Nope. His putt slides by on the right, and that’s a 71. But yesterday morning, he’d have taken his position at the halfway stage. Here’s how the top of the leaderboard looks going into Moving Day. It promises to be a blast! Hope you join us. Nighty night, and sweet dreams!
-6: Z Johnson, Kisner
-5: Fleetwood, Perez, Schauffele
-4: McIlroy, van Rooyen, Kuchar, Finau, Lombard
-3: Chappell, Spieth, Fowler
-2: Olesen, Willett, List, Stone
-1: Moore, Noren, Hoffman, Scott, Stanley, Koepka, Southgate, Pepperell, Cantlay, Simpson, Kang
E: Molinari, Day, Kim, Herbert, Woods, Norris, Cook, Mickelson, Cink, Oosthuizen, Crocker
Lombard crashes a drive down 18, then caresses his second to eight feet. This is a delightful response from the 23-year-old to those back-to-back bogeys. Never mind the pressure of having at one point been co-leader of the Open! Can he make his birdie putt in the gloaming?
One thing that’s been decided today: Sam Locke, 19, from Aberdeen, will win the silver medal for low amateur this year! At +3 he’s the only amateur to make the cut, so it’s in the bag! Well, he still technically needs to complete all four rounds before he gets the gong, but these are mere formalities now. So congratulations to the young man, who works hard in the coffee shop at Paul Lawrie’s golf academy to earn enough cash to play. Who tells us this? The 1999 champion himself, who has proudly taken Locke under his wing. A lovely story, especially as we’re at the scene of Lawrie’s greatest triumph.
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Lombard’s wayward tee shot at 17 leads to bogey. That’s back-to-back bogeys for the young South African, who qualified here late thanks to a high finish at the Irish Open. Whatever happens from here on in, he’s grasped the opportunity to announce his talent.
-6: Z Johnson (F), Kisner (F)
-5: Fleetwood (F), Perez (F), Schauffele (F), Lombard (17)
-4: McIlroy (F), van Rooyen (F), Kuchar (F), Finau (F)
-3: Chappell (F), Spieth (F), Fowler (F)
Finau wedges gloriously to ten feet, then watches in horror as his par putt stops on the lip, teetering precariously but refusing to drop. He taps in the shortest shot, and that’s a 71. He ends where he began, at -4. Schauffele meanwhile splashes to eight feet and rolls in his par saver. That’s an appropriate end to a superb round of 66. He’s -5, one off the lead.
Back down 18, Finau sprays his drive way right, into sand. His second ends up in rough along the same side of the hole. Schauffele hoicks his tee shot into thick stuff on the left. He goes for the green regardless - having just seen Jhonattan Vegas hook one from a similar position towards the grandstand on the left, his ball caroming off the giant structure and back onto the fairway instead of flying out of bounds! Schauffele makes it over the Barry Burn and into the bunker. Meanwhile on 17, Lombard takes an iron off the tee for safety and slices it deep into the rough down the right. Players getting tired as a long day draws towards an end.
Zander Lombard finds the bunker front right of the par-three 16th. His chip out is weak, and he’s left with a par putt over the ridge running across the green. He sends it trundling four feet past the hole. He makes the bogey putt, but that’s him back to -5. Up on 18, Patrick Reed pars and signs for a 70. Paired with his opening-day 75, that’s +3. The Masters champ makes the cut. As does Paul Casey, after shooting 73-71: he’s +2. And the 2010 champ Louis Oosthuizen, whose 72-70 sees him at level par for the tournament.
One of the shots of the day at 17! Xander Schauffele whip-cracks an iron straight at the flag, the ball landing on the edge of the green, rolling slowly past the cup, and stopping five feet past. And he calmly rolls a gentle right-to-left curler into the hole for a deserved birdie. He joins the group at -5, one off the lead.
Fowler’s drive at 18 splits the fairway ... then his iron in lands pin high, leaving a ten-footer for a closing birdie! The ball bobbles the second it leaves the face of his putter, though, and it’s a par for a 69. Still, he’s in good nick for the weekend, three off the lead at -3. A birdie to finish for Jon Rahm, but it’s no use to him after that meltdown around the turn. A 78 today, and he ends up at +5, on the way home. He’s got time on his side. Pars meanwhile for Finau (-5) and Schauffele (-4) at 16, a good up-and-down by the latter after finding the deep bunker front right with his tee shot.
Zander Lombard finds the heart of the par-five 14th in two. He’s got a fairly straight 20-foot eagle putt, but he gives it a wee bit too much and it lips out. Still, that’s a birdie that takes him back into a share of the lead at -6. A 71 for Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who at +3 looks to have done enough to stay here this weekend. But will Justin Rose be here with him? Yes! He tickles a left-to-right slider into the cup and that’s a birdie! He’s +3 too, and the relief plays across the world number three’s face. Finally Jordan Spieth tidies up for par and he signs for a superb 67 that puts the defending champ right in the mix at -3!
Rickie Fowler slam-dunks his second at 17 into a bunker front right. But he splashes out brilliantly to four feet, and that’s a great up and down for his par. He remains at -3. Up on the last, Jordan Spieth finds the green in regulation, though he’s miles from the flag so birdie is extremely unlikely. Justin Rose however goes pretty close: he’ll need to nail a 12-footer for a birdie that’d bring him above the cut line at +3 if he’s to have a chance of staying for the weekend.
Kuuuuuuuch! Matt Kuchar has been going along nicely, and on 18 he sends a tramliner into the cup for birdie! That’s a 68 to go with yesterday’s 70, and last year’s bridesmaid fancies another go at the title! He’s -4! Back on 15, Finau pulls his approach onto the top of a very gnarly bank. He manages to bump a cute chip down to eight feet, but can’t save his par from there. He slips out of the lead, dropping back to -5.
Par for Spieth at 17. Hey, friends, it’s been a long day.
Fowler manages to outdo Spieth, by somehow hitting an even worse tee shot at 16. His lands in the bunker front right: not the one guarding the green, but the trap in front of it. Up against a tall face, it’s all he can do to bash out onto the green. He’s left with a 30-footer for par, and his effort shaves the hole. He slips back to -3.
Zander Lombard loops high towards the back of the green, and holds the putting surface, just. He’ll have a 25-footer across the green for his par ... but he doesn’t hit it. He also drops back to -5. And Tony Finau crashes a monster drive down 14, then wedges onto the green. Two putts, and he takes Lombard’s place as co-leader! Meanwhile an eagle on the par-five for his partner Xander Shauffele, who joins the chasing pack.
-6: Z Johnson (F), Kisner (F), Finau (14)
-5: Fleetwood (F), Perez (F), Lombard (12)
-4: McIlroy (F), van Rooyen (F), Fowler (15), Schauffele (14)
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Jordan Spieth gets that result. He stabs a perfectly weighted chip down off the bank and across the green. He’s away with just a bogey. But back to -3. Co-leader Zander Lombard sends his second at 12 into some snaggly rough to the left of the green. And up on 18, Pat Perez can’t make his par saver, but that’s a fine 68 today and he’s a shot off the clubhouse lead.
Spieth’s nearly 50 yards wide right of the green, chipping over bunkers. What a place to find yourself on a par three. And finally it catches up with him: his wedge clips the top of the bunkers and snags in the rough on the shoulder. An up and down for bogey will seem like a result now.
What’s Spieth done here? Sliced his tee shot miles right of the par-three 16th, that’s what. He really does like setting himself tasks, doesn’t he. I wonder how he’ll get up and down from where he is, deep in the gallery. Up on 18, the co-leader Perez finds his drive up against the face of a bunker. He takes his medicine, chips out sideways, then sends his third straight at the flagstick, maybe 15 feet short. That’s given him a good chance of escaping with a par.
Essential reading II: Here’s our man Andy Bull on the travails of Tiger.
Fowler makes his birdie putt on 14. That’s a ridiculous birdie, really, given how badly he lost his drive to the right, and his struggles to get up the hole thereafter. But what a brilliant third shot! He’s -4. Spieth meanwhile gets up and down from the back of 15, his putter digging him out of trouble yet again. He remains at -4.
Essential reading. Here’s our man Mark Tallentire on Rory McIlroy’s mainly successful battles with the elements this morning.
