Reports, reaction and more
It’s nearly 14 hours since Darren Clarke hit the first shot of the 2019 Open, so this HBH report must come to a close. We’re back in the morning, early doors. See you then!
-5: Holmes
-4: Lowry
-3: Noren, Simpson, Garcia, Frittelli, MacIntyre, Aphibarnrat, Fox, Hatton, Fleetwood, Koepka, Westwood, Finau, Rahm
-2: Langasque, Rose, Park, Turner
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Rahm batters his tee shot down the middle of 18. Much good it does him, because his second is a poor effort, short and left of the green. He lobs up nicely to six feet, but it’s no gimme. Before he can putt out, Cantlay attempts to get up and down from sand. He doesn’t make it. A final bogey that slips him back to -1. And then Rahm’s putt slips by the left of the hole. A poor denouement to his round, but it’s still a fine opening-day 68.
A level-par 71 for the 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed. That was a battling round that may stand him in good stead. His storied playing partner Tiger bogeys the last, however, and that’s a hope-shattering 78. He’s +7, just one shot better off than Rory McIlroy, which goes to show how bad he’s been. He’s looked tight all day, a stiff back limiting his rotation. Meanwhile the third member of the group, Matt Wallace, finishes with a 73, not a bad result given the three double bogeys he made. A strange group to follow today.
A fine sandy par by Rahm on 17. His approach was dismal, trickling into the trap, and he was left with a tricky lie on the downslope. But he whipped his ball out to four feet, a miraculous result, and it allowed him to save his par. He remains at -4.
Rory won’t be back in it, though, whatever happens tomorrow. Here’s Andy Bull on one of the great Open nightmares.
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Bogeys for Dustin Johnson and Jason Day at the last. Day will be happy enough with his 70 nonetheless. DJ a little more miffed with his 72. Neither have played their way out of the competition a la McIlroy or Woods, however. A profitable morning tomorrow and they’ll be right back in it.
It’s Rahm’s turn in Bobby Locke’s Hollow to the left of 16. He putts up gently to a couple of feet, and that’s an easy par. His playing partner Patrick Cantlay makes only the seventh birdie of the day at the hole - Calamity Corner indeed - and he rises to -2. Up on 18, both Rose and Finau find the green in regulation, but neither can make their mid-range birdie putt. They end the day at -2 and -3 respectively. Finau has made it all the way round without a single bogey.
-5: Holmes (F)
-4: Lowry (F), Rahm (16)
-3: Noren (F), Simpson (F), Garcia (F), Frittelli (F), MacIntyre (F), Aphibarnrat (F), Fox (F), Hatton (F), Fleetwood (F), Koepka (F), Finau (F), Inamori (13)
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Could this be Lee Westwood’s time, after all this waiting? His second into 18 takes a slightly fortuitous bounce off the shoulder of the bunker guarding the front right of the green, and kicks his ball left to 15 feet. In goes a carpe-diem putt for birdie, and he’s off to the clubhouse whistling and smiling, posting a card of 68 into the box. He’s -3. A long time yet to travel, but this may be the first chapter of a tale for the ages. Or yet another false dawn, of course, but let’s not sour the moment.
Rahm’s second into 15 is clunked heavy. He looks to have rescued the situation with a lovely chip from off the front of the green to three feet, but he suffers a rush of blood as he putts and sends his ball whistling past the hole. That’s his second bogey of the day, and JB Holmes now has the sole lead at -5.
Tiger makes an up and down for par from the cute little depression - Bobby Locke’s hollow - to the left of the green. He remains at +6. “Arnold Palmer in his later, Seniors Tour career, had a phrase he often used after a good round: ‘I’m glad the fans got to see a bit of the Palmer of old instead of the old Palmer’,” writes Hubert O’Hearn. “Today I fear we see the old Tiger as he moves through the rough with the winces of a sour back, such as it becomes all of us eventually when pushing a lawnmower (or getting up off a couch) becomes a task of Sisyphus.”
Rahm’s tee shot at 14 leaked into the thick rough down the right of the fairway. He could only thrash his second to the front right of the green as a result. But he does extremely well to putt up the bank to a couple of feet, then tidy up for par. He remains at -5 ... but now only has a share of the lead, because JB Holmes sends a low fizzer into the 18th, then rolls in the 20-footer that remains. A birdie that means he’s back home in 32 strokes! He’s the new clubhouse leader after a 66.
-5: Holmes (F), Rahm (14)
-4: Lowry (F)
-3: Noren (F), Simpson (F), Garcia (F), Frittelli (F), MacIntyre (F), Aphibarnrat (F), Fox (F), Hatton (F), Fleetwood (F), Koepka (F), Finau (17), Inamori (11)
Some showmanship from Tiger Woods, as a tramliner across 15 disappears into the hole! He holds his arms out wide in Rapinoesque celebration, then licks a finger and performs the internationally recognised mime for chalking one up. A birdie at last, and he’s +6 again. A wry smile momentarily flickers around the corners of his mouth, but his situation’s not so great and his mood quickly reverts to pensive-stroke-misery.
Yuki Inamori is playing in his first Open, reward for winning last year’s Japan Open. The 24-year-old from Kagoshima, Japan has yet to make a mark outside his home tour - a couple of middling performances in the States this year, one cut missed in Europe - until now, that is. Birdies at 2, 3 and now 11, the latest the result of an approach that kicked off a hillock to the right of the green and gathered towards the hole. He’s -3.
A lovely tee shot from Justin Rose at the tricky 16th. He uses a little of the camber on the left edge of the green to kick his ball towards the hole, then he arrows in the dead-straight 15-footer he’d left himself. He quietly rises to -2. Meanwhile some less agreeable news for fans of English golf ... Danny Willett had been going along nicely after three birdies in a row around the turn. But a double at 11 knocked his equilibrium, and there followed two more bogeys, at 12 and 17, plus another double at 14. He ended up with an extremely disappointing three-over 74.
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Rahm doesn’t give his birdie effort enough on the right. That’s a poor putt, but he remains a shot clear at the top. Tiger however can’t get up and down from the deep bunker. Half in the trap, half out, he can only power-hoick his ball up onto the green, the truculent little orb stopping dead 40 feet from the hole. Another bogey, and he’s +7 now.
Lee Westwood sends a lovely snaking putt into the cup at the long par-three 16th from 40 feet. Over a bump, right to left, left to right, then back left again at the final turn. A birdie that takes the major-championship nearly man to -2. What a story this could be if the 46-year-old from Worksop finally achieves his potential just before the sands of time run out. A long way to go yet, of course, but we’re all allowed to dream. It’s free and you can’t stop us.
It’s very mild at Portrush now. A low, bronze sun shimmering. Not too much wind. No rain. The late starters are enjoying the best of today’s weather. The leader Rahm caresses an iron into the heart of the 200-yard par-three 13th. He’s pin high and will take a look at birdie from 15 feet. Tiger’s woes continue, however, as he sends his approach at 14 into a deep bunker to the left of the green. This round is turning into a McIlroyesque disaster. (Let’s not riff on poor old David Duval’s pain again.)
Rahm whistles his second into the heart of 12. Two careful putts later and that’s a bounce-back birdie that gives him sole ownership of the lead once again. Big Dustin follows up birdie at 13 with a fuss-free par at 14. He remains at -1, a shot behind his playing partner Jason Day who also pars.
-5: Rahm (12)
-4: Lowry (F), Holmes (16)
-3: Noren (F), Simpson (F), Garcia (F), Frittelli (F), MacIntyre (F), Aphibarnrat (F), Fox (F), Hatton (F), Fleetwood (F), Koepka (F), Finau (14)
After Jordan Spieth’s aforementioned birdie at 12, the 2017 champ parred his way home. He signs for a one-under 70. Cameron Smith nearly slam-dunks a chip into the cup at 18 for an outrageous birdie from atop a grassy knoll. But it’s just par and he’s signing for a 70 as well.
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Rahm responds by crashing a big drive down the par-five 12th. Up on the green, Patrick Reed makes birdie to get himself back to level par. And a nice up and down from a shallow swale to the side of 14 by Justin Rose. A par that keeps him at -1.
A first bogey of the day for Jon Rahm. The slip sends him back into a tie for the lead at -4 with Shane Lowry and JB Holmes. Meanwhile the 2015 PGA champion Jason Day - who came within a shot of making the play-off at St Andrews that same year - has been going along nicely, without fuss or fanfare. Birdies at 5 and 9 saw him hit the turn in 34; it’s been pars all the way since. He’s -2 through 13.
-4: Lowry (F), Holmes (15), Rahm (11)
-3: Noren (F), Simpson (F), Garcia (F), Frittelli (F), MacIntyre (F), Aphibarnrat (F), Fox (F), Hatton (F), Fleetwood (F), Koepka (F), Finau (13)
Nonuple bogey alert!
