Here’s Ewan Murray’s report and Sean Ingle’s take on the day’s action. That’s all for today – thanks for reading!
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As we await Ewan Murray’s report on day one, just a quick mention of Lucas Glover and Tom Kim both shooting 69s. That’s 19 players to have broken 70 today.
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Fitzpatrick in five-way tie for Open lead as Scheffler and McIlroy lurk
Harris English two-putts the 18th to finish in a five-way tie for the lead. The American shares top spot with England’s Matt Fitzpatrick, China’s Haotong Li, Dane Jacob Skov Olesen and South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout after all posted rounds of 4-under 67.
The four players one back at 3-under include World No.1 Scottie Scheffler and England’s Tyrrell Hatton.
And after falling apart here on day one six years ago, Rory McIlroy is in the hunt, just three in arrears after a 1-under 70.
A thoroughly absorbing and entertaining day and with none of the final few groups threatening the lead, we’ll wave you goodbye. Here’s the closing leaderboard after round one at Royal Portrush:
-4: JS Olesen, Li, Fitzpatrick, Bezuidenhout, English
-3: Jordan, Scheffler, Kaewkanjana, Hatton
The first group out today took exactly five hours. Rory’s three-ball took five hours and 52 minutes. They were waiting nearly three or four minutes on every hole according to the chief marshal walking with the Rory group. It’s been a long day!
Let’s guide Harris English to the clubhouse before we close this blog down for the night. He’s found the fairway at 18 and his approach is a safe one to the back, right edge of the green: a 45 feet away kinda thing. A two-putt is odds-on. Tony Finau is one of his playing partners and Big Tone, pretty quiet of late it has to be said, is 1-under and all set to complete another excellent day on the links of Royal Portrush. Finau was solo third here in 2019.
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Harris English remains in a five-way tie for the lead after a birdie at 17. Here is your leaderboard update live from Royal Portrush.
-4: JS Olesen (F), Li (F), Fitzpatrick (F), Bezuidenhout (F), English (17)
-3: Jordan (F), Scheffler (F), Kaewkanjana (F), Hatton (F)
Rory gives his birdie try from downtown a fantastic run at the hole but it just won’t turn enough from the right despite him giving it a lean and a jiggle. No bother, that’s stone dead and he taps in for a 1-under 70. Absolutely nothing wrong with that at all. Because of the wayward driving it might be marked as a B- but three back from the lead after day one and a morning tee-time to come is a highly promising position to be in. Sorry to hark back again but he was 13 shots off the pace after the opening lap in 2019.
We’ve had 16 rounds in the 60s today. Can Rory make it 17? A birdie would do it and, from an upslope in the lighest of rough, his approach to the last finds the front of the putting surface. A birdie looks unlikely from there – it’s nearly 45 feet away – but you never know with McIlroy. Rory raises his putter and soaks in the adulation as he strides up to the green. Very different emotions to 2019 when he just wanted to get the hell out of there after a 79.
Rory McIlroy: he’s a great watch, isn’t he. The Masters champ has missed 11 of 13 fairways today but the latest wonky one is not only repaired but rolled in glitter as he birdies from 12 feet at 17. From looking as if he could slip five, six or even more behind the lead, the local hero is just three back. His drive at the last is technically a missed fairway again but it ends in very light rough and he’d have taken that off the tee.
So what happened to those thunderstorm threats? Only a cameo from the rain today. Ian McCaskill will be looking down with a wry smile. But there are full-on beams from those around the 17th green as McIlroy takes an aggressive line with his approach and sees his ball arcade around a slope and settle 12 feet away.
Up at 18, Robert MacIntyre completes a challenging and battling even par 72 but it’s computer says no for Bryson DeChambeau. Like Magnus Pike’s arms, the Scientist was all over the place in a 7-over 78. Best in show is the elder statesman of the group. It’s a masterclass from Justin Rose today as he scribbles 16 pars and two birdies on his card to shoot 69. No bogeys under testing Open conditions at Royal Portrush. Take a bow.
McIlroy’s hit-the-fairway count is now a miserable 2-from-13 after he sprays another one wide at 17. This needs sorting. Harry Houdini never won an Open and Rory can’t keep wriggling himself loose from errant drives.
Gum-chewing Harris English finds the green in two at the par-4 15th but commentator Ken Brown describes it as a “high tarrif two-putt”. The first strike runs eight feet past the hole but he makes it to stay in a five-way share of the lead on -4.
