his outerwear and even par after five holes is decent enough given that no-one has escaped at the top of the leaderboard.
Still a five-way tie for the lead but Thomas isn’t part of it after a bogey at 13. The new man is another American, Chris Kirk, and perhaps we shouldn’t be suprised by his presence given that he was the 2023 winner of the Cognizant Classic in Florida. Why is that significant? Check out the list of former winners of that event at PGA National and you’ll find Todd Hamilton, Justin Leonard, Mark Calcavecchia and Tom Weiskopf – all winners of the Open here at Royal Troon.
This is a horror show from Bryson DeChambeau. When winning the US Open and finishing runner-up in the US PGA, he ranked 12th and 19th respectively for Strokes Gained: Putting. His performance on the greens was vital to his success. But here he’s absolutely been bamboozled by the putting surfaces. He’s officially the 74th worst putter of the 77 players out on the course and his latest gaffe on the greens has resulted in a double bogey 7 at the par-5 6th. Remarkably, DeChambeau is now +5. A less spectacular fail but still in the realms of hugely disappointing is the start made by Tommy Fleetwood: +3 after 7.
Updated
The leader’s curse has struck again with Thomas the latest player to fall back from his lofty position of -4. JT’s backward step occurs after a double at 12 and it means we now have a five-way tie for the lead at -2. One of those, Alex Noren, is done for the day and leads in the clubhouse.
-2: Alex Noren (F), Scott (15), Rose (14), Thomas (12), Henley (7)
Updated
This requires a memory jog but an amateur shared the lead after round one of last year’s Open at Hoylake. That was South African Christo Lamprecht, all 6ft 8in of him, after he fired a 66 to tie top spot with Tommy Fleetwood and Emiliano Grillo. It may not quite be as startling but we have an amateur currently second in the clubhouse standings after an even-par 71 and he’s a local Scot too. The man in question is 20-year-old Calum Scott, who mixed four birdies and four bogeys today. He’s currently tied 12th on the live leaderboard.
Joaquin Niemann drains a lengthy putt at 7 to go to -1 after six straight pars. The Chilean, who plays on the LIV Tour, highlights how skewed the world rankings are these days. Niemann is way down 112th in the official standings due to LIV players not being awarded any OWGR points. And yet Datagolf, who do take LIV performances into account, have him at 12th on their list. He will pick up points this week of course.
Brian Harman is channelling his Hoylake magic again. After a bogey to start, the left-hander had birdied 2 and 4 and he’s up to tied fifth. Other notable names on that number are Scandies Ludvig Aberg (4) and Viktor Hovland (4). Maybe Harman could be leading the Claret Jug race again fairly soon given that two-shot leader Justin Thomas has driven into a gorse bush at 11.
Bryson DeChambeau is finding Royal Troon’s greens a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Another short one missed and the US Open champ is +3 after 4. Winston Churchill, who came out with that above quote to describe Russia, also had one about golf believe it not. It suggests he had his troubles. “Golf is a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into an ever smaller hole, with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose.”
Correction, Matt Wallace made triple not double at 9. That means both he and Song chucked away three shots on a single hole after hitting -4 at one point. Both now reside at -1. Justin Thomas will hope this day one curse (bit strong for just two examples to be honest) won’t happen to him.
Updated
A scroll down the official yellow Open leaderboard shows not ideal starts for three players backed to go well this week: John Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood and Tom Kim. All featured heavily at Hoylake last year – Rahm and Kim finishing well to share second place and Fleetwood a big factor before falling to 10th – but they’re all at +1 here. Update – that’s a live blog for you – Kim has birdied 4 to return to even par. Rahm and Fleetwood have also played four holes.
Updated
Last week’s Scottish Open hero Robert MacIntyre certainly enjoyed his post-Renaissance Club celebrations, cancelling his Open press conference from Monday to Wednesday to presumably get a little steadier on his feet. He’s already produced one big Open roar here with a birdie at 3 and is -1 after 4 although he’s leaked his tee-shot left at 5. Superb approach shots from McIlroy and Hatton to 3 dance around the hole. The former should make birdie and the latter a par despite his penalty for finding the ditch.
Tyrrell Hatton was fifth at Royal Troon in 2016 – his best Open finish – and he’s been in good nick (apparently) on the LIV Tour with a win and a third in his last two 54-hole events. A par-par start here was decent enough but his tee-shot at 3 has bounded on and dropped into a ditch running across the fairway. F-bomb stuff right there. On a wider point, it shows that the wind may have switched to behind (the prevailing wind over Troon’s opening stretch along the coastline). That means the birdie-count on this opening third of the course should increase but will make the closing nine harder.