An update on David Duval. Turns out his octuple-bogey 13 on 7 wasn’t a 13 after all. It was a 14. A nonuple bogey, then. And that’s a round of 91. Still not quite as bad as Ian Baker-Finch’s effort at Troon in 1997, but that’s a low bar for a former champion to clear. So here’s what happened: he lost his first two tee shots, then sent his third into deep rough. At which point he played the wrong ball, a mistake only discovered up on the green. So he had to go back to the tee having been hit with three penalties for lost balls, plus a two-stroke penalty for playing the wrong ball. He teed off for the fourth time, and took six from there. All of which adds up to 14.
JB Holmes continues his slow climb up the rankings. He joins clubhouse leader Shane Lowry in second place, following his birdie at 12 with another at 14. This one’s the reward for rolling in a 30-footer.
-5: Rahm (10)
-4: Lowry (F), Holmes (14)
-3: Noren (F), Simpson (F), Garcia (F), Frittelli (F), MacIntyre (F), Aphibarnrat (F), Fox (F), Hatton (F), Fleetwood (F), Koepka (F), Finau (13)
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A garden-variety par for Brooks Koepka coming up the last, and he signs for a 68. He’s the tenth player to do so today. Chances are he won’t be the last. Bogey for Louis Oosthuizen, though, and the 2010 champ settles for a slightly disappointing 70. Shots gone at 16 and 18. And par for great young Indian hope Shubhankar Sharma; the 22-year-old cards an almost-Faldoesque card of 17 pars and a birdie at 13. He’s -1, and looks happy enough with his day’s work.
Tommy Fleetwood isn’t far away from draining a 60-footer across 18 to finish like Kiradech Aphibarnrat. But he’s happy enough with par, and that’s a blemish-free round of 68. He’s in the big group at -3. Meanwhile Justin Rose keeps pootling along in steady fashion, with a birdie at 12. He’s -1.
Many thanks to David. So before we concentrate on the live action, another quick word on Ryan Fox’s record-breaking back nine at the Open of 29. He birdied every hole from 12 to 18, with the exception of Calamity, the par-three 16th. The previous record of 30 was set by Eric Brown at Lythan in 1958, and has since been matched by Tommy Nakajima (1986 Troon), Ross Drummond (Muirfield 1987), Mark Brooks (Turnberry 1994), Phil Mickelson (St Andrews 2000), Stuart Appelby (Muirfield 2002), Kenichi Kuboya (Turnberry 2009), Rory McIlroy (St Andrews 2010) and Justin Rose (last year at Carnoustie). He’s -3 ... which is now two off the lead, because Jon Rahm has made it three birdies in a row, at 9. He turns in 31 (which seeing we’re on the subject, is three shots shy of the Open front-nine record, 28, set by Denis Durnian at Birkdale in 1983).
-5: Rahm (9)
-4: Lowry (F)
While Tyrrell Hatton’s team tell him it was a great day really, Tiger continues to leak oil. He’s reached the turn in +6 and that’s so bad it’s one worse than Rory managed on the front nine. Back to the top and Rahm sets up another birdie chance, this one from about 20 feet at 9. It must definitely be getting chillier as Rahm has boosted his outerware with a gilet.
Righty, on that note I shall hand you back to a refreshed Scott Murray.
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In a blink of an eye, the four-way tie for the lead is halved. Hatton’s bogey at 18 is expected but Koepka’s at 17 is not. Par putts from four feet in majors are gimmes for the American but he pushes this one right and it doesn’t even touch the hole. His first mistake of the day leaves Lowry and Rahm - both Irish Open winners - in tied first.
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Tyrrell Hatton nearly got through 18 holes without blowing a fuse but the lid has come off at the last. He hacks out of the rough, looks furious and we’re just grateful there’s not a big branch and a red mini in the vicinity. After clearing his head and possibly counting to ten, Hatton plays a solid approach to 20 feet so could still escape with a par.
Ryan Fox, so cruelly beaten by two monster putts from Russell Knox (Knox sinks Fox) in the Irish Open two years ago, has come home in 29! What a response from the Kiwi after a 3-over 39 on the front nine. Back at 7 and Rahm completes the job by rolling in his birdie putt to join Lowry, Hatton and Koepka in a tie for first place on -4.
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Rahm’s charge continues. The Spaniard has his tail up, flighting an approach to 8 which grabs and sucks back to about four feet. Some real action on that ball which highlights the soft conditions. Another squally shower passes through but it’s a brief appearance with minimal inconvenience.
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Tyrrell Hatton joins the lead! The Englishman makes it a three-way tie at the top by draining a 20-footer across the green at 17. A birdie at 18 will give him the new clubhouse lead although that’s a big ask given how it’s playing. With the weather calming again, more and more afternoon starters are infiltrating the leaderboard and among those at -3 now is double Irish Open champion Jon Rahm thanks to a birdie at 7.
The sweet-swinging Louis Oosthuizen cruises to -3 and just one off the pace. The South African won the Open at St Andrews in 2010 and lost a play-off at the Old Course in 2015 but he’s not managed another top 15 in his other seven starts in this event. Favourite Oosthuizen fact: he celebrated his 2010 Open win by buying a tractor for his farm. I’m sure many of us would have done the same.
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With a quadruple-bogey at 1, Rory found a spectacular way to get to +4 but Tiger Woods has arrived there more by slow death. He looks cold, weary and out of synch. Tiger opened steadily enough but has slid down to tied 120th with a run of bogey, double bogey, bogey at 5, 6 and 7. Tiger can still strut his stuff at Augusta National on a Sunday but can he do it on rainy evening in Ireland on a Thursday, asked the critics? Not so far it would seem.
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Tyrrell Hatton comes within a whisker of joining Lowry and Koepka at the top of the charts. His pitch over a valley checks up on its second bounce and does a little dance around the hole, just failing to topple in. The Englishman is a two-time winner of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and has been showing signs of a return to form in recent weeks. He stays one back and in a big tie for third which includes Tommy Fleetwood. Tyrrell and Tommy, a pair of cheeky scamps, possibly from the 1940s.
Koepka hits a lovely second into the 15th and has a 15-footer to take the lead on his own. In theory, this is the stretch of the course where Royal Portrush bites back. Looking at the hardest holes on the course today, the 18th is ranked second (4.37) while 15, 16 and 17 are sixth, fourth and third respectively. Not that Koepka will be bothered.
Brooks Koepka shares the lead in another major. Wow. The guy is so serene he must have a TV in every room. One for Monkees fans there. Yep, Koepka is at it again, sauntering along and, before you know, hitting top spot without appearing to do that much. For the first time in many an hour, Shane Lowry has company at the top.
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Hello again from Royal Portrush just as one of those pesky squally showers passes through. It’s been t-shirt weather for a while but caddies are reaching into bags for raingear. The good thing is these little bursts don’t last long and the weather looks pretty decent for the rest of the day.
Jordan Spieth made bogey at 11. Coming hot off the heels of that double at 8, he’d wiped out all his early gains and was back at level par. But the chap from Dallas is made of strong stuff, and he’s instantly bounced back with birdie at 12 to move back into red figures. Incidentally, apologies for mistakenly referring to Spieth as simply “he” when reporting that double on 8. Fixed that now. Many thanks to a couple of friendly eagle-eyed readers for spotting the error, including blood pressure’s Alan Hardy, who spluttered: “It would have been nice if you’d told us who the ‘he’ you were referring to is at 15.38 actually was. Yes, I know it’s Jordan Spieth, but I wish I didn’t have to do the research for you highly paid ‘journalists’.” Blimey. That’s me told. I haven’t seen anyone get so hot under the collar about the use of a pronoun since the emergence of Jordan Peterson.
And with that, I’m going to sit on the naughty step in my hairshirt for a while. David Tindall will be your loving guide while I repent.
Patrick Cantlay posted top-ten finishes at the Masters and the PGA. His quest for another high finish at a major looks to be starting well, with birdies at 2 and 5. He’s -2. Matt Kuchar is gong round with him, and he’s done exactly the same thing, step by step. And birdie for Justin Thomas, who has responded to slipping to three over through 4 with birdies at 5, 9, 10 and now 14. He’s -1 and just three off the lead!
Even the greatest can thin a chip straight through the green. And that’s what Tiger’s just done from the bottom of the hill to the side of 6. The ball initially threatens to snag on a hairy hillock, before toppling back down another swale. He does extremely well to bump up to six feet, but he can’t knock in the bogey putt. A double, and that’s three shots shed in two holes. He’s +3.
Brooks Koepka spurns a fine chance to grab himself a share of the lead at 13, having knocked his tee shot to six feet. That was always heading left, most uncharacteristically. He stays at -3. Erik van Rooyen meanwhile tugs at a short one on 15, and he slips back to -2.
Another birdie for Tyrrell Hatton! This one comes at 14, and he’s the latest of the later starters to join the ever-growing group a shot behind the leader Shane Lowry at -3. Back on the par-three 6th, Tiger pulls his tee shot into the deep swale to the left of the green. That’ll be a testing up and down. The 15-time major winner’s post-Augusta malaise continues ... for now, anyway. There’s always time.