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Scottish amateur Cameron Adam very nearly makes an ace at the par-3 13th. The left hander won this year’s St Andrews Links Trophy on the Old Course and has the course record at Royal Dornoch. He knocks his ball under the wind to the front of the green and it runs up to kick-in range. That will get him to +1. Meanwhile, after missing the green at the par-3 16th, Rory McIlroy chips close and secures his par. He remains level for the round.
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A bogey for Ludvig Aberg at the 16th to slip to +2. The hole is otherwise known as Calamity Corner, but it’s not all bad for the Swede who was today revealed as the winner of a poll to discover golf’s most handsome man. Norway’s Viktor Hovland was second.
We’re back to a five-way tie for the lead. A couple of players have dipped their toe in the waters of -5 today before quickly returning to the popular beach called -4. English frolicked for two holes there but at 15 he finds rough, misses an eight footer for par and has to accept a bogey. But no dropped shot for Rory at 15. It looks likely when his chip back onto the green leaves him 11 feet for par but McIlroy exudes confidence with putter in hand these days and he rolls it in.
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Maybe McIlroy hasn’t been helped by the rather underwhelming performances of playing partners Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Thomas. They’re now a collective 3-over: McIlroy Evs, Thomas +1 and Fleetwood +2. Thomas has sprinkled a few birdies at least but there’s just a single red number on Fleetwood’s card so far and his approach to 15 has too much juice and trickles down a bank at the back of the green. Rory’s wedge also tumbles off the putting surface to the right. Much work to do to save par from there.
Robert MacIntryre’s round is becoming a collage of loose drives, swearing and get-out-of-jail par putts. A 10-foot par save at 15 keeps him at evens. There’s just a hint of a smile as he knocks that in and, perhaps bouyed, he then drills an iron to 13 feet at the par-3 16th. Like McIlroy, his mood at close of play could still swing either way.
McIlroy is letting this round slip now. He’s in a bunker off the tee at 14 and can only chip out. A good approach and a putt can still bring par but he hits a wayward third that misses the green right and has to scramble a bogey. That’s three shots gone in four holes and a leaderboard tumble from -3 to evens. Hardly a crisis but here’s a stat: evey Open winner this century was no worse than five off the lead after 18 holes. McIlroy will want to stay within that boundary.
Nick Gibson emails: “I was part of the score team that scored every European PGA Event … a family team and it was wonderful … no electronics and scores taken as they came in on the course and posted on boards almost Michael Fish style … happy days.”
We miss those days Nick. Glad you were having fun.
Meanwhile, Joe McNally has come up with the ideal event for golfing monk Sadom Kaewkanjana to contest – “The Zen Masters”.
Very good!
The clock ticks to 7.35pm at Royal Portrush and we have a new solo leader. The man in question is Harris English, who takes advantage of the par-5 12th where Rory just took six swipes.
-5: English (12)
-4: JS Olesen (F), Li (F), Fitzpatrick (F), Bezuidenhout (F)
-3: Jordan (F), Scheffler (F), Kaewkanjana (F), Hatton (14), Glover (11)
Spills and thrills for McIlroy at 13. He hits a towering iron at the 203-yard par 3 that finds the middle of the green. Except that it decides not to stop and bounds away down a slope. But from there, he executes a beautiful chip that looks destined to go in before coquettishly turning away when its eyes meet the hole. A tap-in par keeps him at -1.
More Sadom Kaewkanjana revelations from Matt Cooper, who has delved into his back story. The Thai has played one previous Open and was tied 11th at St Andrews in 2022 thanks to a closing 65. Who knew? And at the end of May he won the Korean Open on a course called ‘The Dunes’. Suddenly his score today of -3, one off the lead, seems oh so obvious!
Oof! Rory makes bogey on the easiest hole on the course. It can be traced back to another loose drive which finds sand. From there, he chips out, hits an approach that bounces to the back of the green and then three-putts from 70 feet. A missed seven-footer condemns him to a ‘6’ when surely he would have thinking ‘4’. That’s back-to-back bogeys and after the ladders of earlier a pair of snakes have seen him slither back down to -1.
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Sky Sports did a fun challenge on the range earlier in the week when both Hojgaard twins, Nicolai and Rasmus, hit a shot and missed the green in exactly … exactly … the same spot. Beyond that and their mum presumably dressing them in the same clothes as toddlers, they’re also set to shoot identical scores today. Nicolai, out in the first group of the day, fired a 2-under 69 and Rasmus has just birdied 17 to join his bruv on -2.