Spieth continues to drive the ball in the wild fashion. He sends his tee shot at 15 down a bank to the left of the fairway. He blasts his next shot straight at the flag, but it’s coming out hot, and there’s no way it’s stopping on the green. Over the back it goes, though it’s not the hardest up and down to scramble par.
It looks like trouble for Fowler on 14: he slices his drive into deep filth down the right, and can’t get back onto the fairway with his next. But you can’t keep a good man down, and he wedges his third to eight feet, where he’ll have a decent look at birdie. Meanwhile birdie for Finau, putting just off the edge of 12. He’s back to -5, one off the lead.
Spieth blasts a big drive down the middle of the par-five 14th, then whistles an iron over the Spectacles bunkers, straight at the flag. The ball skips past 20 feet, but he’s going to have a great look at eagle. His putt shaves the right-hand edge of the cup. Just (!) a birdie, his fifth of the day. He’s now just two shots off the lead at -4.
Last year’s runner-up Matt Kuchar is making another run at the title. Back to back birdies, at 13 and 14, and he’s -3. His eagle putt on 14 was an inch from dropping, too. Also going very well: Xander Schauffele, who has a major in him, I’ll be bound. Having turned in 35, he clipped his second at 11 to a matter of inches, and tidied up for a birdie that takes him to -2.
Spieth can’t make his birdie putt on 13; Rose can’t save his par. They’re -3 and +4 respectively. As things stand, Rose is away home. Coming behind, Fowler sends his tee shot over the back and into some thick filth. His short game will get a good test from there.
Spieth lands his tee shot at the par-three 13th softly in the middle of the green, 25 feet from the flag. His playing partner Justin Rose is hovering just above the cut line at +3: toppling into a deep bunker’s not going to help that situation at all. He does extremely well to splash out to ten feet. Meanwhile Tony Finau drops his first shot of the day at 10: he slips to -4.
Webb Simpson went quiet for quite a while after winning the 2012 US Open. But he stormed to the Players Championship in May, and finished in the top ten at this year’s US Open. The North Carolinian is back in form, and he continuing on his merry way here: a 70 yesterday, and he’s just clattered the flagstick from the fairway on 17, setting up a kick-in birdie. He’s -2 for the championship and going well. Elsewhere, Jordan Spieth gets himself into trouble with another poor drive, this time at 12, then gets out of it again with a mammoth two-putt to save his par. He really is a force of nature, refusing to give up any cause.
Pat Perez joins the leading group! He birdies the par-five 14th for the second time this week to move to -6 alongside clubhouse leaders Zach Johnson and Kevin Kisner, and Zander Lombard. You’d have got quite good odds on these four leading the Open. Especially as Perez has no serious record to speak of in the majors, except for one tilt at the PGA back in 2005. Meanwhile a bounce-back birdie for Rickie Fowler at 11: he returns to -3.
Jordan Spieth on the charge! Another birdie, this time at 11. He’d sent his drive whistling into the rough down the right, but knew he’d have just a wedge into the green even so. He blasts it onto the putting surface, and curls in a 15-footer that never looked like missing. He’s -3, and suddenly just three off the lead, because up on 18, Kevin Kisner can’t make his bogey putt and that’s a closing double. A 70, and he won’t sleep so soundly tonight. He shares the lead with Zach Johnson ... and Zander Lombard, who after an average wedge into 7 has just eased in a perfectly-paced 35-footer for birdie!
-6: Z Johnson (F), Kisner (F), Lombard (7)
-5: Fleetwood (F), Perez (13), Finau (8)
-4: McIlroy (F), van Rooyen (F)
-3: Chappell (F), Spieth (11)
Kisner drops and bumps his fourth shot to the right-hand edge of the green. The shoulder of the bunker sends the ball to the left, so he’s on the dancefloor but facing a 20-footer for his bogey. Meanwhile back on 10, Fowler dunks his approach into a bunker and can’t get up and down: it’s back-to-back bogeys, and whatever his partner Rahm’s been suffering from is catching.
Kisner’s drive at 18 finds the thick rough down the left. He’ll want to be careful: that’s where Hideki Matsuyama earlier sent a shot flying out of bounds down the left, his club strangled by the lush rough. He doesn’t replicate that error ... but instead goes for the green and doesn’t catch it at all, sending his ball clanking into the wall of the Barry Burn. There’s no Sergio-style lucky bounce back ... and this could be a costly end to a very fine round.
On the whole, it’s better if you can keep your cool. Jordan Spieth wings a dreadful drive towards a couple of trees down the left of 10. He’s got a route through them, though it’s tight. And after some calm and considered chat with his caddy, he creams his second between the trunks and onto the green. To ten feet! What a sensational, outrageous escape! And Spieth’s not missing the gentle left-to-right curler. That’s another birdie for the champ, who moves to -2. Meanwhile on 17, the leader Kevin Kisner nearly guides in a gentle right-to-left 35-foot slider, but it lips out unluckily and makes do with par.
Rahm can’t get up and down. He’s just gone 7-4-6: triple bogey, bogey, double bogey. He turns in 41. From -3, he’s now +3, his hopes in tatters. Bogey for Rickie Fowler, too, always out of position down the left of the hole. He’s back to -3. It’s sunny at Carnoustie, but there’s a micro-climate consisting of a few black clouds drifting around the 9th green.
Rahm can only hack out from the sand. Then he pulls his approach left of the green and nearly finds another bunker. It stops just short, but he’ll still have a tricky up and down for bogey. He flings his club with great force at his bag. But he’s a good boy really, and a look of guilt spreads across his face. He goes and picks it up so his caddy doesn’t have to fetch it. That doesn’t stop him putting the club back into the bag with extreme feeling, then storming off up the fairway, but you can understand all that. A promising Open challenge is unravelling at pace here. And anyway, his emotional style is all part of his charm.
Jon Rahm is on a rolling boil now. He sends his tee shot at 9 whistling into a deep bunker down the right of the fairway. He’s up against another face, so considers snapping his driver in half. He holds it in his big hands and bends the shaft. Someone in the gallery reminds him that he may need it later. Rahm thinks again. His noggin’s gone. Meanwhile up on 18, Kevin Chappell signs for a 69. He’s -3 going into the weekend. Eddie Pepperell meanwhile cards a 70, having been catapulted up the leaderboard thanks to an eagle at 14. He’s -1. “Did Van Rooyen call for VAR on the 18th? Or maybe it should be VR&A?” Simon McMahon, ladies and gentlemen. He’s here all week. Try the Arbroath smokies.
Ding! Ding! Dustin Johnson versus Carnoustie, round two! Here’s Kevin Mitchell on how the old links had the last laugh again.
Pat Perez rolls in another birdie putt at 11. The 42-year-old from Arizona, whose best finish at an Open was a tie for 20th the last time the championship was played at Carnoustie, moves to -5, in a tie for third. Meanwhile Jon Rahm’s misery continues: he pushes his tee shot at the par-three 8th into the bunker front right. It’s plugged deep, having slam-dunked into the moist sand. Anything could happen ... and he powers it out, hitting the flagstick! But the ball still whistles a good 15 feet past the hole. He can’t make his par saver, and he cocks his head back in extreme irritation. He thinks about hollering an EFF or maybe even a CEE but catches himself at the very last second. He’s +1 now, having lived through an awful, very costly 20 minutes.
Jon Rahm tees it up high on 7, presses BOOM, and flays his drive out of bounds down the left. His reload lands in the semi-rough down the left. Then his wedge in - his fourth shot - is pulled down a bank to the left. He only just gets his chip up onto the green, leaving a missable eight footer. And it drifts off to the right. That’s a triple-bogey seven. He crashes down to level par and is predictably fuming. His partner Rickie Fowler isn’t that much happier, passing up a great opportunity for yet another birdie from ten feet. He stays at -4.
On the 18th green, Erik van Rooyen drops his putter onto his marker and accidentally moves it. He’s not sure of the rule. In the past, that would have been a penalty, but nowadays they estimate where they thought the marker was initially, and everyone moves on without fuss. He signs for a level-par 71, and remains at -4 overall. His playing partner Matthew Southgate signs for a 72: he’s -1.
Back to the players hoping to get their name alongside Sandy’s on the auld Claret Jug. Kevin Kisner is in the box seat right now, making his birdie at the par-five 14th and moving two clear of the clubhouse leader Zach Johnson. He’s -8. Meanwhile Zander Lombard screeches a wedge to a stop by the flag at 3; he moves to -5. Meanwhile the sun’s come out. The spiritual power of a Lyle birdie, in full effect, right there.
