Pars for Bradley and Sergio at the last; a 67 for the former, a 68 for the latter. And that’s that for today’s blog. We’ll be back here at 8am BST tomorrow morning for the second round. Expect a little wind and rain, stuff that was conspicuously absent on this near-perfect day of record-equalling scoring. Nighty night!
-8: Mickelson
-5: Reed, Kaymer
-4: Thomas, Stricker, Horschel, Finau, Kjeldsen, Sullivan, Z Johnson, Bradley
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A marvellous piece here from Mark Tallentire, reporting on the bedlam at the 11th, the infamous Railway hole. “David Duval, the 2001 champion, had a nine there while his playing partners Sandy Lyle, who lifted the Claret Jug in 1985, and Scott Gregory outperformed him with treble-bogey sevens. Eleven-over for the group sounds like the stuff of a pub society.”
Sergio at 17. He sets his tee shot out to the right, and it’s not coming back, no matter how much he shouts “HANG ON!!!” at the ball. It plops into a deep greenside bunker, and that’ll be quite an up and down if he makes it. He carefully flips the ball out of the trap, high into the air, and lands it eight feet past the flag. It’s a fine escape, but the putt that follows doesn’t match it; it wafts down the left and he’s back to -3. Bradley meanwhile finds the front of the green, lags up, and taps in for his par. He stays at -4.
Par down the last for Stenson, who signs for a 68. He should be happier than he looks. He’s had a face on for the majority of the round. Scott was a foot short with his birdie effort, and will scribble his name on the bottom of a 69. And finally it’s the defending champ, whose attempt to escape with an unlikely par dies off to the right of the hole. It was a tricky read. All three men in this group can be pleased with their day’s work, though it was a bit of a miserable end to the round for Zach Johnson. Meanwhile Sergio and Keegan Bradley have both birdied 16; they’re ending their rounds strongly, the wind (such as it is) behind them.
-8: Mickelson (F)
-5: Reed (F), Kaymer (F)
-4: Thomas (F), Stricker (F), Horschel (F), Finau (F) , Kjeldsen (F), Sullivan (F), Z Johnson (F), Garcia (16), Bradley (16)
Zach Johnson takes his medicine, but it’s the equivalent of hiccuping mid-gulp and spewing sticky tincture all down the front of your shirt. He chips out of the sand - and straight into the rough down the left! That is very careless indeed. But he’s made of tough stuff, and so he wipes himself down, concentrates the mind, and punches a fine third straight at the flag, leaving himself a ten-footer to save his par. “I want to give Po’ Phil a big hug,” announces Andy Gordon as he joins the back of a long queue. “My wife doesn’t understand, but somehow I think that you and all the other readers will.”
Kaymer finds the heart of 18 in two. He can’t make the 15-foot birdie putt he leaves himself, but that’s a no-bogey round of 66. He’s -5, three off Mickelson’s lead. His playing partner Dustin Johnson watches a short birdie effort horseshoe out. It’s not been his day. That’s a fairly uneventful level-par 71 for the US Open champion. Meanwhile back down the hole, the defending champion Zach Johnson’s round threatens to unravel just a little. After his first bogey of the day on 17, he drives into a bunker down the left of 18, and he’s right up against the face. He’ll have no choice but to take his medicine and splash out sideways.
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So much for Zach Johnson’s bid for a 63. He pushes his tee shot at 17 well wide right, and he’s got to lob over a bunker to get anywhere near the flag. He leaves himself a 12-footer coming back, that’s his first dropped shot of the day. He’s back to -5. Adam Scott rakes one in from Mickelson Country on the same green. That’s back to back birdies, and he’s -2. Henrik Stenson, the third member of a group going very well, came back into the reckoning after that bogey at 13. Birdies at 14 and 16, and he’s -3.
Here’s Lefty! And he’s looking, and sounding, very emotional. “This is pretty heartbreaking, because I had that ball right in the centre of the hole with a foot to go, and it was perfect speed. I don’t understand what just happened, because it moved ... I don’t understand it! To have played this round, and to walk away feeling like I want to cry is a very awkward feeling.” How has he improved his putting of late? “A bunch of practice.” So there you have it. Gary Player was right all along.
Way too early to be thinking about stuff like this, but what the hell, I’m feeling giddy after that Mickelson round. If he ends up winning this week, he’ll become the second oldest Open champion in history, roughly three months younger than Old Tom Morris (1867) but nearly two years older than Roberto de Vicenzo (1967).
Oh we’ve got some golf to play yet! A tidy two putts on 16 for Zach Johnson, and he’s picking up another birdie. He moves to -6. And if he finishes birdie-birdie, he’ll sign for a 63 too! Kaymer pars 17 to remain at -5; a couple of extra joules on his 15-foot birdie attempt, and he’d be up there with the defending champion too.
So this has the feeling of After The Lord Mayor’s Show about it. Which is preposterous, really, as Andy Sullivan has just birdied 18 to sign for a 67, Sergio has picked up another at 14 to move to -3, and Kaymer and Zach Johnson are still within touching distance of claiming second place tonight for themselves. But then, when you’re a lip-out away from witnessing a 62 at a major, that’s just how things are. Phil Mickelson, what are you like?
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Dear me! Mickelson did everything possible to make that birdie. He couldn’t have got any closer without actually breaking the record. A dimple away from 62. He is, however, in not bad nick, clear at the top of a fascinating leaderboard. (While the Mickelson brouhaha was going on, Martin Kaymer birdied 16, while Zach Johnson picked one up at 14.)
-8: Mickelson (F)
-5: Reed (F), Kaymer (16), Z Johnson (15)
-4: Thomas (F), Stricker (F), Horschel (F), Finau (F), Kjeldsen (F)
A dimple away from history! Oh this is heartbreaking! Mickelson isn’t going to die wondering: this ball is going to reach the cup whatever happens. Don’t leave it short like Jason Dufner did at Oak Hill three years ago. He hits it firm. Right to left. And it’s curving in! But somehow - how on earth did this happen?!! - the ball takes a little kink to the right just at the death, and lips out on the right! He’s left with a tap in, the ball peeking over the edge. That is astonishing. And such a shame. But to Phil’s eternal credit, he walks off the green with a rueful smile. “Aw man! Unreal!” he laughs as he disappears into the marker’s tent. Wow. Still, that’s a record-equalling 63, and he’d have taken that this morning all right!
Phil Mickelson walks up the last to tumultuous applause! This sort of thing isn’t supposed to happen until Sunday afternoon. But he’s two putts away from joining the men’s major-championship 63 Club: he’d become the 26th member, and it’d be the 28th round in history (Greg Norman and Vijay Singh have done it twice). More thrillingly, he’s one putt away from smashing a 43-year-old record. Nobody’s ever shot 62 in a men’s major. (Incidentally, Lee Westwood, his playing partner, signs for a level-par 71. He partnered Danny Willett in the final round of the Masters. He partnered Dustin Johnson in the final round of the US Open. Is he about to complete a bridesmaid hat-trick?!)
Lefty takes a long time over his second. As he surely must. A lot of thought. A lot of chat. And finally an easy-as-you-like swing, a careful high fade into the heart of the green. He’s pin high, and will have a 15-footer for a record-breaking major-championship round of 62!
Lucky, lucky Phil Mickelson. He takes 3-wood off the 18th tee for position, and nearly sends his ball whistling into a bunker down the left of the fairway. But it somehow squirts round the side, on the left, and he’ll have a shot into the green. The tension is palpable. Almost unbearable. In an attempt to relive it, some admin: a birdie for Andy Sullivan in 16, and he’s -3; bogey for Sergio at 11 but he rolls in a 30-footer to get the shot back immediately at 12, and he’s -2; and a sad end to Matt Kuchar’s round, who takes two to get out of a bunker and ends with a level-par 71 that should have been so much better.
Mickelson needs to knock in this 15-footer on 17 if he’s to have a chance of shooting 62. He prowls around it awhile, then gently waves his putter, sending the ball rolling slowly, slowly, slowly towards the cup. A careful left-to-right slider. It doesn’t look as though he’s given it enough gas. Will it reach? Will it die off to the right? Nope! In it goes! The crowd go crazy! He moves to -8, three clear of Reed, but that seems almost secondary right now. As things stand, par on the last, and he’ll become the 26th man to shoot 63 in a major championship. He’ll be the first to do it in an Open since Rory McIlroy at St Andrews in 2010. But if he manages a birdie for 62 ... wow. We’ll be breaking new ground. Anyway, time continues to tick on. We’re potentially 15 minutes until Epoch o’Clock!
Mickelson is giving himself a chance here. His tee shot into 17 is pin high, and he’ll have a look from 15 feet. All this bedlam is somewhat obscuring the brilliance of Zach Johnson, whose start to his title defence is highly impressive: another birdie, this time at 14, and he joins Patrick Reed in second place at -5, two behind the leader. Here’s Hubert O’Hearn: “World’s shortest email. Lefty: Vintage.”
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Mickelson is up against the face of the bunker at 16, but lashes at the ball with his lob wedge wide open, sending his ball miles into the air and slamming down ten feet from the hole. What an escape that is. He’s still got a bit of work to do for his birdie, but in the putt goes! He’s -7 for his round. One more birdie, and he’s matching the major-tournament record of 63. Two more, and he’ll be breaking a record that’s stood since Johnny Miller did it at Oakmont in 1973. The next 30 minutes could be epochal.