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Bryson DeChambeau still appears baffled by links golf and is currently +3 after 12. His expression after another loose shot brings to mind this great Ken Brown quote. “He looks like a St Bernard on a Merry-go-round - doesn’t quite know what’s going on.”
An unlikely exchange here between the press and Sadom Kaewkanjana after the Thai signed for an excellent 3-under 68 that has him just one shot off the lead.
Q: “You’re obviously an ordained Monk, perhaps a historic performance really given your background. Does it make you proud of what you’ve achieved, having also taken on those extra responsibilities in life?”
Sadom Kaewkanjana: “Yeah, it’s my responsibility in Thailand, so I think it’s a new experience being a Monk. They help like more concentrate on the golf course or outside the golf course. It’s made me a lot of focus. Forget everything outside, just live in the present. So I really enjoy being a Monk.”
And I quite like the final back and forth. A kind of reverse Scottie Scheffler. There’s more to life than being a monk when you can tee it up at Augusta!
Q. “You’re only 27, but a career beyond golf, would you then look to dedicate yourself to Buddhism?”
Sadom Kaewkanjana: “My goal is like I want to play in the Masters my whole life. I want to play one time. So to get in the world ranking into the top 50, that’s my goal.”
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Rory … [eats chip] … pays for his poor drive at 11 … [takes a bite out of the steak and ale pie] … and misses … [another chip] … from eight feet for par … [bit more pie] … so falls back to -2. It’s his first bogey … [pie a bit soggy?] … since the 1st.
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Just to note, I’ll be writing these next few updates while eating a steak and ale pie. With chips. It was a tenner from the press canteen and I’ve brought it back to my desk. Thankyou for your continued patience at this busy time.
Rory is facing two pivotal and contrasting holes. The long par-4 11th is the hardest hole on the course today but get through that unschathed and he’ll take on the easiest: the par-5 12th where we’ve seen eagles today. Robert MacIntyre is waiting to tee off on 12 as we speak.
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The scoreboard looks pretty good for McIlroy but, if there’s time and light, you fancy he may be heading to the range later today. Yep, another drive goes left and this is one of the ugliest tee-shots he’s hit in a long while, the ball ducking into the rough and almost hitting Sky reporter Wayne Riley.
Some quotes from 2019 Royal Portrush hero, Shane Lowry, following his 1-under 70 earlier today.
Yeah, it was hard. I watched a bit of golf early this morning, and I could see how even firm the golf course had gotten in the last day. Yeah, I’ve played a lot of golf around the country, as you said, the last few weeks and the weather’s been perfect, then you go today.
I think I adapted pretty well. I think I played very well today. I was really happy with my day. Probably one or two shots, but any time you shoot 1-under par around Portrush in those conditions, I think is decent.
I’m happy. I’ve fought with this round of golf in my head for a few weeks now. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. The 1st tee shot wasn’t that easy. I wasn’t feeling very comfortable there. I felt like I managed to handle myself very well.
All day I felt like I handled myself really well. Crowds were amazing. Everything about this tournament has just been great. I tried to kind of use that as motivation instead of sometimes you can put a bit too much pressure on yourself. I tried to use it in a different way today, and I felt like I did a good job with that.
Rory McIlroy is just one shot off the lead in the 153rd Open at his old stomping ground of Royal Portrush! Yes, the Masters champion, who shot a disastrous opening 79 here six years ago before missing the cut, picks up another shot thanks to a gain at 10. From rough, he hits his approach to eight feet and nails the putt. A mighty roar from the gallery. I was about to add that Bob MacIntyre is really leaking oil now but instead of a third straight bogey the battling Scot strokes in a 15-foot par putt at 11. A clenched fist follows.
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A couple of other emails before I bring you more good news for Rory…
Richard Wood: “That’s an extraordinary story about Christiaan Bezuidenhout. I usually just enjoy the golf and don’t favour anyone (unless it’s the Ryder Cup of course). Now, I’m totally in Christiaan’s corner. In fact, he gets the full White Stripes treatment. “Oh, Christiaan Bezuidenhout...”.
Joe Pearson: “Consider me a cynical old man, but Lucas Glover (and Adam Scott) sure seem to get awfully close to violating the ‘no anchoring’ rule. Frankly, I think everyone who uses a long putter is suspect. Yells at clouds.”