Justin Rose tees off at 11, the cherry picker camera shot showing the railway line running adjacent to the fairway which Rose finds after a nice drive. The Englishman’s fourth place as a baggy-trousered 17-year old at Royal Birkdale in 1997 is part of Open folklore but far less known is that he got to Open Final Qualifying as a 14-year-old! Good grief! That swing at the top plays out. Wallace makes double bogey at 9, Thomas holes for birdie at 10 and the American leads the 152nd Open by two shots.
Rory’s approach to 2 from 159 yards is pin high but about 25 feet left of the flag. And hot news from the 9th where leader Matt Wallace has lost his ball! Double bogey looking likely there. And as Wallace stumbles, a hole ahead at the 10th, Thomas seizes the moment with an excellent approach and he’ll have a very good look at birdie. If he can sink that, JT will be two clear. DeChambeau’s sticky start continues as he suffers a par-putt lip out for the second time in three holes to drop to +2.
Former Royal Troon Open winners Justin Leonard (1997) and Todd Hamilton (2004) are finding it tough today. They’re at +8 and +7 respectively with three holes to play. If you fancy a bit of extra nostalgia, here’s Steven Pye with a look back to the 1989 Open at Troon won by Mark Calcavecchia.
Matt Wallace comes close to a hole-in-one at The Postage Stamp. No matter, a tap-in birdie at that 8th hole puts the Englishman out in front at -4. He’s one clear of Justin Thomas, who was the first-round leader at last week’s Scottish Open thanks to a 62 before falling away to finish 62nd. He probably didn’t appreciate the symmetry. Less good news for Rory, whose chip at the 1st comes up short and he can’t hole the par putt from 8 feet. Even worse news for Max Homa who has been out of sorts for a while and makes double bogey.
-4: Wallace (8)
-3: Thomas (8)
-2: N Hojgaard (10), Scott (10), Molinari (9), Rose (9)
Paul McGinley makes the point that as well as the wind, players are having to adjust to the heavy air. All that salt in it is leading to balls just not flying very far. Rory finds that out with an approach to 1 that lands short of the green but he just avoids the bunker. And there’s a first “sorry for any strong language you may have heard there” of the day for Tyrrell Hatton as the fiery Englishman leaks his second shot right although it finds the putting surface. “Awful golf shot,” he mutters.
Royal Troon has got the better of Song on the 11th and the Korean, who hit the giddy heights of -4 after 8, has spiralled back into the pack after a triple bogey 7. Ouch. That’s four shots gone in the last three holes. There are struggles elsewhere too. Tommy Fleetwood has bogeyed the 2nd to fall to +1 and Harman will need to hole a long par putt at 1 after finding the front bunker with his approach. He can’t. Harman +1.
Bryson DeChambeau produced an otherworldly up and down to win the US Open and break Rory McIlroy’s heart at Pinehurst last month. Here at Troon, he said in the build-up that links golf is a “challenge” and that’s shown in his Open record: 60-8-33-MC-51-MC. He’s certainly found the first green a challenge, taking three putts to start out with a bogey.
As he stomps off to the 2nd tee, here comes McIlroy onto the 1st – this has been nicely scripted hasn’t it – and the Northern Irishman, in his dark raingear, finds the fairway with a low drawn iron.
Updated
Thanks Scott. First job is to tell you that defending champion Brian Harman has just teed off and found the first fairway. He’s in an attractive three-ball alongside Norway’s Viktor Hovland and popular American Sahith Theegala. Harman obviously had his amazing win at Hoylake last year but it goes a little underreported that he was sixth the year before at St Andrews. On current form (21st Scottish Open, 9th Travelers), he must have a good chance of cracking the top 10 for a third straight year.
… and with that, I’ll hand you over to David Tindall. See you later!
Bother for the leader Younghan Song at 11. He sends his tee shot into thick stuff down the right, then pulls his next one across the fairway into proper filth. He might not find that, so wisely plays a provisional. He’ll almost certainly be dropping out of the lead, his place almost certainly to be taken by Justin Thomas, who screws his tee shot at the Postage Stamp to seven inches. When JT taps in, he’ll be -3.