Matt Kuchar has just been extremely careless on 17. Having missed a very gettable birdie putt on 16, he should knock in a five-footer on the next to make up for it. But he lets it slide by, then misses the par putt coming back: instead of moving to -3 or maybe even -4, he’s back to -1. His flat stick has really let him down there. In other mini-meltdown news, Stenson misses a tiddler on 13 to drop back to -1.
Kaymer’s tee shot at 14 is exquisite, pin high and six feet to the right of the flag. A huge “ooooh” of disappointment as his birdie putt stays out on the right lip. Not sure how that didn’t drop. But he remains two behind Mickelson, who has just found the bunker front right of 16 with his fairway wood. A nice, flat lie, and he’ll still have a chance to get up and down for birdie. But much will depend on how he finds that ball.
Soren Kjeldsen, out in 33, has finished strongly. A birdie at 16, and now another at the last, sending his approach pin high to 15 feet and stroking in the putt. He puts his name to a 67, and he’s two off Mickelson’s lead. Speaking of Lefty, he lags another long birdie putt, this time at 15, to a couple of feet and cleans up for par. He’s been outstanding today. Barely a misstep so far. And Dustin has been quiet for a while, but he whips his second at 13 to six feet. He should be moving to -2, but he pulls his putt. He just doesn’t quite look on it today.
A bogey-bogey finish for Justin Leonard. That’s four dropped strokes in the final five holes; the birdie at 16 doesn’t mask the wheels clanking off. He had been going so well, too. But it’s still a one-under 70. Meanwhile on 12, Stenson finds his neutral space. A calm second into the heart of the green, pin high, and he rolls in a 25-foot right-to-left curler to reclaim the shot he dropped in a hot funk on the previous hole. He’s back to -2.
We have a new leader of the 2016 Open! It’s the 2013 champion Phil Mickelson, who slides a 25-foot putt from right to left into the cup at 14. That’s his sixth birdie of a blemish-free card! Kaymer looked to be in trouble down the right of 12, but lashed out from thick rough to the heart of the green, and very nearly drained the 20-footer he left himself. And the 2012 US Open champion Webb Simpson - who has done precious little since winning at Olympic - has birdied 7, 8 and 9 to reach the turn in 33.
-6: Mickelson (14)
-5: Reed (F)
-4: Thomas (F), Stricker (F), Horschel (F), Finau (F), Kaymer (12), Z Johnson (11)
Henrik Stenson struggles his way up the right of the Railway hole. He sends his drive into thick rough, then whips his second into equally tangled nonsense 30 yards ahead of the green. A brilliant chip to four feet should save his par, but he pulls the putt, stares at the source of a minor noise in the gallery, which surely had nothing to do with the missed short one, then stands around with a face on for an eternity. Simmer down! That’s a shot gone. He’s back to -1. By all accounts - well, Richard Boxall on Sky’s account - Stenson was engaged in a full and frank discussion with his caddie on the practice area yesterday. Neutral space, Henrik, neutral space. Up on 12, Andy Sullivan rattles in a 40-footer up 12, and the birdie brings him to -3. Meanwhile Matthew Southgate - who shed tears of joy after finishing fourth at the Irish Open, such a heartwarming moment after his recovery from illness - is going well again, with birdies at 2, 4 and now 7. He’s -3.
A mammoth 60-foot birdie “opportunity” for Phil at 13. He does wonderfully well to lag it up to five feet, and saves his par. That’s a staunch two-putt. He’s looking very business-like. A brisk start by Rafael Cabrera-Bello, who birdies 1, 4 and now 7; he’s -3. Back on 9, Sergio wedges his second to six feet past the flag, the ball biting immediately. He’ll have that to reach the turn in 34. And it’s in. He’s -2, and looks pleased enough with his afternoon’s work so far. The wind hasn’t quite picked up as expected, incidentally, and it’s turned a little too, so scoring on the back nine shouldn’t be quite the struggle of earlier. We’ll see.
A fine par save by Sergio on the Postage Stamp. He’s in the Coffin to the left of the green, but has enough space to splash out towards the flag. He sends his ball 15 feet past the flag - about the best he could do - and then drains the return putt. Marvellous. Birdies at 14 and 16 have elevated Bill Haas to -3, while JB Holmes has started fast with birdies at 1, 4 and 6. He’s -3 too.
News of the rescue-club-nudging 2004 champion, Todd Hamilton. He was out in level-par 36, but has slipped a little since, with bogeys at 11 and 15. He’s +2 with a couple of holes left to play. He’s playing alongside another Troon victor, 1989’s Mark Calcavecchia, who was out in 38 but birdied 11, of all holes, and is currently +1. The third member of the group is the 1997 winner Justin Leonard, who has responded to dropping shots at 14 and 15 with birdie at 16: he’s -3. Incidentally - and mention of Hamilton always brings his Open Nadir Twin to mind - Ben Curtis has shot 77. What a couple of years those were.
The 2011 PGA champion Keegan Bradley is going along very nicely at the moment. Birdies at 2, 4 and 6, and he’s just bumped his second into 7 to eight feet. He can’t convert, but his putt only just missed on the left, and he’s still tied for ninth at -3. Sergio however lets a five-footer slip by on the left, and he’s back to -1. But another birdie for Kaymer, who knocks in his fourth of the day, straight across 10. He’s -4.
Adam Scott has started out with eight pars. He’s been making a habit of this Faldoesque behaviour recently. He very nearly loses his second into 9 down the swale to the left of the green, but the ball holds on the narrow strip between flag and bank, and he’ll have a good look at birdie from there. In it goes, from eight feet, and he reaches the turn in -1. His partner Zach Johnson lips out from similar distance, but he’s turning in 32. Pars at 5 and 6 for Sergio, incidentally; he’s still trucking along nicely, if not spectacularly.
Zach Johnson sends a beauty into the Postage Stamp, gently landing eight feet behind the hole, a little to the left. In it pops: his fourth birdie of the day. His namesake Dustin flays a preposterous drive into thick oomska down the left of 9, but gets a lucky lie, then swishes a wedge pin high. Marvellous second. He doesn’t hit the putt, though, and it’s a par that sees him out in 35. Meanwhile on 14, Leonard sends his tee shot scampering into a pot bunker front left of the green, and he can’t get up and down from the trap. And on the last, Tony Finau sends his second to three feet, and he signs for a 67. That’s a tie for third as things stand.
Only a level-par 71 for Jordan Spieth today. But the following words are ominous, coming from a brilliant young man who never presses the panic button. “I hit the ball great. My putter wasn’t quite there. Just an off day on the greens, which is pretty rare. So I won’t think much of it. I hit the ball incredibly well. So if I putt to the standards I set myself, that’s a round of four to six under par. The putter will get there if I get a little more aggressive on the greens.” Sky Sports have just shown footage of him practising splashing out from a bunker while standing outside it on his knees. All eventualities covered. He’s incredibly impressive. Like that’s breaking news, but you get the point.
Phil Mickelson joins Patrick Reed in the lead! He rakes a 30-foot birdie putt across 10, punches the air, and strides off in very determined fashion. Meanwhile it’s been an eventful afternoon for Andy Sullivan, who made his major bow at last year’s US Open, and has looked at home in the big tournaments ever since. Four birdies and two bogeys over the front nine, and he’s out in 34. Can he better his top-30 finish at St Andrews?
-5: Reed (F), Mickelson (10)
-4: Thomas (F), Stricker (F), Horschel (F), Leonard (13)
-3: Rose (F), S Lee (F), Imahira (F), Sterne (F), Finau (17), Kaymer (8), Z Johnson (7)
Martin Kaymer, the 2010 PGA and 2014 US Open champion, looks to have locked into a groove. His tee shot at the Postage Stamp is pin high, maybe six feet to the right. In goes the birdie putt, and he’s -3, going very nicely indeed. But it’s a bogey-bogey finish for Haydn Porteous, and having gone out in 30, he’s back home in 40. Still, it’s a one-under 70 for his first-ever round in an Open Championship, which I’m sure he’ll have taken this morning. Coming off the 9th green, perhaps not so much, but in golf you’ve got to look on the bright side or you’ll flip your lid.
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Another birdie for Sergio! He picks up his second stroke of the day at the par-five 4th. A very decent start from everyone’s favourite flawed hero. He’s slightly fortunate, mind: deep in a bunker front right of the green, he blasts out and would have sent his ball well past the hole had the flagstick not intervened. Instead, the ball stops by the side of the hole and he can tap in. Mickelson, meanwhile, isn’t far away from birdie on 9, but the ball shaves the side of the hole and he’ll have to do with going out in 32 strokes. He looks happy enough with that.
Dustin Johnson’s rolling now. He swishes a wedge into 7, bouncing his ball off the bank to the right, his ball gathered to within 12 inches of the hole by the camber. He taps in, and he’s -1. Another birdie for his partner Kaymer, too, who strokes one in from 25 feet to move to -2. Leonard gets up and down from a swale to the side of 12, and will remain at -4. Meanwhile a big move on 6, where Henrik Stenson rattles in a 30-foot eagle putt to rise up the leaderboard to -2.
Here’s Mark Tallentire, coming straight at you from Troon, with a report on Monty’s speedy and highly decent level-par round of 71.
Another birdie for Justin Leonard, who won here in 1997. This one comes at 11, the result of a 15-footer slipped in from right to left. Weird to think he’s two years younger than Mickelson, isn’t it. Stuck in time as a man of the Nineties. Meanwhile erstwhile leader Haydn Porteous lets another shot slip, this time at 17; he’s -2 again.