Ben Orr writes: “Just got this from Tomasz Schafernaker as he reacts to not making your list of weather forecasters.” Hard to break into that top four, Ben. Carol Kirkwood fans have also been in touch. I can’t please everyone.
It’s all got a bit sticky for Robert MacIntyre and two missed fairways lead to bogeys at 9 and 10. A pair of unwanted 5s for the Scot and he’s back to -1. Did I say there’s now a six-way tie for the lead at -4? The latest to join the fun is Lucas Glover, one of two major winners in that leading half-dozen. The other is Matt Fitzpatrick.
Talking of technology, we’re discussing when the hole-by-hole scores for each player that are displayed at the front of the media centre went electronic. Okay, it’s not quite as culturally significant as Bob Dylan’s transformation in 1965 but I kind of miss those days of charm and innocence when volunteers were climbing up ladders like a modern-day Peter Glaze, sliding in coloured cards to represent pars, birdies, bogeys and eagles. They know everything at the front desk and the change came in 2015. So the modern-day Open started with Louis Oosthuizen’s win at St Andrews. The last to win under the pre-health and safety concerns system: Rory McIlroy at Hoylake a year earlier.
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Viktor Hovland, so distinctive in that J.Lindeberg clothing, was a popuar pick this week but the turns in a rather lacklustre 1-over. The Norwegian eagled 2 but then lost his way with bogeys at 4, 5 and 6. It’s pretty silent in the media centre right now apart from the sound of colleague Matt Cooper noisily ripping up a roll of tape as he tries to secure some wires to the front of his work station. I won’t lie, there were groans as he returned to his feet.
Fun fact: there is just one former Open champion in the current top 20. The good news for the excited locals is that it’s Rory McIlroy. Rory is at -2 and it could so easily be -3 but for a missed six-footer for birdie at 8. More roars though as he nails his drive into the fairway at 9.
And then there were five. Christiaan Bezuidenhout gave one back at 11 but, not matter, the South African eagles the par-5 12th from 27 feet to swell the leading bunch on -4 by one.
And then there was… rain! Umbrellaws are up, you can hear it on the media centre roof and then, all of a sudden, the noise abates. These Portrush skies are a law unto themselves. As I finish writing that last sentence, it’s raining again; that’s how fast it changes.
MacIntyre with a very audible curse as he goes from rough to rough at nine. A classic case of the gnarly stuff gripping and turning his clubhead over as he tried to rip the ball out towards the green.
With so many on the leaderboard, movements are likely to come thick and fast and suddenly Harris English is putting for eagle at 7 to take the lead. It’s a lengthy one and takes two hits to disappear underground but the birdie moves the American into a four-way tie at the top. It’s a suprise to see that English has only one top 40 in nine Open appearances. That came way back via a T15 at Muirfield in 2013.
It’s a packed leaderboard and one that deserves an update. Robert MacIntyre fans will be pleased to know he’s a new entry after a birdie at 8. So, three joint leaders and eight players within a shot. Oh, and Rory has just found a fairway for the first time (at 8).
-4: JS Olesen (F), Li (F), Fitzpatrick (F)
-3: Jordan (F), Scheffler (F), Kaewkanjana (F) McNealy (9), Hatton (9), MacIntyre (8), English (6), Glover (6).
Once more, a loose drive can’t stop Rory. At 7, he lays up with his second from rough, wedges to three feet and holes the birdie putt despite it trying to wriggle out. McIlroy to -2. This is going rather well isn’t it. The packed afternoon crowds are certainly loving it and hopefully Rory can keep making progress. A warning that nothing comes easy in majors though and at Augusta this year he was -4 with four to play but doubled 15 and 17 to somehow only shoot even par. Then again, who cares now, eh? Rory hit back with a pair of 66s and then finally won that green jacket in a thrilling Sunday playoff with Justin Rose (currently -1 here after 8 by the way).
It feels 'close’ in the media centre. And if that sounds a bit vague, a ticker across the bottom of my TV screen says: “Thunderstorm possible – be aware and look out for updates.”
Good news for the English. Yes, folks, it’s a lame pun but I’ll see it through. Harris English drops a shot at 5 but bounces back with a birdie at 6 to return to -3. And actual English human Tyrrell Hatton also resides at -3, just one off the lead, after an excellent start featuring red circles at 2, 5 and 7. To slightly ruin it all, Aaron Rai’s brief flirtation with the joint lead ends as a pair of bogeys around the turn drops him down to -2.