Dustin finally gets his flat stick going! A lovely tee shot at 6, over the flag to eight feet, and he guides in the putt. He returns to level par. Tiger however makes a terrible error with the putter on 5, leaving a 40-foot birdie effort 12 feet short. The greens are running at around 10 on the stimp, not exactly PGA Tour speeds, but there’s no excuse for that. The mistake costs Tiger a shot, and he slips to +1.
A couple of big rakes. Erik van Rooyen tickles in a long downhill effort on 14, while Tommy Fleetwood converts from distance at 13. Birdies that take both men to -3. They’re alongside Brooks Koepka, who nearly drains an eagle putt on 12. Instead he taps in to calmly rise up an increasingly exciting leaderboard.
-4: Lowry (F)
-3: Noren (F), Simpson (F), Garcia (F), Frittelli (F), MacIntyre (F), Aphibarnrat (F), Van Rooyen (14), Fleetwood (13), Koepka (12)
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Lee Westwood has finished second at the Open on one occasion (2010), third twice (2009 and 2013) and fourth once (2004). Throw in a tie for tenth back in 1997, and there are a lot of what-ifs in a Montgomeriesque career. If he wants to land that elusive major, his time is running out: he’s 46 years old. That might explain the zeal with which he’s begun his round today. Responding to bogey at 4, he’s carded three birdies in a row, at 5, 6 and 7. He’s -2!
When Dustin Johnson putts well, he’s practically unstoppable. But he’s not putting well. Having fired a long putt miles past the hole at 4, leading to a three-putt bogey, he leaves an eagle putt ten feet short at 5, having driven the green. The par putt inevitably drifts by the left of the cup. He remains at +1. Meanwhile back to back birdies for Thomas Pieters, at 12 and 13. The big Belgian is -2.
A cool start to the week for everyone’s favourite entertaining hothead Tyrrell Hatton. Birdies at 5 and now 12 have whisked him up the standings to -2. The 27-year-old Ryder Cup hero from High Wycombe already has a top-five finish at the Open to his name. He’d have been just two off winner JB Holmes at Troon in 2016, if you factor out Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson, that is, on account of their playing another tournament. Anyway, he takes his good form from last week’s Scottish Open to the Antrim coast.
Justin Rose drops back to level par after a wild tee shot at 4 forces him to take a drop. Dustin Johnson also finds himself heading the wrong way: after opening with three pars, he trundles a heavy handed putt 15 feet past the flag, and can’t save himself coming back. He’s +1.
Birdie for Jon Rahm at 2. He’s -1, as is Tony Finau , who makes one at 4. Tiger sticks his tee shot at 3 to eight feet, but can’t make his birdie putt and that’s three pars in a row. Birdies at 8, 9 and 10 for the former Masters champion Danny Willett! He’s -3 already, just one off Shane Lowry’s lead. Willett has a decent if not spectacular record at the Open: a tie for sixth in 2015, and a tie for 15th in 2013. It’d be lovely to see him finish high this week, putting an end to his elongated post-Augusta comedown.
More from a downcast Rory McIlroy. “I didn’t hit it well enough, I didn’t put it in the right positions. I put myself behind the eight-ball from the start. I thought if I could have got home and shot, maybe, two over par for the day, I could have still been in the tournament. But obviously the finish derailed that a little bit. I’ve always said I always get nervous on the first tee, whether it’s the Open at Portrush or any other tournament. I’m always anxious to get going. But it almost settled me down: I can’t get off to a worse start, so you may as well get your head down and keep trying. The support was fantastic, I really appreciated it. A rough start and a rough finish, and it adds up to a pretty dreadful score.” Hats off to him for coming out and answering those questions - there are many sports stars who wouldn’t - especially as he looked utterly dejected, his dream of winning the Open on home soil up in smoke. A thoroughly depressing watch. Ah well, he’ll always have Hoylake.
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Say what you like about Rory McIlroy, he always comes out to talk to his public. Here he is, talking to Sky after that horror-show 79. “Obviously when you play the first and last holes in a combined seven over par, you’re making life tough for yourself! I was understandably nervous on the first tee. I hit a bad tee shot OB. Got a bad lie with the second and had to take an unplayable, obviously it wasn’t the ideal start. But after that I felt I battled back and showed some resilience. A couple of birdies, then held it together in some difficult conditions at the start of the back nine. But I lost concentration a bit after the missed par putt on 16, and then hit a tee shot a couple of yards offline on 18 and got a dreadful lie. So it was one of those days.”
Callum Shinkwin is best known for his near miss at the 2017 Scottish Open. But could things be about to change for the 26-year-old from Watford? Birdies at 12 and 15 have lifted him up the leaderboard to -2. Rory Sabbatini, once of South Africa but now a citizen of Slovakia, has birdied 10 and 11 to rise to -2 as well. Erik van Rooyen, who had a good run at the PGA this year, has birdied 9 and 11; he’s -2 as well. And completing the set of new faces at -2: JB Holmes, who started with bogey but has since birdied 2, 3 and 5.
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An eventful end to Kevin Kisner’s round. Bogey-birdie-birdie-bogey. He finishes with a 70. A fine round, though it promised to be so much better: he was four under through eight holes. But it’s a birdie for Rickie Fowler at the last, and he’ll be happier to sign for exactly the same score.
Rory also isn’t the only big name to suffer a rush of blood to the neep on the greens. On 8, Spieth misreads a putt so badly that Laura Davies on Sky describes it as “a wide”. Then he yips the three-footer he’s left himself. The brake is applied to his fast start. A double that clatters him back down the standings to -1.
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Rory McIlroy isn’t the only big name to have suffered a collapse today. Adam Scott had been talked up, supposedly on song during the practice days. But he never really recovered from a double-bogey at 2. A bounce-back birdie at 3 was a false dawn; he went on to bogey 7, 9, 13 and 15, before making another double at 17. He finished up with a 78. He’s +7. We’ve already heard about Phil Mickelson’s 76. Ian Poulter ended up with a 75, as did Padraig Harrington. And alongside defending champion Francesco Molinari in the clubhouse at +3: the US Open champ Gary Woodland, the 2015 Open winner Zach Johnson, Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau. Links golf on an inclement day, huh.
Tiger, having lashed his opening tee shot into thick rough, sends his second at 1 into a bunker guarding the front left of the green. He faces a long sand shot, and can only get his ball to 20 feet. But in goes the putt, and the great man saves an unlikely par. However his tee shot at the par-five 2nd scampers into a fairway bunker, so he’ll have a little bit of work to do again.
... while McIlroy slumps to 79
The gallery watch Rory McIlroy walk up the last in embarrassed silence. Finally a small smattering of sympathetic applause breaks out. After another wayward tee shot, he’s hitting four into the green, and sends it long and right, into a clump of bother near the grandstand. He’s shortsided, a terribly tricky hack out. He lands the ball as softly as he can onto the downslope, and it whistles past the hole. He’ll have a ten-footer coming back for double bogey. It’s always missing on the right. Having started with a quadruple bogey, he ends with a triple. That’s a spirit-crushing 79. He’s +8, and it’s a long time until the first Sunday in April and the next major at Augusta.
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Duval signs for a 90 ...
It’s an opening round of 74 for the defending champion Francesco Molinari. Far from ideal, but it could have been worse, much worse. Consider one David Duval, who puts his name to a thoroughly dispiriting 90. That’s the worst round by a former champion since Ian Baker-Finch misplaced his mojo completely at Troon in 1997, shooting a 92 that stopped a stellar career in its tracks. Henry Cotton shot 93 at Turnberry in 1977, but he was 70 years old at the time. Duval was two under after the first two holes, but went on to card six bogeys, a triple, a quadruple and a octuple. He’s +19 and - this won’t surprise you - in last position.
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One of the loudest cheers of the day as Tiger takes to the tee. He’s got a history of dreadful first shots at the Open, and this one isn’t great, off to the left. But while it snags in the thick stuff, at least it’s not gone OB like Rory’s a few hours ago. Speaking of McIlroy, he nearly goes from the ridiculous to the sublime, an inch away from draining a monster birdie putt on 17. But it stays out on the lip. When it’s not your day, it’s not your day. Any weekend hacker will sympathise. Another example of why golf is the most relatable sport of all.
An opening birdie for Justin Rose. Kevin Kisner rakes in a long one on 16 to move back to -1. Meanwhile Xander Schauffele, who started so strongly with birdies at 1, 2 and 5, ended the day with 74. He was back in 39, having doubled 11 and bogeyed 16 and 18. He’s +3.