-5: Reed (F)
-4: Thomas (F), Stricker (F), Horschel (F), Leonard (11), Mickelson (8)
Mickelson taps in for his birdie. This is brilliant from Lefty. He’s a shot off the lead now, and walking with a notable bounce in his step. Dustin Johnson has done nothing so far, so you’d think the par-fives would be his friend. But he’s missed a birdie opportunity at 4, and now from the middle of the fairway at 6, after a monster drive, he chunks his fairway wood, leaving himself well short of the green. He chips to eight feet, though, a decent chance to finally start moving in the right direction. He rolls in the putt, and he’s back to level par. He doesn’t look totally at ease with his game, but that was a shot gained through sheer resilience. Meanwhile his playing partner, the two-time major winner Martin Kaymer, finally makes birdie after five pars, and he’s in red figures for his round.
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Such a delightful tee shot by Phil Mickelson at the Postage Stamp! He eases his wedge over the flag, the ball biting and spinning back to a couple of feet. He’s missed some bloody stupid short putts in his time, but he’s got to get that one in, surely. If only because the wedge was so sweet, it deserves nothing less than birdie. That’ll take him to -4, a shot off the lead. Porteous meanwhile birdies 16, though there’s still a little frustration as an eagle putt from a very agreeable distance - ten feet? - shies away to the left. He’s back up to -3 though.
Just the one par on Ernie Els’s card so far. And now a bounce-back birdie on 7; he’s -2 again. Birdie too for his playing partner Lee Westwood, who wipes out his bogey at 3 to move back to level par. A good up and down on the last by Richard Sterne, and he signs for a three-under 68. Back-to-back bogeys for Kevin Na, who hits a short par putt ludicrously hard on 9, and reaches the turn in two-under 34. A safe two putts for Zach Johnson on 4 takes him to -3, within two of the current leader Patrick Reed. Meanwhile Sergio is out! And he’s started very nicely indeed. A par-birdie start, his reward coming after a lovely wedge to six feet at 2.
The big-hitting Tony Finau of the USA is going along nicely. He races in a 25-footer on 13, his third birdie on an unblemished card. He’s -3. Kevin Kisner meanwhile has birdied 10, and he’s -3 too. The Americans are having a field day so far: they’ve got nine of the top 14 places. Nothing’s happening for Dustin Johnson yet: he’s still +1, standing on 5, and his tee shot only just finds the front of the green. Zach is looking rather chipper, though: he’s just arrowed his second on 4 into the heart of the green, and will have a look at eagle. A birdie, more likely, will take him to -3. If he can tuck that away, this will be quite a statement from the defending champ.
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Porteous is struggling. He leaves himself with a monster from the front of 15 for his par. That’s no way to go about your business. But in fairness, under severe pressure with his round threatening to fall to pieces, he lags up from 60 feet to a few inches, and limits the damage to bogey. He’s back down to -2, though. Meanwhile maybe Els still has a few problems with that putter: he dismally quits on a short par putt at 6, and he’s back to -1.
We haven’t put up a leaderboard in a while. So with the 1997 Troon champ Justin Leonard creeping into view - the 44-year-old is out in 33 after birdies at 4, 8 and 9 - and Lefty seemingly on a trademark charge - he’s added birdie at 6 to the ones at 2 and 4 - it’s about that time!
-5: Reed (F)
-4: Thomas (F), Stricker (F), Horschel (F)
-3: Rose (F), S Lee (F), Imahira (F), Sterne (17), Porteous (14), Leonard (9), Kjeldsen (8), Na (8), Mickelson (6)
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Here’s our man Barry Glendenning’s take on Sky’s all-new Open coverage! Give it a read, he did get up at 6.30am to watch it kick off, after all.
Ernie Els looks to have got his putter working again. That nonsense on the 1st at Augusta National, where he took six from three feet, would have broken lesser men. But after bogey at 2, he’s strung three birdies together and is -2 through five holes. Chances are you didn’t pick the 46-year-old Els as a possible winner this week. But then who did ahead of Lytham? And look what happened there. Not far behind him, playing in only his second Open but coming of age on the US tour, is Russell Knox. The 31-year-old Scot’s putter is playing up: after a double at 2, he’s just missed from 18 inches, two feet tops, at 3. He’s +3, a nightmare start. Meanwhile par for Billy Horschel at the last, and he’s back home in 33 for a four-under 67.
Porteous, out in 30 and recently leading at -6, is struggling now. On 13, he pushes a par putt that’s almost in gimme territory, and now he’s back to -3. The back nine at Troon is treacherous compared to the front, of course, which goes some way to explaining this. Still, leading the Open, a couple of hours into your Open debut as a 22-year-old, must do strange things to the noggin. Meanwhile the vastly more experienced Zach Johnson has opened with back-to-back birdies, guiding in a 15-footer from right to left at 2. Marvellous stuff from a fine competitor who doesn’t get the credit he deserves.
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Poor old Sandy Lyle. The 1985 champion, a fully fledged veteran at 58 now, shot a painful 85 today. At least he only took seven strokes on the Railway hole; David Duval and Steven Bowditch both walked off the green after taking nine. Lyle is propping up the leaderboard at +14 though. Whether that’ll hurt as much as Shane Lowry’s 78, or Paul Dunne’s 77, is a moot point, given Lowry was expected to compete after his US Open heroics, while Dunne was in the final pairing for the fourth round last year.
Americans always win at Troon. Since 1962, anyway. And it’s already looking very healthy for our Stateside pals. Reed, Thomas and Stricker we already know about. Well, in addition, Billy Horschel has birdied 13 and now 17 to move to -4, while Kevin Na is on that mark after a blistering start: birdies at 2, 3, 4 and now 6. Meanwhile Mickelson tries his best to miss a birdie putt from three feet on 4, but the gods are on his side. After a 720-degree tour, the ball drops, and he’s -2.
After showing Dustin winging his tee shot in the direction of the briny, Sunday at Pebble Beach style, there’s nothing on our screens until he’s pulling a short putt wide of the hole. The caption says that’s a bogey, so I’m guessing he found his ball. But either way, that’s not ideal. Come back, BBC, all is forgiven. Coming behind the big man, his namesake, the defending champion Zach. And it’s a perfect start for the quiet double-major-winning American, who rakes in a 30-footer for an opening birdie.
McIlroy isn’t far from curling in a 20-foot right-to-left breaker from the back of 18. Not quite, and he’s signing for a two-under 69. That’s not great given he was out in 32; on the other hand, it was a pretty good recovery after that double bogey-bogey slump at 13 and 14. One overcooked approach, one bad chip, and one pulled tee shot; he shouldn’t beat himself up too much. Bubba makes a similar putt, though, and his birdie gives him a 70. He’ll feel better in red figures, but the Postage Stamp really did a number on him today. Meanwhile there’s another dropped shot for Porteous, this time at 11. He’s back to -4. Troon really is playing like two separate golf courses today. “Making BoJo Foreign Secretary is like making Maurice Flitcroft captain of the R&A,” suggests Simon McMahon, with not much understatement.
The man of the moment, the hot ticket of 2016, the US Open and Bridgestone-WGC champion Dustin Johnson, is on the 1st tee! He’s in form, on a winning streak, and the favourite to win this week. So sure enough, he takes out his driver and ... it’s Dustin Johnson Meltdown Time! He sends it sailing towards the fence that marks OB down the right. Has he wanged that onto the beach? Possibly. Or maybe they’ll just struggle to find it in the thick rough near the fence. Either way, he’s concerned enough to load up again and send a provisional down the track. Oh Successful Dustin! We hardly knew ye!
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Steve Stricker has just landed his second to 18 roughly the same number of inches from the hole. That’ll be a birdie, and an excellent 67. Phil Mickelson is out. He parred the opening hole, and now he’s rolled in a 25-footer on the 2nd to move to -1. According to Monty on Sky, he was out on the 1st green on Tuesday night for a couple of hours solid, putting, chipping, putting, putting, putting. Let’s hope that practice pays off. Old-school birdie blitz, please, Phil. Meanwhile a garden-variety par for Rory on 17; he stays at -2. Bogey for Bubba, though, and he’s back to level par, having been -5 standing on the 8th tee.
The notorious back nine has already taken a small chunk out of Hayden Porteous. Our young leader three-putts the 10th and he’s back in a tie with Patrick Reed at -5. It’s taking bigger bites from Matt Jones: out in 31, he’s followed up that double at 11 with another at 12, and plummets down the leaderboard to -1. Meanwhile Jamie Donaldson is in the clubhouse with a low-key but very respectable two-under 69. Also back in the changing room with one-under 70s: Alex Noren, Branden Grace, Byeong Hun An, and two-time winner Padraig Harrington.
From the centre of the 16th fairway, Rory sends his second short and left. He faces a chip, snookered by a bunker, with not much green to play with. He manages to trundle it nervelessly round the right-hand side of the bunker to 15 feet, as close as he could get, but he doesn’t really hit the putt. Par. He shapes to blame an imperfection on the green, though he never looked comfortable over that. Justin Rose meanwhile pars the last for a three-under 68. He’s in good nick, having come home in 33. Some performance on a back nine that’s caused most of the field trouble today. And an uncharacteristically quiet Jordan Spieth drops one, and he’s signing for a level-par 71. He’s just not firing at the moment. “No Dr Golf and only one mention of golf fever so far!” splutters short-changed regular reader Andy Gordon. “Do the ‘issues’ at the Olympics golf tournament mean that this now qualifies as satire and can’t compete with Boris going to the FCO yesterday?”