Emotional scenes on 18, as Sandy Lyle walks up the fairway for the very last time in his Open career. Having just turned 60, this is the last time the legendary Scot qualifies as a result of his 1985 win. And while he’ll not make the cut, he goes out in trademark style nonetheless, guiding in a 30-footer for a birdie that brings the house down! What a way to go out! He cracks that modest, sunshine smile, just like he did at St George’s all those years ago. That’s a beautiful moment in a career jam-packed with them. Thanks for the memories, Sandy. They’ve been golden.
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Missed birdie opportunities for Fowler and Rahm at 5. Fowler will feel better tapping in for par: his effort from 15 feet only just failed to drop. Rahm had wedged gloriously to four feet, only to miss the hole entirely with a very wayward stab. Fowler remains at -4, Rahm -3. This is quite a crowded leaderboard now.
-7: Kisner (13)
-6: Z Johnson (F)
-5: Fleetwood (F), Finau (3)
-4: McIlroy (F), van Rooyen (17), Chappell (15), Perez (8), Fowler (5), Lombard (2)
Kisner regains the lead! He sends a lovely tee shot at the par-three 13th straight at the flag. The ball takes a little kick to the left, and he’s left with a 15-footer for his birdie. No worries! In it goes. He’s -7 again. Jordan Spieth follows up that bonus birdie at 3 by curling in a 20-footer on 5: he’s -1. Pat Perez drains a monster on 8 for birdie: it’s his second of the day after 3, and he’s -4. But a good chance goes begging for Tony Finau, who sends another fine approach to ten feet, but skims the hole with his birdie putt. He remains at -5.
The wind has stopped blowing. All is still. It makes for a different Carnoustie. While the players this morning had to battle the elements, the afternoon starters are suddenly getting the benefit of a defenceless, receptive course. If the breeze doesn’t pick up again - and it was never forecast to get too wild - the next few hours could be quite the ride.
Rickie rolls in his birdie putt! That’s three in the first four holes, and he’s making serious inroads at the top of the leaderboard. As are Kevin Chappell, who birdies the par-five 14th, and Tony Finau, who arrows his approach into 2 straight at the flag, and strokes home the straight uphill putt for birdie.
-6: Z Johnson (F), Kisner (12)
-5: Fleetwood (F), Finau (2)
-4: McIlroy (F), van Rooyen (16), Chappell (14), Fowler (4), Lombard
Danny Willett has responded well to a double bogey at 12. Birdies at 14 and 15 bring him back up to -2. The latest the result of a 30-foot tramliner. Rickie Fowler sets himself up with another birdie chance at 4, screeching a wedge to eight feet. And a fine, pin-high tee shot at the par-three 16th gives the Open debutant Erik van Rooyen a birdie opportunity, but he sends the 12-footer left of the hole. He stays at -4, level par for his round today after yesterday’s heroic 67, his first ever round in a major.
Back-to-back birdies for Matt Southgate, at 14 and 15. He celebrates the second of them in the manner of his namesake Gareth after that penalty shoot-out. He’s -1. Jon Rahm meanwhile bounces straight back with birdie at 3. No par yet for the 23-year-old Spaniard. And another birdie for Rickie at 3: he’s come flying out of the blocks, and has already risen up the leaderboard to -3.
Jordan Spieth is over the back of 3, down a swale. He looks to be in a spot of trouble ... but he’s a bit of a genius with the wedge, this lad, and he bumps his ball across the dip and sends it trundling into the cup for an unlikely birdie! That might spark a charge, you know exactly what he’s like. He’s level par for the tournament, and the crowd go wild in celebration of the reigning champ. They know quality when they see it. Meanwhile back on 2, Jon Rahm hands back the shot he picked up on the opening hole, and he’s -2 again.
Kevin Chappell doesn’t have much of a record at the Open. A tie for 53rd at Troon a couple of years ago, plus a missed cut at Birkdale last year. But he’s putting together a challenge this time. A very acceptable 70 yesterday, and now he’s two under for his round today, having turned in 35 and picked up another birdie at 11. He does have top-ten finishes at both the Masters and the US Open on his CV, so it might be prudent to keep an eye on the 32-year-old Californian. He’s -3 right now.
A mistake by Kisner, who pulls an iron down the bottom of a big bank at the rear of 10. A test getting up and down for par from there. He uses his hybrid and putts it up the bank, Todd Hamilton style. Not very successfully, it has to be said, and he pulls the six-foot putt he leaves himself left of the hole. Bogey. This is turning into quite an inconsistent round. One under today so far, he’s parred just one of the last six holes.
-6: Z Johnson (F), Kisner (10)
-5: Fleetwood (F)
-4: McIlory (F), van Rooyen (14), Finau, Lombard
Matsuyama drops, and can only find the fringe of the green with his fourth. He’s left with a long putt across the green for his bogey ... and he leaves it a good five feet short. He doesn’t make it, and the triple almost certainly costs him weekend participation. He’s +4. A 73 for Russell Knox, and at +4 the home favourite will also likely be packing his bags. And finally Tiger, who had hit two lovely shots up the hole, leaving himself a straight six-footer for birdie ... but he shoves it right. After taking an age to size it up. He’s overthinking some of these putts, it’s not the first time he’s done that this week. Another 71, and he’s level par.
New Sergio Rickie Fowler makes his birdie putt on 1, and that fast start brings him up to -1. That’s more than Jordan Spieth could manage a few minutes earlier: he remains at +1 after his birdie effort turned away to the left. Fowler is matched shot for shot by his partner Jon Rahm, who rises to -3. Kevin Kisner regains the sole ownership of the lead by raking one in across 9: he’s -7. And potential disaster for Hideki Matsuyama, who had hauled himself well above the cut line with eagle at 14 and birdie at 16. He’s +1 ... but has just let the rough down the left of 18 grab the shaft of his club, turn it over, and send his ball hooking out of bounds down the left.
Sure enough, Sergio chips up to three feet. A stunning effort to save his skin. That would have been some story, had that one gone in! But it’s not to be. In goes the par putt: +4 most likely won’t be enough to survive the cut. Though at the Open, you never know. Meanwhile back on the 1st tee, Rickie Fowler, an absurdly talented eternal bridesmaid, a man we’d all like to see win that elusive major. Hmm, we’ve been here before, haven’t we. New Sergio cracks an iron down the middle of the fairway, and sends his second to five feet. Attaboy, Rickie, to borrow a phrase from Butch Harmon.
Sergio’s coming up 18. After making a double on 16, he’s likely to miss the cut: he’s +4. Ah, he’s certain to miss the cut, because he’s lashed his second out of rough into the Barry Bur... hold on! The ball clanks off the far wall of the burn and somehow balloons back out onto dry land! He’ll still have to hole out from 60 yards if he wants to stick around for the weekend ... let’s face it, there’ll be no Carnousite redemption for the man who had a putt here to win in 2007 ... but at least he’s left with a Hail Mary. And memories of one of the most outrageous shots you’ll see at this hole for a while!
The defending champion Jordan Spieth is out. And he’s just hoicked a Tiger tribute drive into the deep rough down the right of 1. But he’s got a decent enough lie, and the hot summer’s ensured this rough isn’t quite as thick and lush as it could be. So he sends a wedge over the flag and it lands softly, 15 feet past the pin. After yesterday’s one-over 72, he doesn’t need to rush ... but he wouldn’t say no to an early birdie.
And with that, John was gone. He didn’t even say goodbye. They always leave! Sniff. Anyway, news of the US Open champion Brooks Koepka, who sent a gentle fade into 18, his ball screeching to a halt 18 inches from the pin. That’s a birdie to close, and he signs for an excellent 69. At -1, he’s not out of this yet. Especially as Kevin Kisner was unable to get up and down from the sand at 8. It was all he could do to splash 20 feet past the flag; he couldn’t make it coming back. He’s back in a tie with Zach Johnson at -6.
Kisner’s lead may not be too long in lasting. He pings his tee shot on the eighth to go into a bunker that looks deep and soggy. He can only chip it into an none-too promising position on the green. Up ahead on the 17th, Matshuyama goes ahead of Tiger and Knox and shows them where not to go in veering very close to the high rough. Knox’s shot is safe enough, and Tiger, mindful of the Barry Burn hazard, punches one low but not too long.