McIlroy’s race is run, and we’re only halfway into day one. He pulls a three-foot par putt on 16 left of the hole ... then doesn’t bother thinking about the tap-in coming back. He shoves it right from inside a foot. A double bogey. That was beyond careless. Back to +5, and back to the drawing board, because it’ll be another year without a major title. On Sky, co-commentator Paul Azinger suggests he’s going into the biggest tournaments with his mind all out of whack: he’s trying to treat the majors as any other championship ... but they’re not, they’re just not.
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Another birdie for Jordan Spieth! That one comes at the short par-four 5th, and the 2017 champ is flying. He’s -3. His pal Justin Thomas, a couple of holes ahead, is however struggling. Having opened with bogey, then made a double at 4, he’s repaired some of the damage with birdie at 5. But now at the par-five 7th, he’s left himself with a testing 12 footer to save his par. In it goes, but he stays at +2, and doesn’t look too happy with life at the moment. His playing partner Tommy Fleetwood birdies, though, his second of the day after the shot picked up at 3. Some of the later starters beginning to make inroads at the top of the leaderboad.
-4: Lowry (F)
-3: Noren (F), Simpson (F), Garcia (F), Frittelli (F), MacIntyre (F), Aphibarnrat (F), Spieth (5)
-2: Langasque (F), Kim (14), Fleetwood (7), Koepka (6)
Nothing much rattles Brooks Koepka. He sends a double cross into the par-three 6th, and is left with a huge putt across the green. A good 70 feet or so. Most folk would do well to get it down in two; Koepka very nearly drains it. The ball stops one turn away, and he tidies up for par. He stays at -2.
It’s a thoroughly miserable end to local lad Graeme McDowell’s day. Having been three under through 14, he made two three-putt bogeys, at 15 and 17, and now he flays his tee shot into deep nonsense down the right of 18. The ball’s lost. Back to the tee, and he ends up with a triple bogey. That’s a horror finish, five shots gone in the last four holes. He ends up with a two-over 73, and is the picture of misery as he scuttles off to the sanctuary of the clubhouse. The disappointment of the gallery is palpable. And his compatriot isn’t doing much to cheer them up right now; it’s been pars all the way since the turn for Rory McIlroy, who remains stuck at +3. He’s had a couple of looks at birdie, but nothing’s dropping. Three holes to go. A strong finish could salvage his day. But it’s a hell of a closing stretch, so it’s a big ask.
It’s a major championship, and Brooks Koepka keeps on keepin’ on. A second birdie of the day, this time at 5, and he’s started off very nicely indeed. The four-time major winner is -2 already. We shouldn’t be too surprised at this carry-on. Here are the best cumulative scores to par after the year’s first three majors:
-30: Brooks Koepka
-17: Dustin Johnson
-16: Xander Schauffele
-15: Gary Woodland
-14: Patrick Cantlay
-12: Jon Rahm
-11: Adam Scott
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Kim Si-woo is a major champion in the making. The 24-year-old from Seoul is the youngest-ever winner of the unofficial fifth major, the Players Championship, something he did as a 21-year-old in 2017. So, y’know, QED. But his form going into this championship hasn’t been all that. He’s missed the cut in eight of his last nine tournaments! But quality will always out, and he’s going along very nicely today. Birdies at 2, 7 and now 12, more than offsetting bogey at 8, and he’s -2.
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Jordan Spieth has been going through a barren spell. His last tournament win was the 2017 Open at Birkdale, the Titleist trucks, the birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie response, all that. But the flame’s been showing signs of flickering back into life: a tie for third at the PGA, plus another couple of top tens on Tour. Now he’s clacked his tee shot at 3 to ten feet, and calmly rolled in the putt. It’s only a matter of time before he ends his drought, and you wouldn’t put it past the young Texan ending it here. He’s -2.
What a finish to the round for Kiradech Aphibarnrat! Always an exciting watch, he rattles in a 40-footer up the green for his third birdie of the day. No dropped shots, so that’s a very satisfying 68 for the Thai star. He’s one off the lead. No John Daly this week, the injured 1995 winner not allowed to go round in his mobility cart. So it’s good to see his spiritual successor taking up that particular everyman-style slack.
-4: Lowry (F)
-3: Noren (F), Simpson (F), Garcia (F), Frittelli (F), MacIntyre (F), Aphibarnrat (F)
Another shot dropped by Kevin Kisner, this time at the par-five 12th. He slips to -1. McIlroy nearly drains a long birdie putt on the par-three 13th, but the ball turns off to the left at the last. He’s still at +3. And it’s two shots gone in three holes for G-Mac, who leaves a long birdie putt well short, then fails to tidy up. His mood has suddenly turned a bit sour, and no wonder: that’s two three-putts in the last three holes. (Well, technically he was just off the green with his first putt at 17, but that’s how it’ll feel to the 2010 US Open champ.)
It’s suddenly stopped pelting down, and the sun’s out. You have got to love the Open. Some early birdie action for the 2017 champion Jordan Spieth, and the 2016 Masters winner Danny Willett. Both birdie 2 to move to -1. Aaron Wise birdies the opening hole; he’s -1 through 3.
McIlroy sends an excellent lob up from the swale to six feet, and scrambles his par. But having crashed a fine drive down that par five, he’ll be disappointed nevertheless. A good opportunity to repair some more of all that early damage has been spurned. He remains at +3. His partner Paul Casey slips back to level par meanwhile after horseshoeing out from 12 feet.
So much for McIlroy’s comeback. He sends his second at the par-five 12th into a thicket to the left of the green, and his third squirts out and down a bank over the other side. He’ll have his work cut out to get up and down for par from there. Meanwhile up ahead, some news of the defending champ Francesco Molinari. Hopes of becoming the first man to retain the Open since Padraig Harrington in 2008 already look slim: having birdied 2, he’s subsequently bogeyed 6, 11 and now 12. Throw in a double at 8, and he’s +4. Two of Europe’s biggest hopes suffering today.
Emiliano Grillo’s hole in one at 13 was the first ace at the Open since Louis Oosthuizen made one on 14 at Troon in 2016. Much good it did him, though. He made after-the-lord-mayor’s-show bogeys at 14 and 15, and ended up signing for a two-over 73. That triple at 5 didn’t help. Meanwhile a lip-out bogey for Robert MacIntyre at 18, and he slips out of the lead. And it’s a 73 for Beef, who was three over coming back home.
-4: Lowry (F)
-3: Noren (F), Simpson (F), Garcia (F), Frittelli (F), MacIntyre (F)
-2: Langasque (F), Aphibarnrat (16), McDowell (16), Kisner (10)
Brooks Koepka has such a delicate touch around the greens. Having reached the front edge of the par-five 2nd, he sends a chip bouncing up the green, then biting and spinning slowly towards the hole. Almost as though the ball is on remote control. That’s a kick-in birdie, and he moves into red for the first time this week. The 2010 champ Louis Oosthuizen rattles in a 15-footer for his birdie, and he’s -1 too. And up on 3, Tommy Fleetwood cards his first birdie of the day with a 30-foot roller.
Dylan Frittelli, who only secured his place here by winning the John Deere last week, makes his first bogey of the day on 18. Always a punch to the guts, but he’ll have taken a three-under 68 this morning. Fine par saves for McIlroy (+3) and Paul Casey (-1) at 11. But G-Mac misreads a short par putt on 15 to drop his first stroke of the day. He’s -2 again.
Robert MacIntyre - with a couple of second-place finishes to his name on the European Tour this season - joins Lowry and Frittelli in the lead at -4! He rakes in a 30-footer on the 17th. Tommy Fleetwood misses a short birdie effort on 2, such a shame after an approach dialled in to six feet. And some breaking news on 12, where David Duval makes a par. His second in eight holes. Four bogeys. One quadruple. One octuple. Oh David! “Are we officially on Sergio Watch yet?” wonders Hubert O’Hearn. “Be a fine thing for a fine young Irish lad like Sergy O’Garcia to win on our moss-covered Open. I’m trusting on our weather to douse the course overnight at least twice over the next three days (safest prediction I’ve ever made) to keep the fire out of the greens so our man can give putts a good old whack instead of the tiddlers and topplers that make his fingers twitch. Slainte Sergio!”
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Brooks Koepka is out and about. The reigning PGA champion pars the opening hole without too much fuss, but it doesn’t look as though he’s going to enjoy the best of the weather. It is positively pelting down now.
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Eagle-eyed readers will have noticed that Kevin Kisner has slipped off the leader board. That’s the result of wanging his approach at 9 into a bush and running up a double bogey. He still turns in 34, mind you, sitting nicely at -2. But some harder holes to follow.
A miserable end to the round for Webb Simpson. A weak chip from a tight lie to the side of 17 cost him one shot, then another goes down the last. Still, he’s back in the hut with a fine 68. His playing partner Sergio also signs for a 68, and looks very happy with his lot as well. His mood may augur well for the rest of the week. Can he put the demons of 2007 and 2014 behind him? It’d be lovely to see, especially as he’s done bugger all in the majors since slipping on that green jacket a couple of years ago.