Soomin Lee affords himself a wide smile on 15. He should have missed his 12-foot par saver, having overcooked it, but his ball, travelling at pace, somehow caught the lip at the back right of the cup, then span around the rim for a while before eventually falling. A little stroke of luck, but he’s earned it after a magnificent blemish-free performance so far. He remains at -4. The super-steady Steve Stricker - bidding to become the oldest major winner of all time at 49 - has just birdied 14 and 16 to move to -3. Also making a move from Stateside: Billy Horschel, who was out in 34 and has birdied 13 to join his compatriot at -3. The Americans love Troon all right.
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Rory gathers himself marvellously by playing the tricky 15th in the direct style: driver down the middle, 8-iron straight at the flag, 15-foot putt into the cup. He’s back to -3. Porteous has a look at birdie on 9, but can’t make a simple-looking, uphill, straight 15-foot putt. It slides off to the left just at the end. Par. He’s out in 30 strokes, though, our leader at -6, a shot ahead of Patrick Reed, who is in the clubhouse with his boots on the table and a cigar on. His compatriot Richard Sterne trundles a putt 30 feet across the 11th green and into the hole: he’s -4.
Matt Jones, out in 31, is making a pig’s lug of the Railway hole. He’s driven onto the tracks, and sent his third down the rough-clad bank to the left of the hole. He can’t scramble an up and down, and that’s a double bogey. He had to chip in from the fringe to make his six. He’s back to -3, heading in the direction of Ross Fisher, who also lost his way after the turn: bogeys for the Englishman at 10, 11 and 12, and he’s back to -1. Up on 17, Jordan Spieth rakes home a 30-footer that brings him back into red numbers after a difficult day. We’re so used to seeing him romp into big leads that it bears saying, even at this early stage: he’s far from out of this. Meanwhile here’s Simon McMahon on our mooted dream play-off between Montgomerie, Westwood and Garcia: “It will play out like this. Monty, tied with the others on 27 over after 54 extra holes, is forced to withdraw on Wednesday to take part in the Senior Open at Carnoustie. Westwood and Garcia then both shoot 59s on the Thursday, forcing sudden death. Sergio, having missed a two footer for the title on the 72nd hole on Sunday, watches as Westwood puts his tee shot to within a foot at the Postage Stamp, the first sudden death hole. A certain birdie. Sergio then aces, pitching straight in the cup, and immediately starts crying tears of relief and joy. It then emerges that he’d actually shot 58 earlier but signed for a 59, incurring a two-shot penalty and handing the claret jug to Westwood. You probably think I’m making this up.” So that’s the first email we’ve ever received that’s brought me to the verge of tears.
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We’ve got a new leader! Hayden Porteous, the 22-year-old South African making his Open debut after winning the Joburg Open, has just curled one in from the back of 8. That’s back-to-back birdies after his eagles at 4 and 6: this is some introduction to this championship! If he birdies the 9th hole, he’ll be out in 29, a feat only achieved 12 times in Open history, and bettered only once. He tops this leaderboard, which now stars the 2013 US Open champ Justin Rose, after his birdies at 15 and 16.
-6: Porteous (8)
-5: Reed (F), Jones (10)
-4: Thomas (F), S Lee (13)
-3: Rose (16), Imahira (11), Sterne (10), Colsaerts (9)
The wheels seem to be clanking off the McIlroy wagon. He was looking in fine fettle as he stood in the middle of the 13th fairway, 6-iron in hand. But after flying it through the green, chipping miles back past the pin, then three putting, his head’s addled. He dumps his tee shot at 14 into the bunker front left, and can only blast out to the back of the green. He’s left with a two-putt from 40 yards for bogey. It’s crucial that he makes them. But first, Bubba proves that backwards momentum can be arrested: he rolls in a 20-foot birdie putt that brings him back into red figures after the double bogey at 8 and dropped shots at 10 and 11. Rory makes his two putts, but he’s back to -1. He walks off the green chest puffed out, though his studied posture doesn’t hide the hurt in his eyes.
From three feet, McIlroy fluffs it. That’s a double-bogey for the defiant non-Olympian. If he makes three worse shots than those around the 13th green in his last five holes, it’s hard to see him ending the day happy. Or close to the leaders.
Porteous isn’t done here by the way – his first birdie of the day takes him to a share of the lead, with plenty of the course still ahead of him. A seriously low score looked in prospect given a spate of birdies early this morning – can he be the one to provide it?
Extended comfort break completed, Mr Murray’s back at the tiller to take you through the afternoon’s action. Enjoy!
-5: Reed (F), Jones (9), Porteous (7)
-4: Thomas (F), S Lee (12)
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McIlroy’s in trouble on 13. Shooting into the wind, he midjudges horribly and flies past the pin. His attempted bump up a steep bank also misses its mark, and he’s fortunate to stay on the green at all. He’s dropping at least a shot here.
Patrick Reed birdies on 18. Four more of those, alongside his eagle on 3, were the highlights of his round of 66. A little more fortune on 16 and 17, don’t forget, and an eye-catching round could have been two more to the good.
Matt Jones isn’t slowing down, however, and his georgous birdie effort from off the green on 9 drops home. It means he’s out in 31, and takes him to a share of the lead. Soomin Lee has a birdie chance on 13 to join them, but it starts left of the hole and stays there.
Speaking of fast movement, however, nobody’s moving up the leaderboard quicker than Haydn Porteous. He moves to four-under after six. No birdies for him though – he’s eagled both four and six.
-5: Reed (F), Jones (9)
-4: Thomas (F), McIlroy (12), S Lee (12), Porteous (6)
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The Sky Sports team are giving Colin Montgomerie a gentle ribbing for his inauspicious start to proceedings today, opening as he did with a double bogey to set the tone for a topsy-turvy round which eventually evened out at level-par.
In the early morning light however, the backdrop to the Scot’s opening tee shot did create some fine opportunities for watching snappers. And one such photo makes our pic of the day …
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Make it bogey-bogey-bogey for Willett. It’s been a torrid stretch home so far for the world No9 and he undoes his fine work over the opening six holes to fall back to level par.
McIlroy’s unhappy with his effort into the green on 12, as it clunks down and spins away from the hole from – let’s be fair – not particularly close. He’s left with more work to do with the putter once again, but so far he’s been rock solid, if unspectacular. His birdie effort gets close-ish, and barring an unexpected mishap he’ll be through unscathed once again.
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McIlroy’s safely home on 11 after a risky-looking dink uphill from distance gets within par distance. With some chips and irons starting to blow wayward, we might see more opting to keep the ball on the deck from off the green.
Meanwhile, Justin Thomas completes a fine three at the last to complete a round of 67 - that makes it a five-way lead at four-under, while Shugo Imahira and Nicolas Colsaerts are on the move in their opening stretches to move within one shot of the lead.
-4: Thomas (F), Reed (16), McIlroy (10), S Lee (8), Jones (6)
-3: Imahira (9), Rock (8), Colsaerts (6)
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Matt Jones is flying. Four pars in his first six holes and the Aussie joins the leaders. Almost immediately, Reed looks like taking the outright lead with two to play but it falters in the last couple of inches and flies off the cup.
Willett, predictably given his plight on 11, puts in his second successive bogey and falls back to -1.
Almost as soon as I include Mattero Manassero in the list of players at three-under, he puts in a double bogey on the par 3 eighth and falls back to -1.
-4: Reed (16), McIlroy (10), S Lee (8), Jones (6)
-3: Thomas (17), Manassero (7), Rock (7), Steele (6)
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On 11, Willett doesn’t like his greenward three iron. He howls as he strikes down and immediately sees it’s not all that greenward – arcing right, and alarmingly towards a tree. At first glance his lie isn’t as bad as it could have been, but on a menacing hole where no one has yet picked up a shot, he doesn’t look like ending that run.
On the same hole, Day overcomes a tight swing by a wall to get close, and he could save par there.
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Afternoon all. No sooner does Mr Murray sign off, when Soomin Lee – looking every bit like dropping back on 9 with a lengthy putt to save par from distance – judges it gloriously to remain tied for the lead. With plenty of shots dropped as the wind picks up, making unlikely-looking pars will be crucial.
On 10, Bubba drops back to -1 after not-quite-hitting a very makeable par effort.
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Oosthuizen holed out from the fairway at Chambers Bay last year, too. What a star he is. I think I need a lie down after that improbable drama, so I’ll hand you over to Stuart Goodwin, who will treat you right. See you soon!
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Hole in one for Louis Oosthuizen! The 2010 champion was going nowhere at +2, but his tee shot at 14 was sent sailing serenely towards the flag, took a couple of gentle bounces, and disappeared into the hole! He’s making a habit of this sort of stuff at the majors, having made that famous albatross at the 2012 Masters, and that billiards-style hole-in-one at Augusta this year!
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A great chance for yet another birdie for McIlroy as he lifts his second to ten feet. But he leaves the putt out on the high side, to the left, and he’s out in 32. But he’s got a share of the lead now, with Reed and the 22-year-old Korean, Soomin Lee, who is making his Open debut. He’s enjoying it, carding three birdies in a row, the latest at 8. Also making three birdies on the spin: Matt Jones of Australia, who featured strongly at last year’s PGA, and appears to have developed a taste for the majors!