The rain is now coming down in stair rods. Proper Open weather. There’s a dark cloud above Justin Rose’s head as well, as a numpty in the gallery puts him off mid-swing at the Postage Stamp. He sends his tee shot into the deep bunker to the right of the green … but while the weather keeps on, Rose’s mood improves as he manages to splash out to five feet and sink the putt. He remains at -2.
The local hero Bob MacIntyre pars his opening hole. He comes up short with his approach, only just finding the front of the green, but lags up from the best part of 60 feet to kick-in distance. Meanwhile a birdie for Justin Thomas, who steers in a right-to-left slider from 15 feet; he returns to -2.
Justin Rose lands his second at 7 pin high from 160 yards. He rolls in the straight eight-foot birdie putt and rises to -2. The rain’s back and the wind’s up. Scotland, the Open, right here.
Bounce-back birdie for Nicolai Hojgaard at the Postage Stamp. He finds the middle of the tiny green and rolls in a 16-footer to return to -2. His playing partner Adam Scott matches him shot for shot, and the 44-year-old Aussie joins him at -2. The rain abates.
Alex Noren flies the green at 11 but manages to get up and down from the swale over the back to save his par. But it’s a bogey for Nicolai Hojgaard at 7, punishment for a misread tiddler. Bogey for Justin Thomas at 5. And Younghan Song isn’t able to take advantage of his fortunate signpost-tinged lucky break on 9. He doesn’t take a shy for the green with his second, laying up and trusting his short game … but he’s unable to get close with his chip and suddenly the top of the leaderboard has concertinaed a tad.
-3: Song (9), Wallace (5)
-2: Noren (11), Molinari (6)
-1: C Scott -a- (11), N Hojgaard (7), Scott (7), Rose (6), Thomas (5), Im (5), Rai (3)
Updated
The weather is changeable all right. It’s raining again. On 6, Justin Rose nearly drains a long left-to-right slider for birdie. Just the par, but he’s given Francesco Molinari a read, and from 25 feet the 2018 champion coaxes in his putt to join the small group at -2.
A huge break for the leader Younghan Song on 9. He flays a wild tee shot miles left, his ball heading for waist-high jungle-style rough. But it clanks off a yellow Open signpost and back into play. Still not ideal, on scruffy ground to the side of a spectator walkway, but the alternative didn’t bear thinking about. It’s been the 33-year-old South Korean’s morning all right.
Eagle for Matt Wallace on 4! Wedging in from the semi-rough, 85 yards out, his ball takes a skip and a hop on the green, landing a few inches behind the cup and spinning back in. A tie for third at the 2019 apart, the 34-year-old Englishman doesn’t have much of a record in the majors. Early doors, of course, but with Song tidying up for his birdie on the Postage Stamp, look at this now …
-4: Song (8)
-3: Wallace (4)
-2: Noren (10), N Hojgaard (6), Thomas (4)
Younghan Song is on a roll. He earned his spot at the Open with a second-place finish at the Korea Open, and knocks his second at 7 to ten feet. He steers in the left-to-right swinger for his third birdie of the morning to take sole possession of the lead … then sends his tee shot at the famous par-three 8th pin high to four feet. Big chance for another birdie coming up.
-3: Song (7)
-2: Noren (9), N Hojgaared (5), Thomas (4)
Alex Noren sinks a 40-footer on 9 to hit the turn in 34 strokes. He joins Younghan Song and Nicolai Hojgaard at -2 … as does Justin Thomas with birdie at 5. Meanwhile the extremely promising Northern Irish youngster Tom McKibbin birdies the Postage Stamp to move into the red. It is, to borrow a phrase from popular comedian Danny Boon, all happening.
-2: Noren (9), Song (6), N Hojgaard (5), Thomas (4)
-1: McKibbin (9), C Scott -a- (9), Svensson (7), A Scott (5), Molinari (4), Rose (4), Im (4), Wallace (3), De la Fuente (1), Rai (1)
Updated
News of another amateur, Santiago de la Fuente: the 22-year-old Mexican drains a 30-footer on 1 that would still be going had it not hit the cup. A confident stroke and no mistake. He’s joined at -1 by his playing partner Aaron Rai, who only made it into the field with a high finish at last week’s Scottish Open. The 29-year-old from Wolverhampton could be one to watch this week: his tie for fourth last week follows this run on the PGA Tour: T14, T19, T2, T7. He’s in the groove right now and a third career victory is beginning to feel overdue.
Nicolai Hojgaard birdies the par-five 4th to join Younghan Song at -2. Meanwhile the Postage Stamp offers up its first birdie of the week, the 20-year-old Scottish amateur Calum Scott licking it on his Open debut. Scott moves alongside his namesake Adam at -1.