Oh Tiger! He gave himself too much to do off the tee and from the bunker and couldn’t make par. A shot that falls short and wide leaves him back at par.
Kevin Kisner takes the lead! Sinks a birdie at the seventh to go -7. Elsewhere, Tiger was indeed in the bunker and got himself out of it with an expert piece of sand management that suffered from a lack of belief. He may yet save himself a par on 16th. Matshuyama is on a charge, and takes a birdie. He’s on +1 now.
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Gordon Lilley emails in. “With his horrible 70s hairstyle, Fleetwood looked like a wet spaniel being interviewed on Sky. I hope he didn’t smell like one.”
Tiger is wild at off the tee at 16 and wallops the ball into what looks like either deep rough or a bunker to the right of the hole. Up ahead, Padraig Harrington, a previous winner at Carnoustie, will not be adding to his two Opens. He finishes at the 18th on +8. A rueful grin and some handshakes with his playing partners and it’s time to think of the next one.
Current leaders.
-6: Z Johnson (F), Kisner (6)
-5: Fleetwood (F)
-4: McIlroy (F), van Rooyen (11), Finau, Lombard
-3: Stone (3), Kang (3)
Koepka, on par, is at the 18th. So far, the US Open champion - double US Open, in fact, has not been able to land too many blows on the leaderboard.
Joint-leader Kisner’s tee shot on the seventh is straight and true. His second is much the same, though he is conservative in not trying to get too far left. He has a long one for birdie.
As Tiger feared, his long putt to the 15th is beyond his ken, and he will have to settle for a par. Tom Watson, meanwhile, has been praising his “testicular fortitude’ for coming back from all his troubles. Matshuyama misses his birdie, but sinks his par. At -2, he is suffering on the jaws of death. If later starters pick up scores, he will be in trouble.
Tiger hits a fine shot to the 15th, but he wants more as it fails to bounce on close to the hole. He will be even more frustrated now after Matshuyama did precisely what he was attempting to set up a birdie chance. Meanwhile, Van Rooyen is back on -3 after another bogey that is actually something of a saver considering the predicament he got himself into.
Zach Johnson, the clubhouse leader, and joint-leader at -6, talks of how “grinding it out is part of the day”, and suggests bogeying the first set him straight for the rest of his round. Bit of banter about he and his housemates in a golfing frat house/executive Airbnb are playing soccer. Those guys!
Matshuyama eagled the 14th to go -2 and took himself into the territory of not having to pay cancellation fees for his weekend digs. He has the honour at the 15th and shows Tiger the way with a fine tee shot. Tiger follows up with similar. Danger ahead still, though, with Tom Watson, a winner here in 1975, on TV describing Carnoustie’s as the toughest run-in to the clubhouse in golf. And Tom knows these things.
Van Rooyen’s run may really be at end. The t-shirted one (it’s probably a very expensive polo shirt) drills into a bunker on the 10th. Meanwhile, Tiger is going for eagle, an uphill putt that looks straight but the lie takes him to the right. He will have to settle for birdie, his fourth of the day and now lies at -1. Barring accident, he will back the rest of the weekend. And Phil Mickelson joins Tiger at -1, having birdied at the fourth.
Tommy Fleetwood has been chatting after his -6 today.
It’s no course record but it will do for today. I can’t lie about it. If I could pick one tournament in my life to win, it would be the Open. I’ve never been anywhere near before. We’re only halfway through the tournament unfortunately. There’s no point thinking about the end game. Thirty six holes is a long time. Today’s been a round where I’ve put myself back in the tournament and I’ve just got to move on from there really. If I can hit it like I did today, then obviously I’m going to have a lot of chances coming in over the weekend and we’ll see where that takes me.
Tiger is smiling. A beauty of an iron shot and a smidgeon of fortune gives him a lie good enough to be well within distance of landing an eagle on the 14th.
Here’s how it stands at time of writing. It now looks as if the later starters may be in clover at the weather, even though it is still drizzly, clears up.
-6: Z Johnson (F), Kisner (5)
-5: Fleetwood (F)
-4: McIlroy (F), van Rooyen (9), Finau, Lombard
-3: Chappell (6)
Michael Kim missed a par putt on the 18th and finishes at level par for the first two days. Tiger steps up to the par 5 and drills a fine shot down the centre of the fairway. Kisner joins Johnson on -6 after holing his birdie on the fifth. Having saved himself at the last and taken that from the rough, Kisner’s short game looks bang in good nick.
Tiger tried to dink his second shot with delicacy, but over-amped it. The ground didn’t help him, and he faces a tough recovery for par that he lands. That was a flash of the old Tiger, saving himself with a putt of precision and judgement. He enjoyed it, too, giving a trademark low-slung punch of the air. Van Rooyen, meanwhile, misses his par put and drops back to -4, despite togging down to a t-shirt to play it. Kisner’s saver at 5 is very special from the deep rough.
Van Rooyen scoops out from the rough and lands in the centre of the fairway. Yesterday, that might have bounced on. Today it splats into the undergrowth and his calls for an extra bounce go unheeded.
Van Rooyen’s run may be at its end. His tee shot on the ninth is blammed into the wilds, and he calls out in exasperation. Tiger takes on the par 3 13th and he is even angrier, reverting to the third person/channelling Earl Woods with “Tiger, no!” He didn’t make the bunker but is instead in a hugely unhelpful lie just above it. Knox shows him how it’s done with a shot that deserved better. It was killed dead once it landed on the sodden green.
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Kisner, deep in the chaff at the side of the fairway on the fourth, plays a fine shot at the and may be able to make a birdie on the fourth. Tiger, meanwhile, lands par on that 12th with a calmly cued effort and so does Knox. Determination apparent for both
Jason Day’s fairly forgettable round ends in a missed birdie but at -1, he is sat OK. Van Rooyen’s long putt at 8 goes close to giving him a share of the lead, but it doesn’t sink. Tiger takes on that monster of a putt, right from one lip of the green to that on the other side but won’t be collecting birdie. He’s close enough to get par on a very difficult hole, though.
The umbrellas are up, the stands’ seats need a good wipe if anyone is to sit down and there is a mist in the air but Erik van Rooyen’s birdie putt at 7 puts him into a joint-second -5. Kevin Chappell also lands a birdie on the first.
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Russell Knox, playing to stay in the draw for the weekend, is as at +5 after his great form at the Irish and Scottish Opens, and is playing alongside Tiger on the 12th. His second shot doesn’t get the desired bounce and plugs into what is becoming very heavy turf. Tiger goes next and at least lands on the green, but is at completely the other side from the hole.
Woods continues to keep the driver in the bag at the 12th and his safety-first policy pays off. Danny Willett, sporting the type of trousers popular among youths who hang around shopping centres, booms a long putt on the 6th, but misses and must settle for a bogey to drop back to -2. Phil Mickelson meanwhile, the man in black today, lands a birdie on two.
Here’s how it stands at the top of the leaderboard.
-6: Z Johnson (F)
-5: Fleetwood (F), Kisner (2)
-4: McIlroy (F), van Rooyen (3), Finau, Lombard
-3: Willett (5), Stone
Molinari’s rescue mission on 18 fails as he misses a birdie and he will have to sign off at level par. He lost three in the final four holes, and he doesn’t look too satisfied with that.
It now looks like +3 will be the cut-off point and Justin Thomas’ miss on 18 means he is on the very edge. Tiger is well within that at +1, but fancies moving further up the field. And he gets there, by rolling in a beauty on 11. There is a grimace of recognition and perhaps ambition.
Van Rooyen rims a putt that would have taken him to -5, but has to claim par on the sixth hole. Molinari, after his double bogey, plays a decent bump and run to the final hole. He has chance to pull off a birdie to partially repair the damage.
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Big Phil Mickelson misses a putt on the first that would have claimed a birdie. He takes par instead, and looks a little miffed with the rainy conditions. It’s belting down. Waterproofs the order of the hour and that browned surface is beginning to green up. Tiger takes his second on 11 and lands a decent shot on to the green before retreating under an umbrella.
Fancy some golf nostalgia? Then read on.