-4: Reed (14), McIlroy (9), S Lee (8)
-3: Thomas (15), Fisher (10), Singh (10), Willett (9), M Jones (4)
Justin Thomas is the sole leader right now, but not for very much longer. He drove into thick heather down the right of 15, and all snagged up, was forced to take a penalty drop. He then wanged his third into a fairway bunker. Plugged and up against the face, he could only chip out sideways. He eventually needs to roll in a 15-footer for double bogey. He’s back to -3. Jason Day meanwhile bogeys 8 and 9, and the world number one is out in 37. So much for an easy front nine. And the back nine, as we are seeing, is baring its teeth. Poor Scott Gregory, the 21-year-old British amateur champion, was out in 33 and dreaming of becoming this year’s Paul Dunne. Even more so when he birdied 10 to move to -4. But a triple bogey at 11 was followed by one more triple bogey, a double bogey, four bogeys and a birdie. Back in 45, he’s signing for a 78. He’s +7, but it’s the young man’s Open debut, and he should take pride in the way he shone early this morning.
A brilliant par saver for Patrick Reed on 14. Having found the front bunker, his escape was sent a good 20 feet past the hole. But he knocks in the return to stay at -4. That’s a crucial one, considering he’d just shed a shot on the previous hole. But what about this from Kevin Chappell? A birdie on 15, followed by a triple-bogey 8 on the par-five 16th! He’s still not made par on the back nine: three birdies, three bogeys and a double. He’s -2. Links golf! “Myself and my friends were discussing our bets for the Open at the pub last night,” begins Ian Truman. “The discussion came up, if Sergio and Player X were coming up the last tied, how much money would you have to have on the other player to even consider rooting against Sergio? We came to the conclusion you’d have to be talking four figures. Even then I think I’d rather burn the money than see Sergio blow up.” What I love about Sergio is, even when discussing his dream scenario on Sunday, fear, heartache and misery are still the top notes. Oh Sergio! God speed, dear Sergio.
Trauma for Bubba on 8. His ball plugged, and up against the back lip, he can only blast out towards the back of the green. It topples off and down the back. He then fluffs his first chip up, and while his second makes it onto the putting surface, it’s none too brilliant either. He’s left with a 25-footer for double bogey, and that’s not going in. It’s a six, the first triple bogey of the week. He won’t be the Postage Stamp’s last victim, but he is the first. He’s back to -2. McIlroy taps in for his two, and he’s -4. Four birdies in five! How quickly everything changes on a links.
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Spieth three-putts 9, pushing a very uncertain three-footer to the right of the hole. He’s out in 35, and looks a little bit down on himself. He’s lost confidence on the greens. He missed nothing last year! What a game is golf. Meanwhile a bogey for Patrick Reed on 13, as his second takes a flyer through the green, and he slightly thins his chip back up the bank. He can’t knock in the 15-footer he left himself. And on the Postage Stamp, it’s surely going to be another birdie for Rory McIlroy, who pitched his tee shot on the slope to the left of the hole, the ball guiding to a couple of feet. That’s the best tee shot we’ve seen there all day. He’s warming up all right. Not so Bubba, who after being the hottest property on the course has suddenly gone stone cold: he slams his tee shot into the bunker on the left, and it’s plugged. God speed, Bubba.
Justin Thomas rejoins the leaders by knocking in an 18-footer on the difficult par-four 13th. Kevin Chappell rakes one right across 15 for his sixth birdie of the day. He’s not made a par since the turn: bogey-bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie. And it’s back-to-back birdies for McIlroy, who teases in a very missable ten-foot left-to-right curler on 7. After a slow start - and some very average golf at times - the four-time major winner is coming good. Bubba’s birdie charge meanwhile ends on the same hole, despite clipping a wedge from 65 yards to five feet. He settles for par, and a share.
-5: Thomas (13), Reed (12), Watson (7)
-4: Chappell (15), Fisher (8)
-3: Dubuisson (9), Walker (9), Singh (8), Willett (7), McIlroy (7)
Rory isn’t exactly firing on all cylinders. He sends his tee shot at the par-five 6th wide right, and a good birdie opportunity suddenly becomes quite difficult. But he makes it in the end, knocking in a 15-footer that might give his round a proper kick-start. He’s -2, so like Spieth, he’s not on top of his game, yet picking up strokes nonetheless. Though never mind that: it’s four birdies in a row for Rory’s playing partner Bubba! He’s got a share of the lead alongside Patrick Reed. The Open outward record of 28, set by Denis Durnian at Birkdale in 1983, is probably beyond him. But this is some performance nonetheless.
Nope, poor Jordan Spieth’s putter is stone cold compared to the one he wielded with extreme prejudice in 2015. A glorious tee shot on the Postage Stamp, right at the flag, gives him an eight-foot chance to move to -3, but he lets it slip past the hole. Ross Fisher momentarily joins the leaders, though, with another birdie, this time at 7: he’s -4. But Reed is quickly moving ahead again, knocking in his short birdie putt on 12. What an effort that was, given the nonsense he’d driven his ball into off the tee.
-5: Reed (12)
-4: Thomas (12), Fisher (7), Watson (5)
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Justin Thomas scrambles again, this time from down a swale at 12 to the left. He’s clinging onto that lead for dear life. How long he’ll have a share of it is a moot point: Reed, coming behind from deep rough on the left, smashes out to six feet. He’ll have a great look at birdie. Back on 6, birdies for Willett and Day, though both saw decent eagle efforts scoot past the hole, having set themselves up with marvellous second shots. They’re -3 and -1 respectively. Meanwhile Jimmy Walker is so close to a bounce-back birdie on 9, but his 15-foot effort shaves the hole. Never mind, he’s out in 33.
Kevin Chappell continues to move backwards. He started the turn with back-to-back bogeys at 10 and 11. A birdie at 12 looked to have stopped the rot, but another dropped shot at 13 sends him back to -2. Ross Fisher has started nicely, birdies at 1, 4 and 6 moving him up the leaderboard to -3. And a fine up and down from the side of the dangerous 11th by Reed, who stays at -4 but has just found the thick rough down the left of 12.
What a par for Justin Thomas on 11! He hooks his drive towards a bush, and is extremely lucky not to lose his ball. He’s forced to chip back out onto the fairway. His third finds the bunker to the front left. But no matter! He clatters it out, across the putting surface and into the cup! He stays at -4. On 8, Jimmy Walker is also forced into taking some medicine, chipping out sideways from the bunker. He’s left with a 30-footer for par, and that’s a bogey. He’s back to -3. On 6, Spieth’s approach took a slightly fortunate bounce off a bank to the right of the green and gathered towards the hole. Left with an eight-footer for eagle, he once again fails to hit the putt, and has to settle for a birdie. Again, hardly a disaster - he’s -2 - but the Jordan of last summer would have made his eagle there. And on 5, Bubba joins the leaders after a lovely tee shot at the first par-three sets up an easy birdie. Note also the veteran Vijay, who is going along in his trademark smooth, insouciant fashion.
-4: Thomas (11), Reed (10), Watson (5)
-3: Chappell (12), An (10), Walker (8), Singh (6)
Fowler clips a glorious tee shot at the par-three 5th to four feet - then pulls the birdie putt. He’s frowning so hard as he storms off that his eyebrows threaten to plough up the turf. Day then misses a tiddler to drop back to level par. He’s off the boil at the moment, that collapse at Firestone maybe not totally forgotten. The leader Patrick Reed meanwhile lets an eight-foot par putt slip past the hole on the left. He’s back to -4. Jimmy Walker joins him with a 25-footer straight up 7, though for how long is a moot point: he’s just sent his tee shot at the Postage Stamp into the bunker on the left, and he’ll not have much of a stance, or any green to play with. Suddenly, Troon isn’t looking quite so easy.
It’s back-to-back birdies for Danny Willett. He’s on the par-five 4th in two, and leaves himself a longer birdie putt than he’d ideally have wanted. But he tucks it away from ten feet, refusing point-blank to make the same three-putt mistake he made on the opening hole. Fowler makes his birdie too, joining the Masters champ at -2, though Day can only par and stays at -1. Behind them, McIlroy and Watson play 8-iron and 9-iron respectively into the par-five green, setting up 12-foot eagle chances. Neither can make them, so birdies will suffice. Matsuyama arguably came closest to making eagle, and he had left himself a 30-footer.
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Justin Thomas lashes his second into 10 towards awfully thick rough to the left of the green. He’s not getting up and down from a waist-high jungle, and drops back to -4. Patrick Reed is now the sole leader of the Open, having tidied up from six feet at 9 for par. He’s out in 31, a stunning effort kick-started by that slam-dunk from the fairway for eagle at 3. Byeong Hun An meanwhile bounces back from bogey on the Postage Stamp with a birdie at 9, and he’s out in 33. “I think the dream scenario here is a playoff between the nearly men - Sergio, Monty and Westwood,” suggests Liam Tyrrell. “It could potentially last until next weekend, no man able to get it over the line. If that doesn’t kick off a case of golf fever, I don’t know what will.” Yes, I’d grab that scenario with both hands too. Though it’d be a race against time all right. Would they get it finished before the PGA? Before the sea finally reclaims the land?
Rory’s chip goes straight through the green and down the back of 3. But he putts up the bank to a couple of feet, and scrambles his par. That’s three par saves in a row, when he really needs to be taking advantage of the mild conditions and making birdies. Spieth’s also not rattling along at the speed he’d ideally want: his tee shot at the par-three 5th goes pin high to 12 feet, but he allows the putt to leak off to the left. He’s -1, though, which is hardly a disaster. The flat stick not quite as deadly a weapon as it was in 2015, though.