That Bobby Mac update is quickly redundant. The Scot rolls in a short birdie putt at 7 and nudges up to -2 where Sergio Garcia (14) and Justin Leonard (9) also sit. Leonard won the Open at Troon 28 years ago and last made a cut in this event way back in 2013 so that’s an eyebrow raiser.
Back on the 7th tee, Rory lets rip with a driver. He’s 0-for-4 in fairways hit so far and now that updates to 0-for-5 as he pulls his tee-shot into rough down the left. Still, the last time he did that on a par 5 McIlroy made birdie.
Two-putt par for Rory at 6. He’s completed the first third of the course in 1-under. This time six years ago he was +5 at the same stage! Quite a contrast. Now he’ll attempt to make hay at the par-5 7th. Also at -1 after 6: Robert MacIntyre and Justin Rose.
Maverick McNealy joins fellow Americans Lucas Glover and Harris English on 3-under. It’s a great name, isn’t it, and reminds me of comedian Daniel Kitson’s observation about Tom Cruise’s Top Gun lead, ‘Maverick’, actually being a maverick and perhaps that being repeated throughout the film via a minor character called “Spurious Love Interest”.
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McIlroy is on the move. Rory misses another fairway, this time at 5, and his approach leaves him putting up and over a ridge from just under 30 feet. A two-putt would be just fine from there but Rory does it in one! A huge roar as he drains his birdie and, unlikely fact alert, for the first time ever in an Open at Portrush, Rory is under par. It’s taken him 41 holes to do so. At 6, a par 3 that heads back inland, he hits a smart shot to the centre of the green.
Wolverhampton’s finest, Aaron Rai, has made it a four-way tie at the top. He’s on a bostin’ Black Country birdie burst after gains at 2, 5, 7 and 8. Meanwhile, Harris English has climbed to -3. The American was a winner at Torrey Pines earlier this season and also finished fast to take second place at the PGA Championship.
-4: JS Olesen (F), Li (F), Fitzpatrick (F), Rai (8)
-3: Jordan (F), Scheffler (F), Bezuidenhout (9), English (4), Glover (3).
Potty mouth Tommy Fleetwood! The world feed commentators are already apologising for a Fleetwood profanity and then the normally genial Englishman lets out a bellowing “fuck” as he finds a bunker off the tee at 5. Language Timothy. It’s revealing though, hinting at the frustration of a bogey caused by another visit to the sand at 4. It’s a poor lie and his escape catches a bit of mound above the lip but flies clear. He has work to do for his par though. Perhaps Fleetwood was listenting to Robert MacIntyre earlier this week when the Scot said he had to get his anger out rather than hold it within when things weren’t going his way on the course.
Back to the weather. Yes, a post office queue has nothing on this blog when it comes to discussing the elements. Here’s Jason Day speaking after 2-over 73: “The weather here is the craziest weather pattern I’ve ever experienced in my life. There’s no consistency to it whatsoever. You look at the weather. I mean, I’d love to be a weatherman here. You just get it wrong all the time.” Yep, even some of the UK’s most genius weathermen would struggle to predict what happens next. In order I’d go Giles, Scott, Fish … Kettley.
Rory latest: a par at 4. His approach from that decent lie up the left went bounding through the green but out came the short-game skills to help him save par. It’s a steady enough opening in terms of scoring but he’d swap it with Lucas Glover's flying start: birdie-eagle-par. The 2009 US Open champ is -3 and tied fifth.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout is flying up the leaderboard and sits at -3 after 8 thanks to a hat-trick of birdies at 5, 6 and 7. It would be some story if the South African were to win here. Back in 2014 he was banned from playing in the Amateur Championship at Royal Portrush due to the use of beta blockers. The reason is pretty remarkable: he swallowed rat poison as a toddler and was using them to cope with anxiety and a speech impediment. A lovely bloke, he has to deal with it still today. It’s a fanastic start and note that Bezuidenhout posted 12th at the US Open last month so he has some recent form in a major.
Rory’s birdie try at 3 just slips but, of far more concern, is that he appears to be having an attack of the lefts from the tee. For the second time in four holes he pulls his driver in an unseemly arc from right to left and finds trouble. Or does he? When the camera reveals his ball, it’s sitting up just fine. Up at the 4th green, Viktor Hovland has been in trouble and needs to knock in a testy little bogey putt. The Norwegian drops back to -1.