“Oh no,” says Tiger off the tee at 11. But his panic is unwarranted. It lands safe enough to the left of the fairway. His loss of primacy is shown by a fading inability to judge where the ball will actually land.
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Francesco Molinari has just had a nightmare on 17th, having been plugged in a bunker and needing to play two shots to get out of it. He also missed his saver putt. Having been up with the leaders, he is back at level par.
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Tiger almost pulled off an amazing birdie from a fair way out and has to settle for par. That would have been some rescue job, but he wears an expression of disappointment, having thought it was rolling in. At +1 he will stay.
Meanwhile, Scott cannot follow Johnson in for birdie on the 18th and has to settle for -1
Zach Johnson on the last drifts in a decent shot to the dance floor, but has a long enough putt for birdie and to take the lead at -6. On the same hole, Adam Scott, at -1, looked unimpressed by his second shot, but it spins off the rim of the green and is sat very well.
But Johnson holes out to go to -6 and take the lead. Having started with a bogey, he can make his way to the clubhouse in comfort. Looks like he’s missed the worst of the weather.
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Rory McIlroy is talking, and saying that he has abandoned his green book to concentrate of judging the speed of his putts. He seems happy enough with his morning.
Afternoon, all. Stepping into big shoes here, and hoping I am not as wayward off the tee as Tiger Woods. The great man/faded force shouted “dammit” as he belched his first shot on 10 into heavy rough. Whoops.
Anyway, reach me on @johnbrewin_ and john.brewin.casual@theguardian.com if you would like.
The overnight leader Kevin Kisner is out and about! Tommy Fleetwood and Zach Johnson have both joined the South Carolinian at -5, but nobody’s overtaken him. He crumps a 3-wood down the middle of the 1st. Meanwhile up on 18, Dustin Johnson finishes with a double bogey, to go with the triple he made there yesterday. It’s a 72, and at +6 the world number one’s tournament is over.
And with that, I’m off for some lunch, a lie down, cold towels, tablets, etc. John Brewin will be your friendly host for the next couple of hours; I’ll see you later on.
Jason Day has been up and down since reaching the turn in 34. Birdies at 10 and 14, bogeys at 12 and now 15. He’s oscillating between the -3 and -2 mark: he’s currently at the latter. His playing partner Haotong Li has been the complete opposite: having turned in 35, the young Chinese star has carded a run of six consecutive pars. He’s -1.
Rory McIlroy’s birdie putt on 18 slides off to the left. But that’s a par to close, and he’s signing for his second 69 of the week. He’s a shot off the lead at -4. Thorbjorn Olesen goes close to birdie as well, but he’ll be carding his second 70 of the tournament. He’s nicely placed at -2. And it’s a pair of 72s for Marc Leishman, who hasn’t quite got going this week, and is +2. Leishman should make the weekend: the cut, top 70 and ties, is currently predicted to fall at +3.
-5: Fleetwood (F), Z Johnson (16), Kisner
-4: McIlroy (F), van Rooyen (3), Finau, Lombard
-3: Day (14), Willett (3), Stone
-2: Olesen (F), Molinari (15), Kang, Perez, Rahm
Tiger sends his tee shot at the par-three 8th over the flag. He’s got a snaky 18-footer coming back. He reads the line perfectly ... but fails to hit it. The ball stops a couple of inches short, and he taps in for par. He stays level. Jason Day moves to -3 with birdie at 14. Up on 18, McIlroy’s drive finds the rough down the left, but he’s got a decent lie and a chance to wheech a 9-iron into the heart of the green. Which he does, leaving himself a 15-footer for a closing birdie. And back on 3, van Rooyen bounces back immediately by screeching a wedge to a couple of feet and tidying up. He’s -4 again.
Tiger escapes 7 with a par, wedging his third to a couple of feet. Up on 17, Olesen, who like McIlroy had bogeyed 15, drops another to fall back to -2. But McIlroy rescues himself, chipping to four feet and making the knee-knocker. He remains a shot off Fleetwood, Zach Johnson and Kisner.
Tommy Fleetwood plays the 18th pretty much perfectly. A booming drive down the middle, an approach pin high to 12 feet, and he closes with a birdie that gives him a sensational round of 65! This guy is world class now. He’s battled some very testing conditions to become co-leader ... and the new clubhouse leader. He loves this place, holding the course record with a 63. He’ll take some beating this week! Meanwhile a bogey at 2 for Erik van Rooyen, who slips quickly to -3.
-5: Fleetwood (F), Z Johnson (14), Kisner
-4: McIlroy (16), Finau, Lombard
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A fast start by the 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett, who could well be back, back, back, the way he’s going this week! He rattles in a 20-footer for birdie at the opening hole, and joins the group at -3. He’s recently had high finishes in Italy, Ireland and Scotland, and his confidence looks to be slowly returning. It’s great to see. Back on 17, there’s a huge break for McIlroy, who drove into deep filth down the right of the hole, then nearly found the Barry Burn with a low-flying second. He’s still got work to do, up and down from 50 yards, to save his par, but it could have been a whole lot worse.
Tiger takes two putts for his par at 6, then slices his tee shot into trouble down the right of 7. His next one sails off to the left, and short of the green. “Oh my God! Go right, hard! Not that way!” He’s fuming. There are pars for McIlroy and Olesen on 16. And on 14, birdies for Scott and Zach Johnson. That moves the former to -2; it gives the latter a share of the lead at -5! And it’s no more than the 2015 champion deserved, because his second landed up against the steep face of a bunker, with little green to play with. He delicately lifted his third up over the top and a couple of feet from the hole. That looked impossible; it was wonderful.
-5: Z Johnson (14), Kisner
-4: Fleetwood (17), McIlroy (16), van Rooyen (1), Finau, Lombard
Brooks Koepka is going along nicely. A birdie at 6 to add to the one at 4, and he’s hovering ominously at -1. Jason Day’s par putt at 12 lips out; he slips to -2. Francesco Molinari drops one at 12; he’s back to -2 also. And neither Fleetwood nor van Rooyen can make their aforementioned birdie chances, so here’s how they’re looking at the top now.
-5: Kisner
-4: Fleetwood (17), McIlroy (15), Z Johnson (13), van Rooyen (1), Finau, Lombard
-3: Olesen (15), Molinari (11), Stone
Rory McIlroy’s par putt dies off to the right, and Kevin Kisner is once again the sole leader. Tommy Fleetwood and Erik van Rooyen might have something to say about that, though. Fleetwood has just set up a birdie chance with a fine second into 17, while the South African, one of yesterday’s surprise heroes, has arrowed his approach at the opening hole straight at the flag, just like he did in the first round!
McIlroy’s drive at 15 is wayward down the right. He pulls the second left of the green, and can only clip a wedge to 12 feet. That wasn’t bad from where he was, but it’s still a testing putt for his par. Back on 6, Tiger powers back onto the centre of the fairway, then wedges into the heart of the green. A slightly disappointing approach leaving a long brdie putt.
Kyle Stanley reaches the turn in 33. He rakes in a putt from off the green at 9 for his third birdie of the day: he’d already picked up strokes at 1 and 7. A great escape for Francesco Molinari at 12: playing his third shot out of deep rough short and left of the green, he wedges beautifully to kick-in distance.
Rory McIlroy rolls in for an astonishing birdie! And he’s now sharing the lead at the 147th Open Championship! A birdie too for his partner Olesen. Meanwhile on the par-five 6th, Tiger sprays his drive miles right. It’s so bad his ball’s on a patch of ground trampled by the gallery, a fortunate break. The very top of the first-round leaderboard was a little bit light on star quality ... but take a look at some of the names on it now.
-5: McIlroy (14), Kisner
-4: Fleetwood (15), Olesen (14), Z Johnson (12), van Rooyen, Finau, Lombard
-3: Molinari (11), Day (10), Stone
At first glance, it looks as though Rory is up against a huge face. But the bunker tapers down towards the fairway, and he decides there’s space to lash his second over the lip, past the Spectacles bunkers, and up onto the green. He manages parts one and two, but doesn’t quite get three: the ball stops shy of the green on the right. But that’s quite a result from there. He bumps a chip to eight feet, and he’ll have a putt for birdie, no mean feat after his drive found what looked like an extremely penal bunker. Meanwhile Tiger rolls in a long birdie putt on 5 to return to level par, while Molinari makes one at 11 to rise to -3 again.