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Jordan Spieth finally gets into red figures, playing the easy par-five 4th in a measured manner. He’s on in two, lags his eagle putt to a couple of feet, and he’s -1. Back on 3, Bubba drives the green with ease, and he’ll have a 15-footer for eagle! McIlroy tries to follow him in, but catches the rough on the right and will be facing a difficult chip. Once that’s happened, the group ahead can finish off. Rickie Fowler chips in from the back, while Day and Willett make their birdies too. Some sad news of the amateur Scott Gregory, though. He was leading the Open for a wee while, but a triple bogey on the Railway hole - he lost his ball - and he’s back to -1. He’ll do well to remember that Jack Nicklaus took 10 there the first time he played it. It happens to the best of them.
The bunkers on 2 are causing McIlroy, Matsuyama and Watson all sorts of bother. Bubba knocks his tee shot into one, and can only batter it back onto the fairway. The other two send appalling second shots into the pot bunkers guarding the green. But no matter! Bubba sends his approach over the flag to ten feet and knocks in the saver. Rory and Hideki meanwhile splash out well and tap in the easy putts they leave themselves. What a drama they made of par golf there! Meanwhile it’s back to back birdies for Jimmy Walker, the latter at 5, and he’s -3. A dropped shot for Kevin Chappell at 10; having reached the turn in 32, he’s back to -3. And Reed, having sent a safe tee shot into the heart of the Postage Stamp, nearly drains a 30-footer but has to settle for par.
Reed joins Thomas in the lead. He knocks his second at 7 to ten feet, then rolls in the birdie putt. Occasionally overwrought and super-animated, Reed looks the very picture of calm this morning. He’s playing some relaxed golf. “As usual Scotland is looking magnificent on a bright, crisp July morning,” writes Simon McMahon. “And it will look even magnificenter when the wind and the rain arrive later. What a four days await. And at the end golf will be the winner. I’m getting a bit emotional already just thinking about Sunday evening, and it’s only the first morning. God knows what I’ll be like if Stenson actually wins.” He means Sergio, doesn’t he. You know he means Sergio.
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Bubba whips his chip to eight feet, a wonderful effort from thick rough on the left. He’ll have a straight putt for an opening-hole birdie. Rory decelerates through his effort, though, allowing the club to get caught and turned in the grass. His ball is dumped into Monty’s Bunker. Is this a Tiger-esque start to the Open from Rory? I miss Tiger. We all miss Tiger. Bubba tickles his birdie putt into the cup, though it needed every last drop of juice to get there. For a second, it looked as though that wasn’t dropping. Rory meanwhile repairs the damage by splashing out of sand to six feet and knocking in the par saver. Hideki Matsuyama, making up the threesome, birdies in a very casual, no-fuss style.
Someone is going to shoot a very low score today. Patrick Reed birdies 6, stroking one in from 15 feet, and he moves to -4. He was only co-leader for a matter of seconds, though, as Justin Thomas makes it five birdies in the first seven holes with a 20-footer on 7! Willett takes three putts from just off the front of 1, taking no advantage whatsoever of that stunning opening drive. Day and Fowler also par. Behind them, Rory and Bubba take out the big stick, and hoick hilariously poor drives into thick oomska down the left. This is all magnificent fun.
-5: Thomas (7)
-4: Gregory -a- (10), Chappell (8), Reed (6)
-3: Olesen (8), Furyk (8), An (6)
Monty was in trouble off the tee at 13, and he’s facing a 60-footer for par from the fringe at the front. In it goes! If Troon had a roof, it’d be helicoptering across the Irish Sea by now. Meanwhile Kevin Chappell makes it three birdies in a row at 8 to move to -4. And he’s joined in the lead by the 21-year-old British amateur champion Scott Gregory, who has birdied the difficult 10th! I would put up the latest leaderboard, only we’re not finished yet...
The Masters champion Danny Willett announces his attacking intentions from the get-go. Is he the first player to unsheathe the driver on 1? He might be, you know. He nearly drives the green. What a statement! His partners Jason Day and Rickie Fowler settle for irons. Three birdies in a row from Thorbjorn Olesen, who announced himself with a top-ten finish at the 2012 Open at Lytham. Shots picked up at 5, 6 and 7, and he’s -3. Spieth and Rose meanwhile will have a look at birdie on 2, both hitting gorgeous approaches to ten feet. But once again Spieth doesn’t hit his putt, and he’s still level par on a morning of low scoring. As is Rose, who lips out. Still, it could be worse: Lowry dumps his second into a bunker at the front, and can’t scramble his par. He’s +1, and already the conclusion of the third round at Oakmont seems a long time ago.
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The leader Thomas, going for the 601-yard par-five 6th in two, lashes a long iron into deep rubbish down the right. On Sky, Butch Harmon suggests that Thomas only has one fault: a tendency to lash the cover off the ball with every shot. He needs to play the occasional three-quarter shot, within himself, if he’s not to find trouble more often than is strictly necessary. Back on the opening hole, it’s pars all round. Lowry and Rose are happy enough, though Spieth should be making birdie, missing a tiddler and passing up the chance of a fast start. Meanwhile it’s back-to-back birdies for Kevin Chappell at 6 and 7, and he’s -3.
Reed follows up his eagle with a 20-foot birdie effort fairly whacked into the back of the cup at 5. He’s -3, as his playing partner Byeong Hun An, who is matching him stroke for stroke. The Korean has just teased in a 30-foot left-to-right curler. Also at -3: Sweden’s David Lingmerth after birdies at 1, 4 and 5. Lingmerth equalled Tony Jacklin’s 1970 Open record by going out in 29 last year at St Andrews. It would appear he’s in the mood again.
Justin Thomas: nobody’s perfect. He clips a delicious tee shot at 5 pin high, leaving himself a 15-footer for a fifth birdie on the bounce. But he doesn’t hit it, the ball dying off to the left before the cup. He’ll have to make do with his first par of the day. The early leader stays at -4. An eagle for Byeong Hun An on 4, a hole that’s playing super-easy today. He’s -2. And back on 1, here comes a superstar group: Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose and Shane Lowry. Three easy irons. Rose’s squeaks off into the semi-rough down the right, but they’re all fine.
Birdie at 9 for Marcus Fraser of Australia, too. That follows the one he picked up at the Postage Stamp, and an earlier effort at 4. He’s out in 33 like his playing partner Lee. Up on 11, Donald can only hack out from the rough on the right, and he’s always chasing par. Bogey. Leishman makes a steady par - you’ll take those all day on the Railway hole - but Monty hits a hot putt from just off the front, and he can’t make the long one he leaves himself coming back. He’s back to -2; Donald to -1.
Justin Thomas is making his Open debut, and the 23-year-old American is the proverbial duck to water! If he’d given his 30-foot putt on 4 one more joule of energy, he’d have made eagle. As it is, that’s just a fourth birdie in four holes. Four birdies from four holes! He’s the leader of the Open, at -4 a shot ahead of the field. His playing partner Kiradech Aphibarnrat dropped a shot at the 1st, but has just stroked home an eagle putt to move to -1. Lee meanwhile has parred 8 and 9, making it to the turn in 33.
Jim Furyk shot a 66 on the final day at Oakmont, and he’s taken that major form across the water. He’s slightly lucky that his wood into the par-five 4th doesn’t topple into a bunker at the front, but his ball tricks its way onto the edge of the green, and he lags his long eagle putt to a couple of feet. Birdie, and he’s -3. Birdes at 4 and 5 for Alex Noren; he’s -2. And pars all round for Monty, Luke and Marc Leishman at the difficult 10th, but Donald has hoicked his tee shot at the hellish 11th into thick stuff down the right. Birdie for the 2001 hero David Duval on 5, by the way; he’s under par for the tournament.
-3: Montgomerie (10), S Lee (8), Gregory -a- (6), Furyk (4), Thomas (3)
-2: Donald (10), Fraser (8), Noren (5), Reed (3)
Here’s the always entertaining Patrick Reed, from the centre of 3. He’s started with a couple of pars, but he’s taken a lob wedge and sent his shot straight at the flag. Two bounces, and it does a Calcavecchia, slam-dunking into the cup! The first eagle of this year’s Open, and he’s -2! Meanwhile the Paul Dunne de nos jours, Scott Gregory, joins wizened old pros Monty, Lee and Thomas, on top of the leaderboard! A birdie at 6, and he’s -3 too.
Monty effectively out on his own? Scrub that! Justin Thomas has made it three birdies in a row at 3! That’s some start by a young player who is sure to make an impression on a major sometime soon. This could be his breakthrough tournament. Meanwhile Sanghee Lee got one hell of a break at 7; a good lie in an otherwise tight spot up the bank. He still had to get up and down, mind, and pitches rather brilliantly to ten feet, before completing a stunning scramble by stroking in his par putt! That’s an astonishing break, but hats off for taking advantage of it. Superb stuff.
-3: Montgomerie (9), S Lee (7), Thomas (3)
-2: Donald (9), Palmer (6), Gregory -a- (5), Furyk (3)
Monty leads the Open! He creams his approach at 9 to six feet, and that’s five birdies in seven holes! He reaches the turn in 33, having double-bogeyed the opening hole! What a performance this is from the Troon club member. He’s -3 alongside Lee, though the leader, in awful trouble on 7, won’t be there for long. Monty is effectively out on his own. This is some performance from a player who, that second place in 2005 apart, hasn’t got the great Open record he should have. Leishman meanwhile can’t get up and down from the bank, and that’s a double bogey that takes him back to level par.