A flurry of birdies shakes things up at the top. Alex Noren at 7. His compatriot Jesper Svensson at 6. Matt Wallace raking a long one across 2. Sungjae Im with a well-worked-out chip-in at 3 that makes use of the right-to-left camber of the green. The rain has stopped and moods around Troon are lifting.
-2: Song (5)
-1: Noren (7), Svensson (6), N Hojgaard (3), Scott (3), Molinari (3), Rose (3), Thomas (3), Im (3), Wallace (2)
Justin Rose makes birdie at the third time of asking. This time his putt drops, at 3. The birdie’s reward for a glorious approach from 125 yards to four feet. That hole-out on 18 at Birkdale seems an awfully long time ago, doesn’t it? Well, that’s because it is. 1998! The reigning champ that year was Justin Leonard … who has just made three bogeys and a double in his last four holes. He’s propping up the entire field right now at +6.
Alex Noren carelessly drives into a fairway bunker at 6, a mistake that leads to bogey. He drops back to level par. His red-hued spot on the leader board is taken up by Justin Thomas, the two-time PGA champion, currently out of sorts, chipping in from the side of 2.
-2: Song (4)
-1: N Hojgaard (3), Scott (3), Molinari (3), Thomas (2)
“A 9.36am start for Bob after four nights on the lash?” splutters Simon McMahon. “Did somebody not have a word with the organising committee? Please tell me he’s been spotted on the driving range, can in hand, and Lloyd Mangrum style tab between his lips.” He’s currently on the putting green. No tinnies. No smokes. Back to work, and grafting hard. Andy Bull has the latest.
… but while we’re on the subject of the heroic Lloyd Mangrum, it’d be rude not to spark this one up again.
… and now Rose nearly drains a 30-footer on 2. A couple of inches here and there, and he’d have opened his bid with back-to-back birdies. But he has to settle for a pair of pars. Of the 24 early starters, only five are in red figures.
-2: Song (4)
-1: Noren (5), N Hojgaard (2), Scott (2), Molinari (2)
Updated
Nicolai Hojgaard chips in from the side of 2. The 23-year old Dane joins the group at -1. Meanwhile a great opportunity for an opening birdie for Justin Rose, but the 2013 US Open champion doesn’t hit his fairly straight eight-footer on 1, the ball dying off to the right on its last turn. Par.
Back-to-back birdies for Younghan Song. The latest at 3, and he hits the front on his own. Alex Noren stays on his tail with birdie at the first par-five, the 4th. The 2018 champ Francesco Molinari opens with birdie. But it’s a lip-out from five feet at 3 for Ryosuke Kinoshita, who slips off the early pace.
-2: Song (3)
-1: Noren (4), Scott (1), Molinari (1)
A horror start for Jasper Stubbs. The 22-year-old Australian amateur won the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship last year in something of an upset, ranked as he was 476th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. The victory earned him spots at this year’s Masters and here at Troon. Having missed the cut at Augusta, he now carves his opening tee shot out of bounds down the right. Par with his second ball, but that’s a double to start. It begins to rain, in tune with the young man’s mood.
Adam Scott came so close to lifting the Claret Jug in 2012. It wasn’t to be, and those closing four bogeys at Lytham will have left a scar. He had the Scottish Open snatched from under his nose last week by Bob MacIntyre, too. But there’s little that vexes the genial Aussie too much, and here he his holing out from one of the deep bunkers guarding 1. An opening birdie, and while there are 71 holes still to play, we’re allowed to dream. It’s free.
-1: Song (2), Kinoshita (2), Scott (1)
Kinoshita threatens to hand back his birdie at 2. A timid tee shot leaves him 200 yards out, and he carves his second into thick rough to the right of the green. But he bumps a chip to a couple of feet and scrambles his par. He’s going round with Younghan Song, the 33-year-old from South Korea making his second start at the Open after a tie for 62nd at Birkdale in 2017. Song sends his second from similar distance to five feet, and tidies up for his birdie.
-1: Song (2), Kinoshita (2)
E: Noren (3), McKibbin (3), Svensson (2), Hillier (2), Lee (1), Ancer (1)
Ryosuke Kinoshita has the honour of carding the first birdie of the 2024 Open. The 33-year-old from Japan rakes in a long putt across 1 to hit the top of the standings. Whatever happens now, he’ll always be able to say he once led the Open. Meanwhile up on 3, Tom McKibbin makes the second, steering in a right-to-left slider from 15 feet to return to level par.