Mist rolls in from the North Sea. Rory’s mood alters accordingly, as his drive on the par-five 14th finds a bunker down the left. Like the clouds above the storm just had to cry. Meanwhile Jason Day is on the move, notching his third birdie of the day, at 10. The 2015 PGA champion has an absurd proportion of top-ten finishes in the majors, but only one at the Open, when he narrowly missed making the play-off at St Andrews in 2015. He’s working to fix that: he’s -3.
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A trio of bounce-back birdies! Tiger isn’t taking this lying down. Two controlled shots down 4, one perfectly weighted putt drops, and he’s +1, looking a little calmer. Olesen clips his tee shot at the par-tree 13th to ten feet, and rolls in the birdie effort. And Rory’s inside him - and trundles his putt straight into the cup! His flat stick is suddenly working again, which will send shivers through the field. He walks off the green with his trademark bounce, a sure sign that his confidence is high right now.
-5: Kisner
-4: Fleetwood (14), McIlroy (13), Z Johnson (11), van Rooyen, Finau, Lombard
-3: Olesen (13), Stone
Tommy Fleetwood finds the green at the par-five 14th in two. His long eagle putt never looks like going in, but the birdie putt is slotted away without too much fuss, and suddenly the European number one is right on the leader’s shoulder! Bogeys meanwhile for Olesen at 12 and Molinari at 10; the pair slip to -2.
-5: Kisner
-4: Fleetwood (14), Z Johnson (11), van Rooyen, Finau, Lombard
-3: McIlroy (12), Stone
A three-putt bogey for Tiger on 3. His shoulders slump as he trudges off the green. That was all the fault of the birdie putt, raced six feet past the hole. His confidence shaken by that mistake, he underhit the one coming back. He’s +2. And it’s a miserable few minutes for the superstars, because Rory makes his first bogey of the day at 12, slipping back to -3, two off the lead.
Scotland could do with a new golfing superstar. How about amateur Sam Locke? The 19-year-old Aberdonian works part-time in the cafe at 1999 champion Paul Lawrie’s golf centre. “He’s a great lad, a joy to work with,” says Lawrie. “He works hard in the coffee shop to earn enough money to play.” Locke started out badly today, with bogey at 2 and double at 3, but bounced back with a brilliant run of birdies at 13, 14 and 15. He stumbled a little thereafter, bogeying 16 and narrowly missing a long par putt on 18. But that’s a fine 73 to go with yesterday’s 72. At +3, he’s not guaranteed to make the weekend, when he’d have a chance of competing for the silver medal for low amateur. But he could be lucky. Fingers crossed. But whatever happens, this is precious experience.
Adam Scott has unfinished business at the Open. He threw away this title over the four closing holes at Lytham in 2012, gifting the Claret Jug to Ernie Els. His quest to right that personal wrong is going well today: birdies at 6 and 9 have seen him hit the turn in 35 strokes, and he’s nicely placed at -1. Barring one top-ten finish at the Masters, he’s not really featured in the majors during the last three years; could this be the start of a welcome comeback for a very popular player?
The double US Open champion Brooks Koepka has hauled himself back into this championship. He was +5 after nine holes of his first round, but battled magnificently to come back in 31. Now he’s birdied 4 today, and he’s finally returned to level par. That’s some fightback.
From 137 yards, on a flat patch of rough to the right, Tiger finds the heart of the green. But he can’t make the long par saver, and he’s +1. Much as he loves the Open, he notoriously dislikes playing in heavy rain - remember his calendar-slam-ruining 81 at a raging Muirfield in 2002 - and isn’t exactly the picture of happiness right now.
Tiger is faced with quite a poser, his ball deep in the rough, miles above his feet. And the rain continues to fall. He lashes hard at it, and nearly takes out the entire gallery down the right! Fortunately nobody is hurt - on another day that could have taken out about 20 noses and kneecaps - and the ball squirts out into a playable lie. But he still needs to get up and down from distance, and might be seriously considering leaving that driver in the bag unless it’s totally necessary.
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Another birdie for Rory! His second into 10 is a delight, landing ten feet from the flag. There’s a gentle right-to-left slide on the putt, and he reads it perfectly. It’s never missing. Whatever the problems were with his putting early doors yesterday, he seems to have addressed them. He’s one off the lead at -4! Meanwhile back on 2, Tiger takes out the big stick, and predictably wangs a godawful drive into thick oomska down the right. Trouble ahoy.
-5: Kisner
-4: McIlroy (10), Z Johnson (8), van Rooyen, Finau, Lombard
-3: Fleetwood (11), Olesen (10), Molinari (8), Stone
A fuss-free par for Tiger at 1. His wedge into the green was decent if not spectacular, giving him half a chance of birdie that he couldn’t quite make. But it’s a solid start and the crowd go wild anyway. He missed the Open; the Open’s missed him.
Another birdie for Tommy Fleetwood, who wedges to four feet at 11 and tidies up without fuss. That’s his fourth of the day, and the Carnoustie course record holder (63) is well in the mix now!
-5: Kisner
-4: Z Johnson (7), van Rooyen, Finau, Lombard
-3: Fleetwood (11), McIlroy (9), Olesen (9), Steele (7), Molinari (7), Stone
-2: Day (6), Li (6), Southgate, Willett, Kang, Perez, Rahm
Tiger’s out! And he’s just whip-cracked his opening iron down the middle. Elsewhere, another birdie for Jason Day, at 6, and his playing partner Haotong Li, who looks in the mood to enjoy another great Open, after last year’s final-round 63 and third-place finish. They’re both -2.
Tom Lewis has already made quite a mark on Open history. In 2011, as a 20-year-old amateur, he shot 65 in the first round at St George’s, giving himself a share of the lead. It was the lowest single-round score by an amateur in Open history, and equalled the lowest amateur round in any major. He was the first amateur to lead the Open since Michael Bonallack in 1968. (Paul Dunne has managed it since, co-leading after three rounds in 2015.) He was playing that day with Tom Watson, after whom he was named. Now 27, he’s playing in his first Open as a professional, and going along today very nicely indeed: birdies at 3, 5, 9 and now 13 mean he’s the hottest player out on the course right now. And he’s level par for the tournament.
Thomas’s playing partner Francesco Molinari traversed the 6th in much more leisurely fashion. He wedged his third shot to ten feet, then converted the putt for his second birdie of the day. he moves to -3.
Serious trouble for Justin Thomas at the par-five 6th. He finds a pot bunker and requires two shots to escape. He’s left with a monster putt from the front of the green for his par, and doesn’t hit it at all. He ends up with a double-bogey seven, and that glorious putt on 6 suddenly seems an awfully long time ago. He’s back to level par, and bashes his putter onto the green in impotent frustration.
Rory’s tee shot at the par-three 8th isn’t much to write home about, barely reaching the front of the green, the pin tucked away back right. But he rolls a delightful 40-footer to within an inch. It was always staying out on the left, but he’s happy enough to tap in for his par. A par for Olesen as well. They both remain at -3. But the third member of the group plays the hole perfectly: Marc Leishman finds the centre of the green with a fine pin-high tee shot, and rolls the 12-footer he leaves himself into the centre of the cup. That’s put him in credit for the day, after birdie at 4 and bogey at 7, and he’s back to level par for the tournament.
And how about this from Tommy Fleetwood! He rakes a 30-footer across 9 into the cup, which means he’s reached the turn in three-under 33! He’s nicely placed at -2. Also going well right now: the eternal bridesmaid Lee Westwood, who started badly with bogey at 2 but has birdied 6 and now 10 to move back to level par for the tournament.
Rory finally makes a move! He lands his second at 7 six feet from the hole, and is never missing the putt. Straight into the cup. Also making birdie at 7: Thorbjorn Olesen, who rolls in a 25-footer for his second of the day. And back on the par-five 6th, the former champion Zach Johnson makes it three birdies in four holes by holing a slippery 25-footer! That’s all had a big effect on the leaderboard:
-5: Kisner
-4: Z Johnson (6), van Rooyen, Finau, Lombard
-3: McIlroy (7), Olesen (7), Steele (6), Stone
Ryan Moore had been bothering Kevin Kisner’s lead. But no longer. He wings his drive at 10 into deep rough down the left, then sends his second into the burn. His fourth nearly topples off the back of the green, and though he’s very unlucky not to make an excellent putt coming back, that’s a double bogey. He crashes down the leaderboard to -2. Kisner isn’t out until 12.53pm, roughly the time they’re expecting the rain to ease off, or go away completely. He’ll be in Metaphor GC’s spikes bar with his feet up and a cigar on.