-4: Lowry (F), Frittelli (17)
-3: Noren (F), Simpson (F), Garcia (F), MacIntyre (16), McDowell (14)
Octuple bogey alert!
Thanks David. Now then, before I get back to business, a word on David Duval. You may remember his eight at the 5th. Well, he’s followed that up with a 13 (!) at 7. Details are a little sketchy, but it would seem he ended up hitting such a bad provisional off the tee that a second was required ... and then he played the wrong one. For a while, he was reported to have run up 15 on the hole, but that’s been revised down by the match referee. Just a octuple bogey, then! By way of comparison, the biggest number on Maurice Flitcroft’s infamous card of 121 in the 1976 qualifiers was a 12 (though to be fair, there was a question mark beside that one). Anyway, the former champ has since dropped another couple of strokes, and is currently +13 through 10. Conclusive proof, if you required it, that 2001 is an awfully long time ago.
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Another birdie for Rory McIlroy, this time at 9. That’s two birdies in three holes and +3 after 9 means his outward score could be downgraded from disastrous to disappointing. Is he back in the game? I’ll hand back to Scott Murray to guide you through Rory’s back nine.
An Irishman, who teed off this morning, leads the Open at Royal Portrush. Nope, not Rory McIlroy but Clara native Shane Lowry. An excellent 4-under 67 is two better than the early target posted by Frenchman Romain Langasque. Lowry has missed his last four Open cuts which comes as a surprise. On each occasion, a slow start has undermined his challenge and today’s 67 is his lowest round-one score in eight appearances. The last time Lowry shot in the 60s at an Open he took tied ninth at Royal Liverpool so this could prove an excellent foundation.
Shane Lowry’s strong opening round is almost at conclusion. It’s been an excellent morning’s work from the Irishman but he’s just fighting his swing a little as the finishing line approaches. A rather weary Lowry gives it the big lean as his approach to 18 soars towards the green and his body language gives it away. Short, right and into a greenside bunker. An up and down will give him a 67 and the new clubhouse lead of 4-under.
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Fun fact: Rory McIlroy’s caddie, Harry Diamond, played in the 2012 Irish Open held at Portrush. He missed the cut after rounds of 77-74 although did beat several well-known names, including 2005 US Open champion Michael Campbell and European Tour winners George Coetzee and Scott Jamieson. Meanwhile, his boss (and childhood buddy) Rory just misses a curling 20-foot birdie effort at 8. Shame. That would have been back-to-back gains and perhaps the start of a move. McIlroy remains tied 79th and nine back from leader Webb Simpson.
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The last six golfers to have a piece of the first-round lead at an Open were all Americans. And generally elite ones at that - Kevin Kisner, Jordan Spieth, Matt Kuchar, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson. Webb Simpson is upholding that tradition and rolls in a six-foot putt at 15 to stay one clear. Ten pars, five birdies and -5 with three to play.
Birdie for Rory. A first red number of the day for the local hero and just a little spring in his step as he walks off the side of the 7th green after rolling in an eight-footer on the second of the front nine’s par 5s. A positive take is that he’s played his last six holes in even-par following the quadruple-bogey horror show at the first hole. Some context of his performance so far is provided by the bookmakers. Before his first shot, Rory traded at 8/1. When he faced further ruin at the fifth, McIlroy touched 66/1. Following the birdie at 7, he’s a more cautious 28/1.
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Fake news. One early press tent rumour was that Alex Noren was playing poorly in practice. Not a big surprise given his somewhat indifferent form this season. That said, whilst getting a thorough drenching when walking the course yesterday afternoon, I stumbled upon the Swede and saw him play a wonderful approach to the tough 11th for what would have been a kick-in birdie. A birdie at that very same hole today has helped ignite an early challenge and he’s still one of the early pacesetters at -3 after 15.
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Let’s talk about Henrik Stenson. The man who epitomises Swedish cool is a likely contender this week having won at Royal Troon in 2016 and accumulated a trio of other top three Open finishes. He warmed up with a top four in last week’s Scottish Open and has reached the turn here in 1-under, strolling off the green after a par at 9. Current status: lurking.
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The PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic would seem a strange way to prepare for an Open. It’s played on a parkland course in nice weather and requires an absurd about of birdies if you want to win it. And yet, two of the last four Open winners - Zach Johnson (2015) and Francesco Molinari (2018) - had used it as their Open warm-up. Last week’s John Deere was won by South African Dylan Frittelli with 21-under and, lo and behold, he’s upholding the curious John Deere-Open link with a fast start here, moving to 3-under after 12 and just two off the lead.
Rory’s hole scores so far: 8-5-4-4-4-3. Well, at least the trend is going in the right direction. Not sure he can make a 2 on the par-5 7th mind but it does represent a good chance to finally get a birdie on the board. If it’s any consolation (it isn’t), he’s not the only former Open champion to have put a ‘snowman’ on his card today. David Duval, the 2001 Lytham champion, was bowling along nicely after a birdie-birdie start but then followed a pair of bogeys with an eight at the fifth. Back at the top, fellow major winner Webb Simpson is the first man to hit -5 after a birdie at 13. He leads by one.
Here comes Sergio! Garcia, he of 10 Open top 10s, bursts into tied fourth spot after a birdie at 12, the final of the three par 5s at Royal Portrush.
I’ve just stuck my head outside the media centre and the wind is picking up. Nothing too severe yet but trousers are flapping and comb-overs starting to stand tall. Grey clouds are lurking but no sign of a downpour yet.
So, a WGC winner, a Wentworth winner and a US Open winner share the lead at -4. That’s Lowry, Noren and Simpson. As for Rory, some good news at last. His ball is found and he gets a serious break with a line-of-sight drop thanks to the scoreboard. He hacks on to the green and actually has a putt for birdie which doesn’t drop but a further crisis avoided. Then again, +5 after 5 is not good, unless you like nice symmetry.
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Webb Simpson is hot, hot, hot. It’s now four birdies in five holes, the latest at 11, and he joins the leaders at -4. Alex Noren is now one of those lads, having followed up birdie at 11 with another at 12. Kevin Kisner is going along nicely, too, with eagle at 2 and birdie at 4. And big-hitting Luke List makes good use of his distance with eagle at 2. Here’s the always evolving leaderboard as it stands ...
-4: Lowry (13), Noren (12), Simpson (11)
-3: Langasque (15), Pepperell (13), MacIntyre (10), Kisner (4)
... and with that, I’m off for a little break. David Tindall will be your guide until I next see you. Anon!
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A fair chance that McIlroy has lost his ball on 5. He sends a huge slice off towards some mutant curly kale down the right. It disappears into the verdant nonsense. Problem is, the stewards were looking for Paul Casey’s tee shot at the time, which was terrible enough but not quite so awful, and so they didn’t see where McIlroy’s effort landed. God speed, Rory. Just as well for the home crowds that G-Mac is going along nicely: birdie at 7 to follow the shot he’d picked up at 2, and he’s -2.
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Par for Darren Clarke down the last. And the man who took the first stroke this morning is the first man back in the clubhouse. A fine 71. The Amateur Champion James Sugrue also signs for a 71. Both men get a rousing reception from the Portrush punters. And the third member of the opening group, Charley Hoffman, departs with a 70. All three will be a little disappointed right now, having bogeyed 16 and 17, dragging each other down. But all three would have taken those cards in the morning, surely.
It’s all change at the top yet again. Bogey for MacIntyre at 9, and he’s replaced at -4 by Lowry, who bounces back with birdie at 12, rolling in a fine 15-footer. Birdies for Pepperell - at 13, his third in four holes - and Noren, at 11, fatten up the group in second place.
-4: Lowry (12)
-3: Langasque (14), Pepperell (13), Noren (11) Simpson (10), MacIntyre (9)
Phil Mickelson’s hopes of a second Open Championship look as slim as his all-new waistline. Bogeys at 9 and now 11 have furthered his fall down the leaderboard; he’s +3. Here, can you picture that police car (9.06am) bobbing off towards Islay, atop some foamy waves, a confused Phil in the passenger seat trying to read an upside-down map, red-faced Rory at the wheel tapping frantically into the sat-nav? Yes, me too.
More bad luck for the Irish. Lowry’s always out of position coming down 11. He very nearly drains a 30-footer for par, but that’s his first bogey of the day, and he drops out of the lead. Clarke meanwhile makes a second bogey in as many holes, this time at 17. He old boy’s tired since his hot start over the first five holes. Five bogeys and just two birdies since then. He’s back to level par and struggling to hold a brave smile for the gallery. Belated news of Romain Langasque, who birdied 12. He takes Xander Schauffele’s spot at -3, the Californian having bogeyed 6 to slip back to -2. And he’s passed by Webb Simpson going the other way: his third birdie in four holes, at 10, takes the North Carolinian to -3.
