Former US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick’s form continued its upward trend after a four-under-par 67 gave him a share of the lead on the first day of The Open at Royal Portrush.
As he was finishing, home favourite Rory McIlroy was only just teeing off and, while he avoided the sort of nightmare start he endured here in 2019 when he went out of bounds at the first for a quadruple bogey, the Northern Irishman missed a short par putt, much to the disappointment of the thousands of who had come to see golf’s newest member of the career Grand Slam club.
Fitzpatrick was eighth in May’s US PGA Championship, but that was a high point in an otherwise disappointing season until back-to-back top-10 finishes in his last two events pointed towards an upturn.
Calamity Corner class. Matt Fitzpatrick makes birdie to tie the lead.
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And that timing was impeccable as he got off to a flying start with a 22-foot eagle putt at the second hole, although he immediately bogeyed the next.
Two more birdies were to follow, but the highlight was holing out for birdie from the steep bank on the treacherous Calamity Corner par-three 16th which put him into a share of the lead set by world number 354 Jacob Skov Olesen and China’s Li Haotong.
“Obviously I felt like The Players was a pretty low point,” said Fitzpatrick of missing the cut at Sawgrass in March.
“That’s the lowest I’ve felt in my career. Statistically it could be the worst run that I’ve played as well. I just didn’t feel good or know where it was going.
“It was really bad and even Valero, kind of a couple of weeks later, I couldn’t find the face with the ball. It was just not good.
“Today I just felt like I did everything well. Just drove it well, approach play was good and chipped and putted well. It was just an all-around good day.”
Olesen, a Danish left-hander who won the Amateur Championship at Ballyliffin in Ireland last summer, only turned professional in November after earning his DP World Tour card.
That meant the 26-year-old had to sacrifice his amateur exemptions for this year’s Masters and US Open, so this was only his second appearance at one of golf’s premier events after his debut at Troon 12 months ago.
But he had no regrets about his decision, having come through qualifying a fortnight ago.
“I think it would have been a different decision if I was 19 at the time, but getting out on tour has always been a dream of mine,” he said.
“I had already made the decision before even going to second stage of Q-school that, if I got through, it would be a no-brainer to turn pro.
“I always feel like, if I play my game, I can do well, especially around links courses, but it hasn’t been very good golf the last couple of months.”
England’s Matthew Jordan, seeking his third successive top-10 Open finish, was a shot further back, while behind him 52-year-old Lee Westwood rolled back the years on the 30th anniversary of his first Open appearance with a 69.
World number one Scottie Scheffler was one under through 16 holes, as was Sergio Garcia at the turn on his return to The Open after missing the last two events.