Thanks Scott. Yes, I’m just back in from watching Rory’s start and it’s probably the best weather of the day. Twenty degrees, winds modest. And yet I heard a couple of marshals mentioning thunderstorms. A quick visual sweep of the horizon certainly showed no signs of any dark clouds but it can change very quickly in these parts. And the official Met forecast does have a yellow thunderstorm warning. It also suggests a 70% chance of rain each hour until close of play. We shall see. Bryson DeChambeau feels it’s warm enough to be wearing short sleeves although he’ll be a bit under the collar now after a double bogey at 4 drops him to +2.
… and with that, I’ll hand over to our man in situ, David Tindall. Enjoy the rest of the first round; I’ll see you again early in the morning.
-4: JS Olesen (F), Li (F), Fitzpatrick (F)
-3: Jordan (F), Scheffler (F)
-2: N Hojgaard (F), Westwood (F), Kaewkanjana (13), Kawamoto (13), Garcia (10), Hidalgo (8), Bezuidenhout (6), Rai (6), McNealy (5), Hovland (3)
Scheffler shoots 68; Lowry 70
Scottie Scheffler is this close to ending his round with three consecutive birdies. Inches wide with a 30-foot putt on 18. But he’s signing for a very welcome opening round of 68, and if he can sort his driver out on the range later – with a driving accuracy of 21.4 percent today, the world number one is ranked 135th in that category – he’ll be pretty much unstoppable this week. He’s -3, a couple of strokes ahead of the home hero Shane Lowry, who pars the last for a 70. Wild scenes he walked up the 18th again, by the way. Not quite the level of Sunday in 2019, how could it be? But it was something, nonetheless.
Bob MacIntyre makes his first birdie of the week, fair rattling in a 12-foot putt on 3. Meanwhile it’s a one-under round of 70 for Jon Rahm, and a level-par opening round of 71 for the defending champion Xander Schauffele. A few players making good while the sun shines, which it’s doing at the moment. Rain incoming according to the forecast, though, with the possibility of a few dangerous thunderclaps. Fingers crossed the latter doesn’t materialise.
McIlroy isn’t taking any chances from the thick rough down the left of 2. He lays up. Then from 115 yards he screws his approach to a halt 15 feet from the pin. A big birdie putt coming up. Make it, and he would change the mood around this match, with the gallery a little bit muted after his equally subdued start. And in it goes! Pretty much straight into the hole when plenty of players have been missing wide right, some local knowledge to the fore, right there. The gallery erupts and he’s back to level par quicksmart.
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A couple of big putts dropping. Viktor Hovland rakes one in across 2 for eagle, and he’s -2 in short order. Meanwhile Shane Lowry rolls in a 20-footer across 18, and that’s his first birdie since the 6th. Back into credit for the first time since the turn, too. He’s -1 again, and his people have something to roar about again.
Better news for the world number one. Scottie Scheffler pings his tee shot at the 205-yard par-three 16th to three-and-a-half feet. In goes the birdie putt. Then he very nearly holes out from 111 yards at 17 for eagle. After a slightly shaky few holes, he takes a gentle press on the pedal and he’s suddenly hitting top gear. Such a class act. Back-to-back birdies, and now look!
-4: JS Olesen (F), Li (F), Fitzpatrick (F)
-3: Jordan (F), Scheffler (17)
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Back on the 2nd tee, Rory McIlroy’s sketchy start continues as he flays his drive towards trouble down the left. The gallery following him is ludicrously large, almost of Tigeresque proportions. Given how he spoke of the pressure he felt in 2019, you have to wonder how much the well-intentioned onlookers are helping their hero.
Not sure the rolling, unpredictable links of the Open Championship is Bryson DeChambeau’s natural habitat. He chips up from the bottom of a swale at the front of 2 … and watches as his ball topple back down another to the side of the green. He’s suffered worse in the past at Augusta National, I guess. And he does extremely well to get up and down to scramble his par. He remains at level.
Rory showcases exquisite touch to roll a 70-footer up and over the ridge across the 1st green, swinging right to left to three feet. Then he nervously tugs the par putt wide left. Never dropping from the moment it left the face of his putter. He makes the one coming back, and the best that can be said for that is that careless bogey is better than hope-shattering quadruple. He’s probably happy that hole’s out of the road, and he can get on with business now. A gettable par-five next, so all’s not lost.