-4: MacIntyre (8)
-3: Langasque (13), Lowry (11), Simpson (10)
McIlroy was five over after the first six holes at Birkdale in 2017, yet still finished the week in a tie for fourth. He’ll have to pull something similar out of the bag if he’s to have any hope whatsoever this week, because his chip up onto the green only just fails to topple back down the bank. He’s left with a 15-footer for par, and a bobbly effort stops just short. He’s +5 after three. He’s beaten his previous worst start in double-quick time.
It’s no longer breaking news, but Rory McIlroy is having an absolute shocker. He’s just sent his tee shot at the par-three 3rd into the lush grass at the back of the green. Up and down for par’s not a pipe dream, but even so, this is awful to watch. A man crumbling to dust under the leaden weight of expectation. “You say Darren Clarke would become the oldest major winner at age 50 were he to win on Sunday, but I think you’ll find that Tom Watson was 59 when he won the Open at Turnberry in 2009. At least that’s how I remember it. Just like I remember Scotland winning the World Cup in 1978, Dundee United the European Cup in 1984, and Colin Montgomerie the US Open in 2006.” Simon McMahon, there, speaking from a parallel universe for so many of us.
It’s been an eventful back nine for Darren Clarke. Having bogeyed 14, he followed up with birdie at 15 and now bogey at 16. He’s still in good nick at -1 though. Molinari, having birdied 2, retains his momentum by rolling in a missable par putt on 3. He stays at -1. His partner Scott, having doubled 2, regains some positivity by raking in a long birdie putt on 3. He’s back to +1.
An eventful par for the new US Open champion Gary Woodland at 2. He whiffs a wedge from thick greenside nonsense, then clips his second attempt to kick-in distance. He’s level par. His partner Paul Casey has also started par-par. And the third member of the group, Rory McIlroy, sets himself up for a birdie attempt that would give him some desperately required succour. But there’s no bounce-back joy as he tugs a horrible putt wide left from six feet. He’s all over the shop, his mind scrambled, poached and Ulster fried.
A huge break for McIlroy on 2, as he lets go of the club on his follow-through while lashing out of the rough. His ball squirts between a couple of fairway bunkers and scampers forward. A chance now to get up and down for a restorative birdie. All the way up the other end of the leaderboard - the pre-tournament favourite McIlroy is currently 60th out of 61 - Lowry birdies 10 and MacIntyre birdies 4. Schauffele keeps on their tail with birdie at 5. So with Hoffman bogeying 16 and Noren dropping one at 9, there’s suddenly some separation at the top!
-4: Lowry (10). MacIntyre (7)
-3: Schauffele (5)
-2: Hoffman (16), Pepperell (10), Noren (9), Simpson (8), Garcia (8), Johnston (7), Im (5), Knox (4), Duval (3)
Another fast start for a Scottish star, as Russell Knox follows birdie at 2 with another at 4. He’s -2, alongside Sergio, who after a long string of pars has carded back-to-back birdies at 7 and 8. The rejuvenated 2012 US Open and 2018 Players champion Webb Simpson, playing alongside Garcia, does exactly the same. He’s -2 as well. And on 2, Rory McIlroy, facing up to another year without a major, sends his drive at the par-five 2nd into the thicker rough down the right. The noggin gone. But he’s not alone, because up on the green, Adam Scott makes a double-bogey seven and slips to +2.
McIlroy runs up quadruple bogey on 1
McIlroy was in deep bracken. So he’s forced to take an unplayable. This is a complete fiasco. He lobs his sixth shot up onto the green, and he’s left with a six-footer. He can’t make it. An opening quadruple-bogey eight. The gallery is stunned into near silence. The expectation too much. Meanwhile birdies for Charley Hoffman at 15, Shane Lowry at 9, and Alex Noren at 8. They all join MacIntyre at -3. McIlroy seven off the lead having played one hole of golf.
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Yep, McIlroy’s first shot was out of bounds. A disastrous start. The sort of thing Tiger has made a habit of doing at the Open over the years, so in that sense it’s a good omen. But it isn’t good, is it. And things continue to unravel as, taking his fourth stroke from the rough down the left, he allows the thick grass to wrap around the hosel. He sends his ball whistling into even thicker nonsense to the left of the green. He’ll do well to make a triple bogey from here. Dear lord.
Here comes Rory. And he might have flayed his opening drive out of bounds down the left. He furrows his brow and mutters the eff-word with great passion and some added feeling. Uh-oh. He’s forced to hit a provisional, and that one goes into the thick rough down the same side too. At least that one’s definitely still on the course.
Hole-in-one for Emiliano Grillo!
Grillo creams an iron into the 200-yard par-three 13th. The ball bounces off the shoulder of a bunker to the left of the green, and is gathered towards the hole by the camber. It rolls gently towards the cup, one of those that you just know is always going in. So satisfying to watch. Grillo - who has also carded a triple bogey today - grins broadly as he flings a dappled souvenir into the crowd. He’s level par for his work so far. His postman has some work to do after all!
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Someone finally breaks clear of the pack at -2! It’s the 22-year-old Scot Robert MacIntyre, whose drive at the short par-four 5th finds the fringe. He rolls home a monster eagle putt and ... well, it’s way too early of course, but it’s the 20-year anniversary of the last Scottish winner of the Open. Anyone who fancies a wander down memory lane could do a lot worse than reading this marvellous piece by Elizabeth Nelson of the Ringer.
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The defending champion Francesco Molinari takes to the first tee. A huge roar of respect - and great fondness - greets the popular Ryder Cup hero, the first Italian to have lifted the Claret Jug. The first shot of his title defence slips just off the left of the fairway, but that’s decent enough. He’s going round with Bryson DeChambeau and 2012’s nearly man Adam Scott. Both find the fairway with their irons. Few would begrudge Scott victory this week, after his heartache at Lytham back in the day, throwing away the title with four bogeys in the last four holes. He’s apparently been playing very well in practice, so perhaps redemption awaits. After Ben Stokes last weekend at Lord’s, perhaps something’s in the air?
It seems like half of the field are at -2. Charley Hoffman joins the gang with birdie at 13. His playing partner Darren Clarke had a good chance to grab the lead for himself after sending his tee shot at the par-three to six feet, but he tugs nervously at the putt and has to make do for a par that keeps him at -2.
Mixed news for fans of Scottish golf. Robert MacIntyre drops a stroke at 4 to slip to -1. But back on the opening hole, Connor Syme looks to be in a spot of bother, having driven into the thick stuff and chipped out. However he sends his wedge bumping into the green, the ball screeching to a halt a couple of inches to the right of the cup, then taking an abrupt left turn and spinning into the hole. What a way to make a birdie! He’s -1 too.
You’ll have noticed a lack of Beef in that leading group. That’s a result of his hacking left and right down 4, finding trouble on both sides of the hole. Bogey, and he slips to -1. G-Mac and Henrik Stenson birdie 2; they’re -1. And it’s back-to-back birdies for Xander Schauffele, who curls in a left-to-right 12-footer on 2 to join the leading group at -2.
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Im Sung-jae looks a proper player. It’s just his first year on the PGA Tour, but he’s already got top-ten finishes at the Safeway Open, the Phoenix Open, the Valspar, the Corales Puntacan and the Canadian Open to his name. The 21-year-old South Korean has opened with a couple of birdies, and he joins a crowded leading group at -2, that also now includes Darren Clarke and James Sugrue, who have both birdied 12, and another amateur in Brandon Wu, who you may recall making the cut at the US Open a couple of months ago.
-2: Clarke (12), Sugrue -a- (12), Wu -a- (9), Langasque (8), Pepperell (7), Lowry (6), Noren (6), Im (2)
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Langasque didn’t have the sole lead for long. Coming up short at 8, he was only able to send his chip up from the bottom of a bank to 12 feet. He missed the putt, and he’s back in the back at -2. Meanwhile a simple two-putt birdie for Ian Poulter at 2: he’s -1.
A super start for Xander Schauffele. Only Brooks Koepka has more top-ten finishes in the majors during the last couple of years. In the mix right up until the end last year at Carnoustie, it’s surely just a matter of time for the 25-year-old from San Diego. He’s unflappable. And in goes a long birdie putt at 1. Pars for his partners G-Mac and the 2016 champ Henrik Stenson.
We have a new leader: Romain Langasque. The 24-year-old Frenchman is a man in form, having finished third at the Scottish Open last week, a couple of strokes behind the Bernd Weisberger / Benjamin Hebert play-off. He rattles in a 20-footer on 7 for his third birdie of the day. Meanwhile James Sugrue finds himself out of position on 11, and though he nearly rescues the situation with a 30-foot par putt, the ball stops a turn short. And his partner Darren Clarke, much to the gallery’s chagrin, makes his second bogey in five holes. Both slip out of the leading bunch, dropping to -1.
