Former champions Louis Oosthuizen and Jordan Spieth sparkled in the morning sunshine as the 149th British Open started at Royal St. George’s on Thursday.
South African Oosthuizen, the winner in 2010, made six birdies in a flawless 64 to finish on six-under, one shot ahead of American Spieth, champion in 2017.
Brian Harman matched his compatriot Spieth with a 65 to share second place.
Oosthuizen, 38, struck his irons beautifully to pick up three birdies around the turn and added three on the closing holes to make a strong start to his bid for a second major title.
“Probably in my mind it was the perfect round I could have played,” he said.
The 2020 tournament was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but up to 32,000 fans are being allowed each day this year as part of a government test event.