-1: Kinoshita (1)
E: Noren (3), McKibben (3), Svensson (1), Norrman (1), Hendry (1), Song (1), Hillier (1)
.
.
+4: Hamilton (3)
Updated
The bunkers claim their first victim of the week. Well that didn’t take long. Todd Hamilton sends his second at 3 into a deep trap. His first attempt to escape rockets off the hosel and slams into the face, and he’s forced to turn sideways and bash out in a huff. That leads to a triple bogey. Hamilton won’t be the last. Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson will be wondering why this fate didn’t befall him 20 years ago.
Michael Hendry sends his opening shot down the track. The 36-year-old from New Zealand qualified for Hoylake last year, but was prevented from teeing it up after a leukemia diagnosis. Thankfully he’s back to health and competing this week, having been granted a medical exemption by the R&A. Par to start. He’s going round with Jesper Svensson, who nearly begins his Open debut in perfect fashion, sending his second at 1 from 131 yards to five feet … but he can’t make the putt. We’re still looking for our first birdie of the week.
The first dropped shots of the week. Todd Hamilton and Jack McDonald aren’t able to get up and down at 2. Justin Leonard splashes out to six feet, though, and remains at level par. Back on 1, Tom McKibbin nearly makes the first birdie of the championship, but his putt shaves the hole and on we go.
Opening pars for Justin Leonard, Todd Hamilton and Jack McDonald. But the two erstwhile champions find pot bunkers on 2, while McDonald flies the green. It’s going to be a long day; chances are we’ll love it more than quite a few members of the field. Still, for what it’s worth – and that is next to the square root of absolutely nothing at all – here’s the first leaderboard of the week.
E: Leonard (1), Hamilton (1), McDonald (1)
The weather forecast. It’s Scotland, it’s the Open, it’s changeable. There are outbreaks of rain and drizzle expected throughout the day, and there’s a fresh breeze. The wind’s against on the front nine, but it should help coming home along the more testing back nine, so there’s a good chance of a score in the mid-60s for anyone who keeps it straight. Avoid those pot bunkers, now!
Here we go, then … and the 1997 champion Justin Leonard cracks the opening tee shot of this year’s Open down the middle. He could sell that for cash money to the leaders on Sunday afternoon. The 2004 winner Todd Hamilton follows him down there. And finally, making it three fine strokes, 31-year-old Jack McDonald of nearby Kilmarnock, making his Open debut. The nerves will have been jangling, so everyone strides off wearing a relieved smile.
Updated
Preamble
It’s the 152nd Open Championship, and the tenth to be contested on the famous Ayrshire links of Royal Troon. The ninth saw Henrik Stenson hold off Phil Mickelson in what is generally considered to be, with the honourable exception of 1977’s legendary duel in the sun between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus at Turnberry, the finest mano-a-mano affair in the Open’s long and illustrious history. No pressure, then, everyone!
Here are today’s tee times (Britain and Ireland unless stated, all times local, a denotes amateur). Brian Harman begins the defence of his title just before 10am, by which time the recently crowned Scottish Open champion Bob MacIntyre will already be out on the course, high on life, as will Ludvig Åberg, Jon Rahm and the newly loveable Bryson DeChambeau. Rory McIlroy will be along soon after, but we’ll have to wait until the afternoon for the world number one Scottie Scheffler and Tiger. Anyway, pick your favourite out of this lot, pour yourself a strong cup of tea, kick back for the next four days of golfing bliss and ENJOY. It’s on!