-3: Langasque (7)
-2: Pepperell (6), Lowry (5), Noren (5), MacIntyre (3), Johnston (3)
Here comes another gallery favourite: Graeme McDowell of Portrush. He looks anxiously after his tee shot, an iron that just creeps into the thicker stuff down the left. But he might get a good lie. Whatever, he’s got an ear-splitting roar of support at his back. Wait until Rory rocks up in an hour’s time. Meanwhile Sergio has opened with four pars. He might have missed a short birdie effort at 2, but he’s since made a couple of missable par putts, so he’ll be in a reasonable enough mood. He’s level par.
The biggest cheer of the day so far! Why, who could it be? It’s Beef, isn’t it. He finds the par-five 2nd in two big crashes, then rails home a 50-footer for the first eagle of the week! The gallery go wild, as Beef shrugs and smiles, soaking up the love. It’s so good to see the big man back on form. He’s going round with the young Scottish prospect Robert MacIntyre, and the shinty-loving 22-year-old from Oban has opened with a pair of birdies. No sweat, no fuss. And another birdie for Lowry, at 5. This is hotting up nicely now ... though nobody’s been able to make an early break for it.
-2: Clarke (10), Sugrue -a- (10), Langasque (6), Pepperell (5), Lowry (5), Noren (4), MacIntyre (2), Johnston (2)
Another birdie for Padraig Harrington! This one comes at 5. He joins the leaders at -2 ... as does James Sugrue, the amateur bouncing back with birdie at 10. But then Harrington hands his shot straight back after a poor tee shot at the par-three 6th. His place at the top table is taken by Alex Noren: the 37-year-old Swede, who finished in the top ten in 2012 and 2017, follows an opening-hole birdie with a second at 4.
Away from the golf, some local bobbies have got their panda car stuck in sand down on the beach. They’re wheelspinning away, trying in vain to reverse out of bother, and the tide’s coming in. Shoulders to the boot. Heave! No time to spare. Let’s hope they hoick their vehicle out of the big hole they’ve dug for themselves, else both officers find themselves standing impotently on the shore, watching their car bob off towards the North Atlantic, wondering what to tell the duty sergeant when they return, on foot, to the station. Nobody wants to see any of that.
A slow start for the new lo-cal Lefty. Mickelson, slim as a rake after a six-day fast, leaves a chip at 4 well short, and isn’t able to scramble his par. He’s +1. Energy levels low? Meanwhile Sergio’s out and about, and having knocked his approach at 2 to eight feet, misreads the birdie putt and walks off shaking his head. He’s level par. And Darren Clarke reaches the turn in 34, saving his par at 9 after leaving a long putt short. The last three holes have been a struggle for Clarke, but he’s hung on in there.
-2: Clarke (9), Langasque (5), Pepperell (4)
-1: Sugrue -a- (9), Hoffman (9), Levy (7), Harrington (4), Lowry (4), Noren (3), MacIntyre (1)
Beef at breakfast. Andrew Johnston hasn’t been on top of his game for a while now, struggling through some tough times, feeling low. But the wildly popular 30-year-old Londoner rediscovered his form at the Scottish Open last week, shooting a final-day 62 to grab one of the last places at this Open. He cracks an iron down the middle of the opening hole, receiving a welcome barely less wild than the one afforded local hero Darren Clarke at the start of the day. A lovely moment. Meanwhile birdie for another popular Englishman, Eddie Pepperell, this time at 4. He joins Clarke and Langasque in the lead at -2.
Lovely birdie for Shane Lowry at the par-three 3rd. He sends his tee shot over the flag, then guides in a right-to-left curler from 20 feet. Loud cheers as he joins the group at -1. Up on 8, the first backwards stumble by James Sugrue, the amateur left with a ten-footer to save his par. He strikes the putt with confidence, but it lips out on the right. He’s back to -1. Meanwhile - apologies to Peter Hall (8.15am) for bearing bad news - Zander Lombard bogeys 5 to return to level par.
-2: Clarke (8), Langasque (4)
-1: Sugrue -a- (8), Hoffman (8), Levy (6), Harrington (4), Pepperell (3), Lowry (3), Noren (2)
Dark clouds overhead. The wind picking up. But at least no rain at the moment. It’s going to be one of those days. A cloud of similar hue will be following Emiliano Grillo around right now: he’s run up a triple-bogey seven on 5, then followed it up with another dropped shot at 6. He’s just completed the easiest portion of the course in +3. His postman can stand down.
Clarke nearly escapes 7 with an outrageous par. He putts from off the green, an uphill 50-footer with a big right-to-left break. It stops just one turn shy of dropping. But he’ll slip back to -2. Dreams are never meant to last.
-2: Clarke (7), Sugrue -a- (7), Langasque (4)
-1: Hoffman (7), Lombard (4), Harrington (3), Pepperell (2), Noren (1)
He doesn’t get one. He’s forced to take an unplayable, and drops from knee height, as per the new rules. He slams his fourth towards the front of the green, and trudges towards it with both hands pushed low down in his pockets, another wry smile playing across his face as the rain begins to come down quite heavily. Birdie for Harrington at 3, though, as he knocks his tee shot to 20 feet and rolls in the straight putt he’s left with. And Pepperell joins him at -1 with birdie at 2. “Is Zander Lombard a possible dark horse?” wonders Peter Hall. “While he has had a generally poor season, he did well at Lahinch recently . . . and (little known fact). . . he was very narrowly beaten in the final of the Amateur Championship when it was held at Portrush a few years ago. So has good experience on these links.”
A rainbow streams across the sky. Not quite so pretty: Clarke’s second at the par-five 7th, sliced into the dunes on the right. He allows himself a wry smile, then goes off in hope of finding a kind lie.
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Here’s Shane Lowry, and he gets the home-hero treatment. He whips an iron down the middle of 1. He’ll be going round with 2013 champion Phil Mickelson and Branden Grace, who shot that epochal 62 at Birkdale a couple of years ago. Meanwhile the amateur James Sugrue rattles in a straight 30-footer on 6 to make second place all his own ... ah scrub that, because 24-year-old Frenchman Romain Langasque, playing in only his second Open, has birdied 2 and 3. There are plenty of chances for birdies over the opening stretch.
-3: Clarke (6)
-2: Sugrue -a- (6), Langasque (3)
Darren Clarke is making himself at home here. Well, to be fair, Darren Clarke is at home. The Royal Portrush GC member takes advantage of the short par-four 5th to card his third birdie of the day. This is quite something from the 2011 champ, who at 50 would become the oldest major champion in golfing history were he to continue in this manner for the next four days. The estate of Julius Boros (1968 PGA, 48 years) watches on with interest.
-3: Clarke (5)
-1: Sugrue -a- (5), Hoffman (5), Grillo (4), Lombard (2)
Eddie Pepperell, who finished sixth last year after shooting a final-round 67 with a sore licensed-premises head, is greeted heartily by the Ulster crowd. He splits the fairway. No such luck for Bubba Watson, whose record at the Open is the inverse of his brilliance. He whistles an iron into the thick stuff down the left. But up on the green, there’s hope, because Fitzpatrick, who was forced to take his medicine from the rough and hack out, gets up and down from 100 yards for a scrambled par. Harrington walks off happy with his par, too, having sunk his approach into thick oomska to the left of the green. A fine chip whipped through the lush rough to four feet saves the day.
The rain has started to come down. It’s already hammering away in Andy Sullivan’s heart, as his nightmare start continues apace. A bogey at the par-five 2nd, the head scrambled, and he’s +3 already. Meanwhile a display of local knowledge at 4 from Darren Clarke, who uses a hillock to the right of the green to send his ball sharp left, towards a pin tucked away behind a bank. He can’t make the mid-range birdie putt he leaves himself, but had he hit his approach another few feet up the hillock, he’d have set himself up with a proper birdie chance. A lot of players will be fast-forwarding through Clarke’s round on the Sky planner this evening, taking copious notes.
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Here comes another Irish hero. Padraig Harrington, the 2007 and 2008 Champion Golfer, takes to the tee. Looking as intense as ever, he skelps an iron down the middle of the fairway. Meanwhile Matthew Fitzpatrick - who tied for 44th to win the silver medal for low amateur in 2013, a career-high finish he matched as a pro four years later - furrows his brow as he sends a hybrid into the thick stuff down the left.
Emiliano Grillo’s Open record isn’t much to write home about. A tie for 12th at Troon, but missed cuts at Birkdale and Carnoustie. But the Argentinian postal service might have some work to do this weekend if the 26-year-old’s antics down the par-five 2nd are anything to go by. A lovely second fired into the green to 20 feet, an eagle putt nearly dropping. He joins Clarke and Sugrue in the red at -1.
In goes the birdie putt, and the early Open leaderboard has a breakfast flavour so Irish it could be served with a soda farl. Meanwhile that wild opening tee shot has cost Andy Sullivan at 1. The first dropped shots of the 148th Open: a double bogey. Of the nine players to have completed a hole so far, he’s the only one over par. He’s +2.