Justin Thomas has just missed a tiddler on 4. So golf being golf, he makes one of the putts of the week, a huge 40-feet breaker that right-turns at the top of a ridge and slowly trundles down the hill, straight into the cup. His grin is as wide as the Tay. He’s back to -2. Russell Henley’s vicious downward spiral continues with double bogey at 7, a putt from kick-in distance yipped: he’s +2. And trouble for Tommy Fleetwood at the par-three 8th. He sends his tee shot into a deep bunker front right of the green. He’s not got much room for his backswing, the sand is wet, and he’s shortsided. His splash out is heavy, 25 feet past the hole. But he guides in the right-to-left slider, and salvages his momentum! A magical escape! He remains at -1.
A fortunate break for Rory, whose second from the deep rough toys with the ditch down the right of the hole. It stays dry, and he’s got a wedge into the green. He arrows it straight at the flag, but there’s a whole load of spin on his ball, and it ends up 30 feet from the flag. He nearly drains the birdie putt, but a sixth par from six holes is fair, given how things panned out. And par golf is fine, because the rain continues to fall heavily, to the extent that scoring may now come at a premium. The later starters - Spieth, Fowler, Rahm, Finau, Reed - will probably get the better of the weather when the rain departs in the afternoon.
Another tee-box homage to the great Severiano Ballesteros by the performance artist Rory McIlroy. He flays a drive into deep filth down the right of the par-five 6th. That was wild. Shades of Jordan Spieth on the 13th at Birkdale last year. There’s no Titleist truck to get Rory out of bother, though. Up on the green, Russell Henley, who shot a fine 69 yesterday, can’t get up and down from a tight lie over the back: it’s his second bogey of the day, after 2, and he slips back to level par. Back on 4, Justin Thomas pulls a tiddler to hand a shot back to the field: he’s -1 now.
It’s all going wrong for Jimmy Walker. The 2016 PGA champion started well this morning, with a birde at 2, but he’s followed up bogeys at 3 and 4 with a double-bogey at the par-five 6th, the result of topping a shot into a bunker. Hey, we’ve all done it. Zach Johnson could do some serious business this week, though: it’s back-to-back birdies for the 2015 Open champ, the latest at 4. He’s -3 and just a couple off the lead.
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Molinari is one dimple away from making a second birdie in a row, but his 15-footer on 3 stops tantalisingly on the edge. The Quicken Loans and BMW PGA champ is making chances, though. He’s only got one top-ten finish at the Open to his name - at Muirfield in 2013 - but he’s in great form right now. Those wins on both tours, plus recent second places either side of the Atlantic, and this could be his time. A tie for second at last year’s PGA, too, it’s easy to forget. “I emigrated from Scotland to Lancashire several years back and discovered that a local delicacy was the Pie Floater,” reports Allan Knox. “The pie with variable contents would be put in a soup dish and float in gravy, gravy and mushy peas, or even tomato soup! Hopefully, readers that attend the Women’s Open in a few weeks time at Royal Lytham will get a chance to try this delicacy out.” Well that’s breakfast sorted. Back in a minute.
Zach Johnson repairs the damage of the opening hole with birdie at 3. The king of St Andrews in 2015 is back to -2. Jason Day, who just missed out on the play-off that year, recorded a quiet level-par 71 yesterday, and has birdied 2 this morning to move to -1. And Charley Hoffman, who operates on the fringes of just about every major title challenge these days, prepares to launch another bid: an early birdie for the late-blooming Californian at 2, and he’s -1.
Birdie for the hotly-tipped Francesco Molinari at 2: he moves to -2. There should be one for Brendan Steele on 3, as well, but he pushes a tiddler wide right, and remains at -3. The scoring seems a bit better this morning, a combination of friendlier pin placements and softer greens, the players able to attack the flags and retain greater control of their ball.
Another birdie for Tommy Fleetwood, who is beginning to motor! Royal Birkdale’s favourite son makes it at 5, and he’s risen to -1. Unfortunately his partner, the 2016 champion Henrik Stenson, is heading the wrong way at some pace, dropping his third stroke of the day. He started off in a very healthy position after yesterday’s one-under 70, but things aren’t looking so rosy now at +2. Meanwhile the umbrellas are going up as the rain comes down a little bit harder.
Dustin Johnson needs to do a bit of work if he’s to make the cut, having shot 76 yesterday, melting down with a out-of-bounds triple on 18. He’s started the repair job well, with birdie at 3: he’s +4. Birdie for Marc Leishman at 4; he’s level par. And it’s a par for his playing partner Rory, who has started out in the street-fighting fashion. What he’d give for a nice calm birdie, though. “Walker ‘makes a bit of a hash of escaping’ from ‘a pot bunker’ (8.30am)? Bet he felt like a dope,” quips Cheech Marin Justin Horton.
Rory’s short game is reminiscent of Seve at the moment. Unfortunately so is his driving. He’s just flayed his tee shot at 4 into the rough down the right. Fortunately he’s able to lash a wedge through the tall stuff and send his ball trundling onto the green. He’ll have a 25-footer for an unlikely birdie.
McIlroy takes out the Texas Wedge, putting through a swale. He’s up onto the green, and his ball nestles a couple of feet away from the flag. He saves his par. That’s another sensational up and down. He’s joined at -2 by Olesen, who converts his birdie chance. Zach Johnson drops a shot at the 1st to slip back to -1. Cameron Davis hands back the shot he picked up on 7 immediately, with bogey at 8: he’s -1. Henrik Stenson drops his second shot of the day at 4: he’s +2. But going in the correct direction: US Open hero Tommy Fleetwood, who birdies 4 to bring himself up to level par for the championship.
From the centre of the 3rd fairway, McIlroy wedges over the green. That’s a poor mistake from such a good spot. His partners Olesen and Leishman show up his error by peppering the flagstick, albeit lightly. Speaking of food, here’s Simon McMahon, native of Dundee, half an hour up the road, with the lowdown on the local cuisine: “BBQ pork shoulder or pimento cheese doesn’t normally form part of the Scottish diet, and unfortunately nor does Hamburger Helper, so can I recommend a Dundee pie, or as the locals say, peh, to keep you sustained during another long day of hole-by-holing. You can put pretty much anything you like in said pie, a thin pastry shell filled with various fillings depending on time of day. A breakfast pie might include, say, sausage, egg and beans whereas your lunch pie could involve macaroni cheese or smoked fish from up the road in Arbroath, and your teatime pie steak and gravy, or chicken curry. If you’re really hungry you can put the pie on a roll. Alternatively, a can of beer and a fag are popular at all times.” Saturday Kitchen and Sunday Brunch ain’t got nuttin’ on this.
Up on 3, Jimmy Walker gets an unlucky bounce that takes him into a greenside pot bunker, then makes a bit of a hash of escaping. He gets his ball up onto the green, but only just, having given up on his downswing, and can’t hole his long par putt. He’s +1. Henrik Stenson sends his second to six feet, but can’t make the birdie putt: he’s level. And Tommy Fleetwood hideously misreads his birdie effort, but makes the six-footer he’d left himself for par; he’s +1. Another birdie for Cameron Davis, at 7, and he’s -2.
McIlroy’s got an awful lie, standing in the rough above the green. But he plays an exquisite bump down the bank, landing on the fringe and rolling it to a couple of feet. That’s a lovely touch, and he’s saved his par. He’s -2. His playing partner and fellow Manchester United fan Thorbjorn Olesen makes par to stay at -1. Completing the group: par for Marc Leishman, football allegiance unknown, who remains at +1.
Rory’s struggling his way down 2. He hooks his drive into deep rough along the left, halfway up a bank, and then sends his second into equally thick stuff to the right of the green. He’s not too far from the flag, but up another wee bank and there’s not a whole load of green to play with on that side. That’ll test his short game.