0635 Todd Hamilton (USA), Justin Leonard (USA), Jack McDonald
0646 Tom McKibbin, (a) Calum Scott, Alexander Noren (Swe)
0657 Michael Hendry (Nzl), Vincent Norrman (Swe), Jesper Svensson (Swe)
0708 Daniel Hillier (Nzl), Ryosuke Kinoshita (Jpn), Young-Han Song (Kor)
0719 Abraham Ancer (Mex), Ryo Hisatsune (Jpn), Min-Woo Lee (Aus)
0730 Nicolai Hoejgaard (Den), Keita Nakajima (Jpn), Adam Scott (Aus)
0741 Francesco Molinari (Ita), Justin Rose, (a) Jasper Stubbs (Aus)
0752 Sung-Jae Im (Kor), Matthew Southgate, Justin Thomas (USA)
0803 Laurie Canter, Nick Taylor (Can), Matt Wallace
0814 Matteo Manassero (Ita), Shubhankar Sharma (Ind), Sebastian Soederberg (Swe)
0825 Austin Eckroat (USA), Zach Johnson (USA), Thorbjoern Olesen (Den)
0836 John Daly (USA), (a) Santiago de la Fuente (Mex), Aaron Rai
0847 Stewart Cink (USA), (a) Dominic Clemons, Chris Kirk (USA)
0903 Stephan Jaeger (Ger), Joaquin Niemann (Chi), Adam Schenk (USA)
0914 Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Rsa), Lucas Glover (USA), Adam Hadwin (Can)
0925 Tony Finau (USA), Russell Henley (USA), Matthieu Pavon (Fra)
0936 Tommy Fleetwood, Robert MacIntyre, Jon Rahm (Spa)
0947 Ludvig Åberg (Swe), Bryson DeChambeau (USA), Joo-Hyung Kim (Kor)
0958 Brian Harman (USA), Viktor Hovland (Nor), Sahith Theegala (USA)
1009 Tyrrell Hatton, Max Homa (USA), Rory McIlroy
1020 Keegan Bradley (USA), (a) Gordon Sargent (USA), Will Zalatoris (USA)
1031 Alexander Bjoerk (Swe), Harris English (USA), Maverick McNealy (USA)
1042 Sean Crocker (USA), Guido Migliozzi (Ita), (a) Tommy Morrison (USA)
1053 John Catlin (USA), Gun-Taek Koh (Kor), David Puig (Spa)
1104 Daniel Bradbury, Thriston Lawrence (Rsa), Elvis Smylie (Aus)
1115 Ignacio Elvira (Spa), Darren Fichardt (Rsa), Min-Kyu Kim (Kor)
1126 Mason Andersen (USA), Sam Hutsby, Masahiro Kawamura (Jpn)
1147 Ewen Ferguson, Marcel Siem (Ger)
1158 Yuto Katsuragawa (Jpn), Romain Langasque (Fra), Chengtsung Pan (Tai)
1209 Angel Hidalgo (Spa), Rikuya Hoshino (Jpn), Richard Mansell
1220 Jorge Campillo (Spa), Corey Conners (Can), Ryan Fox (Nzl)
1231 Ernie Els (Rsa), (a) Altin van der Merwe (Rsa), Gary Woodland (USA)
1242 Rasmus Hoejgaard (Den), (a) Jacob Olesen (Den), Henrik Stenson (Swe)
1253 Billy Horschel (USA), Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Victor Perez (Fra)
1304 Jordan Smith, Sepp Straka (Aut), Brendon Todd (USA)
1315 Denny McCarthy (USA), Adrian Meronk (Pol), Taylor Moore (USA)
1326 Byeong-Hun An (Kor), Jason Day (Aus), Rickie Fowler (USA)
1337 Alex Cejka (Ger), Eric Cole (USA), Kurt Kitayama (USA)
1348 Dean Burmester (Rsa), Darren Clarke, J. T. Poston (USA)
1404 Dustin Johnson (USA), Joost Luiten (Ned), Phil Mickelson (USA)
1415 Padraig Harrington, Matthew Jordan, Davis Thompson (USA)
1426 Wyndham Clark (USA), Brooks Koepka (USA), Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn)
1437 Patrick Cantlay (USA), Xander Schauffele (USA), Tiger Woods (USA)
1448 Sam Burns (USA), Si-Woo Kim (Kor), Collin Morikawa (USA)
1459 Matthew Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry, Cameron Smith (Aus)
1510 Scottie Scheffler (USA), Jordan Spieth (USA), Cameron Young (USA)
1521 Akshay Bhatia (USA), Tom Hoge (USA), Sami Valimaki (Fin)
1532 Ben Griffin (USA), Emiliano Grillo (Arg), Mackenzie Hughes (Can)
1543 Joseph Dean, Andy Ogletree (USA), Yannik Paul (Ger)
1554 Charlie Lindh (Swe), (a) Luis Masaveu (Spa), Ryan van Velzen (Rsa)
1605 Kazuma Kobori (Nzl), (a) Jaime Montojo (Spa), (a) Liam Nolan
1616 Denwit Boriboonsub (Tha), Daniel Brown, (a) Matthew Dodd-Berry
1627 Sam Horsfield, Aguri Iwasaki (Jpn), Jeung-Hun Wang (Kor)