-2: Clarke (3)
-1: Sugrue -a- (1)
Clarke sends his ball - a Titleist with a shamrock Sharpied onto it - to a couple of feet at the 177-yard par-three 3rd. Nearly a sensational hole-in-one, and he deserves another smoke. He turns his back to the wind, lights it, and then spins to face the camera with a smile nearly as wide as the one he flashed at Sandwich all those years ago. He’s enjoying this, taking advantage of the mild early weather. They were expecting rain, but it hasn’t arrived yet. It’s coming later this morning, though, and the wind’s likely to pick up a little too. Sunny spells in the afternoon. Changeable, in other words. Hey, this is the Open, all part of the charm.
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Clarke settles for par on 2, though he very nearly snaked in a birdie putt from the fringe at the back. He looks in the mood to cash in years of experience round here for tangible reward. He remains at -1. But he’s joined in the early lead by James Sugrue, the 22-year-old Amateur Champion playing the par-five in textbook fashion, two long and straight shots to find the green, a couple of calm putts to make his birdie. And so the Open, for what it’s worth at this infant stage, is now led by a former champion and an amateur.
-1: Clarke (2), Sugrue -a- (2)
E: Hoffman (2), Grillo (1), Kang (1), Thurloway -a- (1)
Clarke’s drive at the par-five 2nd dribbles into a bunker down the left, and he won’t be able to go for the green with his second. After splashing back out onto the fairway, he takes a pensive draw from a delicious morning cigarette. But his stress levels will be nothing on poor Andy Sullivan: the 33-year-old from Nuneaton, who tied for 12th at Troon three years ago, hooks his opening drive out of bounds down the left. A horror start. He’s the first to do so, but almost certainly won’t be the last, as there’s OB running down both sides of 1. If you’re feeling tight, it’s tight.
The dream start! Hoffman and Sugrue have good looks at birdie from 30 feet or so, but both efforts stop just short of the hole. An opening par at the Open never to be sniffed at. But the Royal Portrush CG member Clarke, having sent his second pin high to 15 feet, guides a lovely right-to-left slider into the cup! Local knowledge could be priceless this week. The first birdie of the 148th Open Championship goes to the home hero. Darren Clarke leads the Open ... again!
-1: Clarke (1)
E: Sugrue -a- (1), Hoffman (1)
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“This is game number one. On the tee from Northern Ireland, Darren Clarke.” Having received a spine-tingling ovation from the early-morning gallery - shades of the Ryder Cup at K-Club in 2006 - the 2011 champion finds the fairway with the first Open shot in Northern Ireland for 68 years. Just. “Left! Left!” he orders his ball, as it toys with the semi-rough down the right. It obeys. The Cork amateur James Sugrue and Charley Hoffman follow him down. Relieved - because he’ll have thought about that tee shot for quite a while - Clarke stops to enjoy a bit of on-air patter with Sky pundit Paul McGinley, reminding him that he’d beaten him at Portrush in the final of a tournament back in the day. After all the waiting, we’re under way!
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Preamble
Bout ye ... and welcome to our coverage of the 148th Open Championship. To date, 96 Opens have been staged in Scotland; 50 have been held in England. But only one of the 147 previous tournaments has taken place in Northern Ireland, here at Royal Portrush way back in 1951. Well, it’s back, baby! It’s been a while, but it’s back.
And what a venue! Carnoustie might have the reputation as the toughest course on the Open rota, St Andrews the one most steeped in history. But Portrush - set among rolling dunes hugging the gorgeous Antrim coast, offering views of the Giant’s Causeway, hilly Inishowen, peaty Islay, all that - is perhaps the prettiest.
Not that it’ll be a pushover. Back in 1951, only three players broke 70 during the entire tournament, although none of them went on to win. Max Faulkner lifted the auld Claret Jug after rounds of 71, 70, 70 and 74, his trendy long-shafted blade putter smoking hot, making up for the wild slice he’d battled all week. The Dunluce Links course has changed a bit since then, in preparation of an Open for the modern era - a couple of new holes, extra length, more bunkers - but chances are we’ll see a few more sub-70 rounds this time. Even so, let’s bear in mind that two of the three closing holes are called Calamity and Purgatory. One way or another, we’ll see some drama this week.
So who’ll follow Faulkner into the history books as an Open winner at Portrush? Local hero Rory McIlroy is the favourite, having held the old course record here (61) before the big redesign of 2015. He’s looking for his fifth major title, as is Brooks Koepka, who paid his dues on the European Tour as a young man and knows full well what needs to be done on this sort of track. The usual suspects line up behind the two favourites: Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose, Jon Rahm, the defending champ Francesco Molinari, Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood, Adam Scott, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and of course Tiger Woods. We could continue in this vein for a long, long time - the new US Open champ Gary Woodland? An overdue major breakthrough for Rickie Fowler? Late-career glory for that other local lad G-Mac? - but we’ve got four days of hot golf action stretching out ahead of us, so let’s immediately get down to business. Open fever is raging! Dr Golf’s casebook is bursting at the seams! It’s on!
First round tee times (all BST):
6.35am: Darren Clarke, James Sugrue (a), Charley Hoffman
6.46am: Emiliano Grillo, Sung Kang, Thomas Thurloway (a)
6.57am: Andy Sullivan, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Alexander Levy
7.08am: Chan Kim, Zander Lombard, Brandon Wu (a)
7.19am: Richard Sterne, Romain Langasque, Matthias Schmid (a)
7.30am: Padraig Harrington, Matthew Fitzpatrick Andrew Putnam
7.41am: Bubba Watson, Eddie Pepperell, Rafa Cabrera-Bello
7.52am: Phil Mickelson, Shane Lowry, Branden Grace
8.03am: Alex Noren, Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Sam Locke
8.14am: Webb Simpson, Sergio Garcia, C.T. Pan
8.25am: Ryan Palmer, Andrea Pavan, Dylan Frittelli
8.36am: Kyle Stanley, Robert MacIntyre, Andrew Johnston
8.47am: Mikko Korhonen, Oliver Wilson, Curtis Knipes (a)
9.03am: Ian Poulter, Sungjae Im, Kiradech Aphibarnrat
9.14am: Henrik Stenson, Xander Schauffele, Graeme McDowell
9.25am: Haotong Li, Russell Knox, Bernd Weisberger
9.36 p.m. Jason Kokrak, Connor Syme, Austin Connelly
9.47 p.m. Zach Johnson, David Duval, Corey Conners
9.58am: Francesco Molinari, Bryson DeChambeau, Adam Scott
10.09am: Rory McIlroy, Gary Woodland, Paul Casey
10.20am: Rickie Fowler, Kevin Kisner, Hideki Matsuyama
10.31am: Jim Furyk, Si-Woo Kim, Jimmy Walker
10.42am: Luke Lista, Alexander Bjork, Paul Waring
10.53am: Shugo Imahira, Nate Lashley, Benjamin Herbert
11.04am: Mikumu Horikawa, Callum Shinkwin, Garrick Porteous
11.15am: Prom Messawat, Matthew Baldwin, Jack Senior
11.36am: Tom Lehman, Joaquin Niemann, Miguel Angel Jimenez
11.47am: Byeong Hun An, Jorge Campillo, Chris Wood
11.58am: Joel Dahmen, Adri Arnaus, Dimitrios Papadatos
12.09pm: Stewart Cink, Rory Sabbatini, Innchoon Hwang
12.20pm: Erik Van Rooyen, Kurt Kitayama, Jake McLeod
12.31pm: Ryan Fox, Shaun Norris, Dongkyu Jang
12.42pm: Tyrrell Hatton, Keith Mitchell, Thomas Pieters
12.53pm: Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood, Thorbjorn Olesen
1.04pm: Brooks Koepka, Louis Oosthuizen, Shubhankar Sharma
1.15pm: Billy Horschel, Jazz Janewattananond, Aaron Wise
1.26pm: Jordan Spieth, Marc Leishman, Danny Willett
1.37pm: Cameron Smith, Adam Hadwin, David Lipsky
1.48pm: Paul Lawrie, Chez Reavie, Justin Harding
2.04pm: Takumi Kanaya (a), Tom Lewis, Brandon Stone
2.15pm: Lucas Glover, Joost Luiten, Nino Bertasio
2.26pm: Ernie Els, J.B. Holmes, Abraham Ancer
2.37pm: Brandt Snedeker, Lee Westwood, Brian Harman
2.48pm: Justin Rose, Tony Finau, Lucas Bjerregaard
2.59pm: Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Keegan Bradley
3.10pm: Tiger Woods, Matt Wallace, Patrick Reed
3.21pm: Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay, Matt Kuchar
3.32pm: Kevin Streelman, Doc Redman, Robert Rock
3.43pm: Adrian Otaegui, Yuta Ikeda, Isidro Benitez
3.54pm: Patton Kizzire, Sang Hyun Park, Yuki Inamori
4.05pm: Yoshinori Fujimoto, Doyeob Mun, Andrew Wilson
4.16pm: Gunn Charoenkul, Yosuke Asaji, Ashton Turner