Updated
Henrik Stenson drops a shot on 2, the result of finding sand with his drive and being forced to wedge out sideways. His third into the green was just fine, setting up a chance to escape with a par, but he pushed his putt from ten feet, it was never going in. He’s back to level par. As is his playing partner Jimmy Walker, coming the other way: he birdies. Back on 1, Rory McIlroy is out. After a booming drive, he’s on the green in two, 12 feet from the flag. He can’t make his birdie putt though, a bit tentative, and stays there at -2.
Ryan Moore reads a left-to-right curler from 30 feet on 3 perfectly. Birdie, and he’s the first player to shake up the overnight leaderboard. An opening-hole birdie for Russell Henley, too, and he’s instantly up to -2.
-5: Kisner
-4: Moore (3), van Rooyen, Finau, Lombard
-3: Steele, Stone
Matthew Fitzpatrick is out and about. Not much to report yet, other than to note that both his caddy and that of amateur Jovan Rebula were tugging away heartily on cigarettes as they made off down the hole, a refreshingly old-school look. Memories of Ian Woosnam’s legendary bagman Miles Byrne. More innocent times.
Fleetwood gets up and down from the back of 1 for his par. He remains at +1. Pars for Stenson and Walker, too: they’re -1 and +1 respectively. Steady. Elsewhere, it’s been a fast start today by Cameron Davis. The 23-year-old Australian is playing in his first Open Championship, a benefit of winning his home title last year. Davis posted a level-par 71 yesterday: he’s made birdie at 2 to move to -1 for the tournament. And another par for Ryan Moore, at 2; he remains at -3.
Tommy Fleetwood takes to the first tee, and unsheathes the big stick. He batters it down the track, but it’s clear there’s not going to be the bonus yardage of yesterday: the rain has slowed down the fairways. His wedge in only just holds the fringe at the back of the green. His playing partners Henrik Stenson and Jimmy Walker, major champions both, set up decent birdie opportunities.
While we’re waiting for the course to become fully populated with the world’s best players ... there’s time to catch up on yesterday’s action. Here’s Ewan Murray’s first-round report.
Ryan Moore shot a fine 68 yesterday afternoon. He’s out very early this morning, and isn’t enjoying the opening hole. He’s pushed his tee shot into the rough down the right, then sent a flyer through the green into an awkward tuft of grass at the back. He’ll have his work cut out to get up and down from there. But he bumps out beautifully to ten feet, and scrambles his par. That’s a great save after a very shaky start. He remains at -3. But an early sign already that a freshly watered Carnousite will set some additional posers: less distance, more troublesome rough.
Good morning Carnoustie! Well, summer’s gone. For a day or two, anyway. The sunshine of yesterday has given way to dreich drizzle: the umbrellas are up, and the weatherproof jackets are on. It’s forecast to be cloudy for most of the day, with some heavy bursts of rain possible in the morning. The wind should pick up to 15mph at times. While we’re not expecting to see much of the sun, the conditions are likely to ease off a little in the afternoon. So there’s more to think about, in the true links style, with Carnoustie’s honour defended by the weather. The course hasn’t taken a proper soaking, though, so should still be running pretty fast ... just not as fast as yesterday. The Open in Scotland: just the way it should be!
Preamble
Preambles are so Thursday. We’ve got another long day ahead of us, so let’s get straight down to business.
The top of the leaderboard after the first round ...
-5: Kisner
-4: van Rooyen, Finau, Lombard
-3: Stone, Moore, Steele
-2: Southgate, Willett, Kang, Perez, Rahm, Henley, McIlroy, Z Johnson, Thomas, Reavie
... and today’s tee times. (GB & Ireland unless stated)
0635 Sam Locke (a), Brandt Snedeker (USA), Cameron Davis (Aus)
0646 Patton Kizzire (USA), Jonas Blixt (Swe), Charles Howell III (USA)
0657 Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Daniel Berger (USA), Tom Lewis
0708 Ryan Moore (USA), Alexander Levy (Fra), Byeong-Hun An (Kor)
0719 Michael Hendry (Nzl), Kelly Kraft (USA), Lee Westwood
0730 Tommy Fleetwood, Henrik Stenson (Swe), Jimmy Walker (USA)
0741 Russell Henley (USA), Matthew Fitzpatrick, (a) Jovan Rebula (Rsa)
0752 Rory McIlroy, Marc Leishman (Aus), Thorbjorn Olesen (Den)
0803 Alex Noren (Swe), Dustin Johnson (USA), Charley Hoffman (USA)
0814 Zach Johnson (USA), Adam Scott (Aus), Brendan Steele (USA)
0825 Justin Thomas (USA), Francesco Molinari (Ita), Branden Grace (Rsa)
0836 Jason Day (Aus), Shota Akiyoshi (Jpn), Haotong Li (Chn)
0847 Todd Hamilton (USA), Beau Hossler (USA), Jorge Campillo (Spa)
0903 Chez Reavie (USA), Ryuko Tokimatsu (Jpn), Michael Kim (USA)
0914 Kyle Stanley (USA), Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel), Jens Dantorp (Swe)
0925 Tom Lehman (USA), Dylan Frittelli (Rsa), Grant Forrest
0936 Min Chel Choi (Kor), Lucas Herbert (Aus), Jason Kokrak (USA)
0947 Padraig Harrington, Bubba Watson (USA), Matt Wallace
0958 Cameron Smith (Aus), Ian Poulter, Brooks Koepka (USA)
1009 Bryson DeChambeau (USA), Sergio Garcia (Spa), Shubhankar Sharma (Ind)
1020 Tiger Woods (USA), Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Russell Knox
1031 Ryan Fox (Nzl), Jason Dufner (USA), Keegan Bradley (USA)
1042 Ryan Armour (USA), Abraham Ancer (Mex), Masahiro Kawamura (Jpn)
1053 Jazz Janewattananond (Tha), Fabrizio Zanotti (Pry), Jordan Smith
1104 Brett Rumford (Aus), Masanori Kobayashi (Jpn), Jack Senior
1115 Thomas Curtis, Matt Jones (Aus), Bronson Burgoon (USA)
1136 Martin Kaymer (Ger), Sandy Lyle, Andy Sullivan
1147 Erik Van Rooyen (Rsa), Brady Schnell (USA), Matthew Southgate
1158 Danny Willett, Emiliano Grillo (Arg), Luke List (USA)
1209 Danthai Boonma (Tha), Mark Calcavecchia (USA), Shaun Norris (Rsa)
1220 Kevin Chappell (USA), Oliver Wilson, Eddie Pepperell
1231 Paul Dunne, Ross Fisher, Austin Cook (USA)
1242 Patrick Cantlay (USA), Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry
1253 Thomas Pieters (Bel), Kevin Kisner (USA), Marcus Kinhult (Swe)
1304 Satoshi Kodaira (Jpn), Phil Mickelson (USA), Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Spa)
1315 Brian Harman (USA), Yuta Ikeda (Jpn), Andrew Landry (USA)
1326 Si Woo Kim (Kor), Webb Simpson (USA), Nicolai Hojgaard (a) (Den)
1337 Stewart Cink (USA), Brandon Stone (Rsa), Hideto Tanihara (Jpn)
1348 Yusaku Miyazato (Jpn), Gary Woodland (USA), Sung Kang (Kor)
1404 Adam Hadwin (Can), Ernie Els (Rsa), Chesson Hadley (USA)
1415 Pat Perez (USA), Julian Suri (USA), George Coetzee (Rsa)
1426 Scott Jamieson, David Duval (USA), Kevin Na (USA)
1437 Darren Clarke, Bernhard Langer (Ger), Retief Goosen (Rsa)
1448 Matt Kuchar (USA), Anirban Lahiri (Ind), Peter Uihlein (USA)
1459 Jordan Spieth (USA), Justin Rose, Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha)
1510 Jon Rahm (Spa), Rickie Fowler (USA), Chris Wood
1521 Paul Casey, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Patrick Reed (USA)
1532 Tony Finau (USA), Xander Schauffele (USA), Jhonattan Vegas (Ven)
1543 Alexander Bjork (Swe), Yuxin Lin (a) (Chn), Sang Hyun Park (Kor)
1554 James Robinson, Haraldur Magnus (Isr), Zander Lombard (Rsa)
1605 Kodai Ichihara (Jpn), Rhys Enoch, Marcus Armitage
1616 Sean Crocker (USA), Gavin Green (Mal), Ash Turner