Trouble ahoy! Troon may be there for the taking this morning, but the old links is still going to punish wayward shots. Branden Grace has been one of the hot tips coming into the tournament. But he’s hoicked his second at the opening hole into one of the little bunkers guarding the front of the green. He’s found the one front right. That’ll be a test. Leishman meanwhile is in trouble at 9. He sends his second under a bush to the right of the green. He manages to punch it out, but only straight across the green and down the bank on the other side. And the leader Lee, from the centre of the par-four 7th, pushes an appalling second right of the green. His ball springs off a path and slam-dunks into a high and very grassy knoll to the back-right. He’ll do well to find that, and even if he does, he’ll have one hell of a chip back, because on top of everything else he’s shortsided.
The leader Lee is about 18 inches short of racking in a 40-footer for another birdie on 6. He stays at -3. Darren Clarke missed another short one on 2 to drop to +1, but he’s picked it straight back up at 3; that should steady the old boy, who was looking a bit miserable after that scrappy start. Justin Thomas meanwhile opens with a pair of birdies to join the group at -2. And the amateur Scott Gregory should have grabbed a share of the lead, but he’s pulled a short birdie putt at 5, so remains at -2.
The first shot at the Postage Stamp of this Open is hit by Monty. And it’s a beauty, bumped off the banking to the left, his ball rolling to six feet. Donald finds the putting surface, just about, though he’ll be left with a long putt up the narrow green. Leishman meanwhile sends his tee shot right, and it’s gathered up by the bunker. He plays a gorgeous escape, though. It looks as though he’s flown his ball straight across the green and into the sand on the other side, but he’s used the bank in front to slow his ball and send it rolling back towards the pin. He’ll tap in for a fine par save. But in the meantime, Donald rakes in a monster from the front for his birdie, while Monty strokes in for his. They’re all -2! The Postage Stamp already delivers! That was marvellous entertainment. Another birdie meanwhile for the amateur Scott Gregory, incidentally, this time at 4.
-3: S Lee (6)
-2: Montgomerie (8), Leishman (8), Donald (8), Gregory -a- (4), Furyk (2)
Gentleman Jim Furyk’s putter looks hot today. He rolls in another beauty from distance, this time at 2, and that’s a birdie-birdie start! He’s -2. Three lovely 25-foot putts on the par-four 7th, Donald, Leishman and then Monty. But none of them drop, all three scraping the side of the hole. Pars. We’re about to get our first look at the Postage Stamp!
A fast start for 2003 US Open champ Jim Furyk, who rolls in a long one on the opening hole for his birdie. His playing partner, the 2011 Open winner Darren Clarke, finds himself in an instant funk, missing a tiddler for his birdie after playing the hole perfectly. On 5, the leader Sanghee Lee strokes a fine tee shot to 15 feet, but doesn’t hit the birdie putt. He stays at -3. And the first double bogey of the week is made by Danny Lee at 2, dropping like a stone to +1. There are currently more players under par than level or worse. The course’s defences are down until that wind picks up later. Quite a few of the tournament favourites are coming out soon - Grace, Oosthuizen, Spieth, Rose, Lowry, Willett, Fowler, Day, McIlroy, Matsuyama, Bubba, all within the next 90 minutes or so - and they’ll be smacking their lips in anticipation.
How Monty must be ruing that opening meltdown, the double bogey from the bunker at 1. Because otherwise, he’s playing very, very well. From the centre of the 6th, he sends his wedge screeching to a halt a couple of inches from the cup. It nearly drops for a spectacular eagle, but spins back to a couple of feet. He’ll knock that in to move to -1, a brilliant response to a dreadful start. Perhaps, golf being the mental game it is, the early disaster eased his nerves and loosened him up. Anyway, marvellous stuff, Monty. Keep on keepin’ on. Leishman nearly drains a 25-footer but has to make do with par. He stays at -2; hey, he’d have taken that when he was watching his drive whistle towards the gorse. And a fine up and down from a bank on the right by Donald, and that’s a birdie. He’s into red figures like both of his playing partners.
Marc Leishman has started fast, but he’s just lashed his drive at the par-five 6th into appalling filth down the right. Expect a few lost balls this week; if the spotters don’t see them fly in, they’ll take some finding in the thick, tangled rough. This one’s sourced easily enough, mind, as he’s got a lucky break on a flat patch. He lashes his ball back onto the fairway, up towards the green. Had he kept straight off the tee, he’d have had a chance to scamper on in two. Meanwhile back on 4, Lee birdies the first par five, rolling in a gentle right-to-left slider from 12 feet, to move into the lead at -3. He swans off the green wearing a beatific smile. He’s leading the Open!
Another spot of trouble for Donald, who hoicks his tee shot at the par-three 5th into thick nonsense to the front right of the green. He whips his ball out to six feet, a lovely effort from where he was. But he can’t make the par saver, and he’s back to level par for the tournament. He’ll be unhappier than Monty, but only marginally so, because the big man stroked a wonderful tee shot to five feet, then prodded a very tame putt right of the cup. It was never going in. He stomps off the green he knows so well with a face on. He stays at level par. And in other veteran news, Sandy Lyle is now propping up the leaderboard having followed up his bogey at the opening hole with another at 2. Oh Sandy!
“There’s nobody better around the greens than Luke Donald. He’s got an incredible touch.” Ian Poulter in the Sky studio there. And right on cue, from the back of the par-five 4th, Donald fluffs his attempted chip up onto the green. It rolls back down towards his feet. Welcome to the world of punditry, Ian. Donald has to settle for par on a hole that’s offering easy birdie pickings. But it’s another birdie for Monty, who was in a little trouble off the tee but made it to the centre of the green in regulation and rolled in a straight 20-footer. He’s back to level par after that horror start! And Leishman birdies the hole too, to join Lee in the lead at -2. We’re less than an hour into play, and already there are seven players in red figures.
-2: Leishman (4), S Lee (3)
-1: Donald (4), Fraser (3), Palmer (2), Gregory -a- (1), D Lee (1)
Sanghee Lee, making his debut at the Open having qualified after being one putt from victory at the Mizuno Open in May, is the first player to -2. He’s started with back-to-back birdies. Ryan Palmer rolls a 25-footer into the cup at 1. Marc Leishman is -1 again too: his eventful start continues with a 30-foot left-to-right breaker from the back of 3. Monty grabs a shot back after sending his second screeching to a halt, eight feet from the flag, and nailing the putt. And back on 1, it’s a perfect start for young Gregory, who birdies as Duval pars and Lyle drops a shot. There were three amateurs in the top 30 last year; could another fairytale be on the cards? A long, long, long way to go. But where’s the fun if you can’t dream?
-2: S Lee (2)
-1: Leishman (3), Donald (3), Palmer (2), Gregory -a- (1)
Scott Gregory, the amateur champion, is out and about. The 21-year-old, wide-eyed in wonder, creams an iron down the 1st. A perfect start. He betrays a few nerves by waving shyly to the gallery as he receives a warm round of applause. He’ll be dreaming of going out in the last pairing on Sunday. Hey, Paul Dunne’s blazed a trail. Whatever happens, he’ll remember this week: he’s playing the first two days with a pair of genuine legends, the 1985 champion Sandy Lyle, and 2001 winner David Duval. All three are on the fairway. God speed, folks.
This is a day for low scoring. Certainly in the morning. The conditions are magnificent. Someone’s going to post something low, surely. Donald sends his second at 2 pin high, and on the slow green fair rattles an aggressive putt towards the cup from 20 feet. It just shaves the left of the hole. He’ll stay at -1, though Leishman hands his birdie straight back. Monty pars. Meanwhile behind them, Sanghee Lee birdies the opening hole to reach the top of the very, very, very early leaderboard. The birdies are going to be flying in this morning, so don’t expect miracles. But let’s get on top of it while we can.
-1: Donald (2), S Lee (1)
E: Leishman (2), Alker (1), Fraser (1)
+2: Montgomerie (2)
As for the weather, it’s looking pretty good all day in terms of temperature. The wind will pick up a little after lunch, to 12mph or so, so the morning starters have quite an advantage today. The lads out later will be playing into the wind on the back nine, making a tricky section of the course even more of a test. A fast start is essential. The greens are slow by Tour standards, 9.11 on the stimp, though there’s method in the R&A’s madness: the winds are expected to pick up later in the week, and they don’t want balls blowing all over the place on glacial putting surfaces.
A wonderful chip from Monty, up and over the sand to a couple of feet. But he’s tapping in for a double bogey, a disastrous start. Thing is, for a minute back there, it looked as though things might pan out even worse, as he stood with hands on hips, fuming, contemplating how to get out of the sand at the second attempt. He definitely thought about going for the green again with his third shot, which could have ended horribly. In the end, he took his medicine. But what a sour taste it leaves. Donald and Leishman roll in their birdies, the first of this year’s Open, and already the course has shown that there are shots out there this morning - providing you keep out of the sand. Oh, and the rough. And the gorse.
-1: Donald (1), Leishman (1)
+2: Montgomerie (1)
And there’s drama on the very first hole. Monty underhits his second shot, slam-dunking his ball into a pot bunker guarding the front of the green. Donald and Leishman may have made it look easy, but it’s most certainly not. He tries to blast his ball up and out, onto the green, but it just rises and flops back into the sand. And it’s plugged this time, in front of a high face. He’ll have to play out sideways, which he does, into the rough to the left of the green. Monty has played this course a million times, but he’s in awful trouble, facing a tricky chip over the bunker he’s just escaped from.
Monty is playing with last year’s runner-up, Marc Leishman, and Luke Donald, the former world number one. Donald is only here because Jaco van Zyl withdrew. He’s not really been a factor in the majors since failing to make much of an impression on the final day’s play at Merion in the 2013 US Open, thoroughly upstaged by Justin Rose. He’s clipped a delicious second into the 1st, though, leaving himself a ten footer on greens that are playing fairly slow, don’t have dramatic undulations, and will be offering up quite a few birdie putts. Leishman follows him with an even better one to eight feet. Both will have a good look at birdie.
Here we go, then! One of the great sporting events of the summer is underway! It’s a gorgeous morning at Troon. The sun is flitting across the links, there’s no wind, not a cloud in the sky, it’s perfect. And the great beauty of the Open is that it just kind of starts. No national anthems, no fly-pasts, no ceremonial hoo-hah. Not even much of a crowd at such an early hour. Just a quick welcome from the starter, a swing, a swish and a clack, and we’re off. On the tee, from Scotland - and Troon - Colin Montgomerie! He’ll take the first shot of this Open. “It’s a real honour for me, the family and all the members. I’m the only member of the club playing here this week, so I treat it as a great honour. It’s more than a shot, though. I’m trying to get in the fairway and make birdie. I’ve got to be realistic, I just want to make the cut, so I can walk down the last on Sunday.” He doesn’t get it in the fairway. His iron leaks off a little to the left, in the light rough, but no huge drama. We’re off! It’s on!
Hello, good morning ... and welcome to the Guardian’s up-with-the-lark coverage of the 145th Open Championship, the ninth to be held at Royal Troon.
Norwich-born Arthur Havers won the first Open to be held at this famous old Ayrshire links, way back in 1923. No mean feat: he held off golf’s first superstar, the defending champion Walter Hagen, by a stroke, holing out from a bunker at the last. Then in 1950, the great Roberto de Vicenzo of Argentina set a new championship record of 281, though it wasn’t enough to see off legendary South African Bobby Locke, who soon after posted 279 and became only the third man behind Hagen and Bobby Jones to win consecutive Opens.
Since then, though, it’s been USA all the way. The 1962 Open was all about the superstar duo of Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. Their mere attendance and patronage revived a tournament that lost some of its cachet during the years after the war, when US stars were reluctant to attend, and my, how the pair delivered. Nicklaus, box-fresh and the new US Open champ, ran up 10 on the 11th, the famous Railway hole, getting tangled up in gorse, whiffing at his ball, then sticking it on the train tracks. He still made the cut. Palmer meanwhile landed his second Open with arguably his best-ever performance in a major. The rest of the field were scattered in his wake; only Kel Nagle, who finished six behind, managed to get within 13 strokes. The crowds went wild. Once again, the Open had cachet, baby. Cachet up the yin-yang.
Tom Weiskopf was the man in 1973, leading from wire to wire under pressure from Nicklaus and Johnny Miller, while headlines were made by 71-year-old Gene Sarazen, whose hole in one at the famous short par-three Postage Stamp made up for his failure to even qualify for the 1923 event. The great Open specialist Tom Watson won in 1982, though 22-year-old Bobby Clampett probably should have, after opening 67-66. But he took a nerve-addled eight at the 6th on the third day, finishing 78-77, four off Watson’s winning mark.
Mark Calcavecchia slam-dunked his way to glory in 1989, his no-bounce pitch from up the bank at 12 on Sunday the signature moment of his sole major win. Though everyone mainly remembers Greg Norman’s final-day 64 - a course record, the first six holes one of the great birdie charges - and his subsequent adrenalin-fuelled drive down 18 in the play-off, his hopes scuppered by finding a bunker mere mortals simply weren’t supposed to reach.
Troon giving us some wonderful stories there. And of course there’s the Justin Leonard and Todd Hamilton years too. But who needs narrative perfection?
So which American star is going to emerge victorious in 2016? The smart money is on Dustin Johnson, imperious at Oakmont to win the US Open and get that major monkey off his back, and a winner at Firestone recently too. Jordan Spieth nearly made it at St Andrews last year; his monster across 16 on the Old Course was one of golf’s great putts of futile brilliance, like Costantino Rocca from the Valley of Sin in 1995, or Monty on 17 at Winged Foot in 2006. Phil Mickelson was a late convert to links golf and might fancy reprising his Muirfield heroics. Rickie Fowler loves this tournament and surely won’t miss three major cuts in a row. Jim Furyk, Bubba Watson and Matt Kuchar are always there or thereabouts. And of course, defending his title, the understated but extremely talented Zach Johnson: steady, unspectacular, American, nice, the perfect profile of an Open champion.
All runs have to come to an end, though, and there are plenty from outside the USA with a genuine chance of lifting the Auld Claret Jug come Sunday evening. (And then hopefully racing around high-fiving pretty much everyone in Scotland, like Johnson did last year, one of the most enjoyable and heartwarming celebrations in recent history.) Jason Day. Rory McIlroy. Adam Scott. Louis Oosthuizen. Lee Westwood. Justin Rose. Danny Willett. Hideki Matsuyama. Shane Lowry. Branden Grace. Henrik Stenson. Martin Kaymer. Matthew Fitzpatrick. Charl Schwartzel. And ... is there anyone else you have in mind? There is, isn’t there. Well, him. I mean, he probably won’t do it. He almost certainly won’t do it. No, of course he won’t do it. He won’t do it.
But he might do it. Just imagine! C’mon Sergio.
Anyway, a whole world of possibilities opens up this morning. It’s going to be a fun-filled four days as we find out which star wins the latest edition of golf’s oldest and grandest major. And which of them will come a cropper at the Postage Stamp, going from bunker to bunker and back again until the sun goes down. It’s the 145th Open! It’s Royal Troon! It’s on!
Today’s tee times (all BST):
6.35am: Colin Montgomerie, Marc Leishman, Luke Donald
6.46am: Steven Alker, Marcus Fraser, Sanghee Lee
6.57am: Jeunghun Wang, Jon Rahm, Ryan Palmer
7.08am: Sandy Lyle, Scott Gregory (a), David Duval
7.19am: Richie Ramsay, Danny Lee, Harris English
7.30am: Alex Noren, Steven Bowditch, Kevin Chappell
7.41am: Darren Clarke, Thorbjorn Olesen, Jim Furyk
7.52am: Justin Thomas, David Lingmerth, Kiradech Aphibarnrat
8.03am: Branden Grace, Patrick Reed, Byeong Hun An
8.14am: Paul Lawrie, Brandt Snedeker, Thongchai Jaidee
8.25am: Padraig Harrington, Louis Oosthuizen, Jamie Donaldson
8.36am: Scott Piercy, Paul Dunne, Jamie Lovemark
8.47am: Victor Dubuisson, Jimmy Walker, Scott Hend
9.03am: Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, Shane Lowry
9.14am: Ross Fisher, Steve Stricker, Vijay Singh
9.25am: Danny Willett, Rickie Fowler, Jason Day
9.36am: Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama, Bubba Watson
9.47am: Gary Woodland, James Morrison, Soomin Lee
9.58am: Smylie Kaufman, Chris Kirk, George Coetzee
10.09am: Billy Horschel, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Hideto Tanihara
10.20am: Matteo Manassero, Shugo Imahira, Russell Henley
10.31am: Kodai Ichihara, Robert Rock, William McGirt
10.42am: Brendan Steele, Richard Sterne, Matt Jones
10.53am: Patton Kizzire, Nicolas Colsaerts, Rod Pampling
11.04am: Dave Coupland, Nathan Holman, Phachara Khongwatmai
11.15am: Scott Fernandez, Rikard Karlberg, Haydn Porteous
11.36am: Greg Chalmers, Kristoffer Broberg, Clement Sordet
11.47am: David Howell, Seung Yul Noh, Tony Finau
11.58am: Jordan Niebrugge, Nick Cullen, Robert Streb
12.09pm: Ben Curtis, Stefano Mazzoli (a), John Daly
12.20pm: Francesco Molinari, Kevin Kisner, KT Kim
12.31pm: Todd Hamilton, Justin Leonard, Mark Calcavecchia
12.42pm: Soren Kjeldsen, Lasse Jensen, Bill Haas
12.53pm: Paul Casey, Charl Schwartzel, Kevin Na
1.04pm: Emiliano Grillo, Joost Luiten, Charley Hoffman
1.15pm: Graeme McDowell, Matt Kuchar, Andrew Johnston
1.26pm: Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood, Ernie Els
1.37pm: Satoshi Kodaira, James Hahn, Andy Sullivan
1.48pm: Ryan Moore, Bernd Wiesberger, Tommy Fleetwood
2.04pm: Dustin Johnson, Martin Kaymer, Russell Knox
2.15pm: Zach Johnson, Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson
2.26pm: Chris Wood, Yusaku Miyazato, Mark O’Meara
2.37pm: Miguel Angel Jimenez, Jason Dufner, Marc Warren
2.48pm: Anirban Lahiri, Sergio Garcia, Keegan Bradley
2.59pm: Webb Simpson, Yuta Ikeda, Thomas Pieters
3.10pm: Rafael Cabrera-Bello, JB Holmes, Brandon Stone
3.21pm: Marco Dawson, Matthew Southgate, Yosuke Tsukada
3.32pm: Jack Senior, James Heath, Brian Gay
3.43pm: Jim Herman, Fabian Gomez, Anthony Wall
3.54pm: Paul Howard, Daniel Summerhays, Colt Knost
4.05pm: Oskar Arvidsson, Harold Varner III, Tyrrell Hatton
4.16pm: Ryan Evans, Callum Shinkwin, Zander Lombard
Updated