… so having given Sergio the big build-up after three birdies on the bounce, he immediately drops a stroke at 8. Oh Sergio. A nostalgia blast for long-time readers: SERGIO’S MELTDOWN-O-METER READING: B.
Rory’s ball is sat deep in the rough down the right. So he does extremely well to power his second onto the front of the green. He’s left with a long two-putt for par up and over a ridge, the route to the hole possibly incorporating the fringe to the right, but he’ll have taken that outcome upon finding where his tee shot ended up. In the group ahead, Viktor Hovland opened with par, but Ludvig Åberg and Jordan Spieth both made bogey.
Heeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrreeeeeee’s Rory!
… and heeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrreeeeeee’s how he ran up a quadruple-bogey eight the last time he began an Open Championship on his home course. They’re goodness knows how many people deep in the gallery as he makes his way to the first tee. He’s announced by official starter Ed McMahon David Lancaster: “From the tee, from Northern Ireland, Rory McIlroy.” Bedlam, bedlam, bedlam. Then finally the moment they’ve all been waiting for. Back in 2019, Rory sent his opening shot out of bounds down the left. This time he heads left too, but only into the rough. Not ideal, but given what happened last time, he’ll take it. A laugh and a smile with his caddie. He’s going round today with Justin Thomas and Tommy Fleetwood, who both find the fairway. Off they trot. Another colourful chapter of the McIlroy story coming up, one way or another.
Matt Fitzpatrick in with 67
Par up the last for the 2022 US Open champion. Three birdies, one eagle, one bogey, and that’s a wonderful opening round. He walks off a very happy man, finishing the day at -4, currently sharing both clubhouse and actual lead with Jacob Skov Olesen and Haotong Li.
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… and while we’re on the subject of players who came agonisingly close to US Open glory last month, here’s runner-up Bob MacIntyre at the back of 1. He can’t make his snaky 25-foot from over a hump, but he’s happy enough to tap in for an opening par. And behind him, third-placed Viktor Hovland, who creams his first shot of the event down the middle.
While we’re on the subject of hot-headed but loveable stars, here comes Tyrrell Hatton. He sets himself up with a 14-foot birdie chance on 1, but can’t make it. The 33-year-old from High Wycombe came agonisingly close to US Open glory last month; could this finally be his time?
It’s three birdies in a row for Sergio Garcia! He creams a fairway wood into the heart of the par-five 7th, utilising the camber to the left of the green to gather his ball holeward. He doesn’t give his very good eagle opportunity a chance of dropping, leaving the 17-foot putt two feet short, but he makes what’s left and moves to -3 in short order. Already I’m worrying that he’ll shoot 63 today followed by an 80 tomorrow. I can’t help it, it’s ingrained now. Dearest long-suffering readers of our live golf blogs, I might dig out the old Sergio Meltdown-o-Meter. We might need it.
Shane Lowry pulls a poor ten-foot par putt on 13. He nearly repairs the damage of that bogey on 14, but his 55-foot putt from the bottom of a swale to the side of the green stops a couple of turns short. A good par save nonetheless, and he remains at level par.
We mentioned Sergio’s near-miss at Hoylake in 2014. That year was the closest Rickie Fowler came; he finished in a tie for second with Garcia. Such a shame Fowler’s never come good on his early major-championship promise – though he does have the unofficial fifth major, the Players, on his resumé. Still, at 36, the Californian has time, and there’d be no more popular winner. Well, OK, Rory, Shane, Tom McKibbin, but you get the general point. Anyway, Fowler has started well, and now birdies 7. That’s three birdies in four holes, and he’s -2 for his round so far.
Matt Fitzpatrick slam-dunks from the bottom of a rough-strewn swale to the side of the par-three 16th! Like a bizarro, inverted version of Mark Calcavecchia from atop a heavily grown bank at Troon’s 12th in 1989. Calc went on to win that year; now will that augur well for the 2022 US Open champion this week? A few more holes to go, admittedly, seeing the American performed his ball-disappearing magic trick on the Sunday.
-4: JS Olesen (F), Li (F), Fitzpatrick (16)
-3: Jordan (F), Kaewkanjana (8)
-2: N Højgaard (F), Westwood (F), Kawamoto (8), Svensson (7), Fowler (7), Garcia (6)
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Matthew Jordan pars the last and signs for a fine opening round of 68. He’s delighted to get back home, because he had some scrambling to do along the final stretch as conditions got a wee bit trickier. With some more unpleasant weather forecast – rain, and perhaps thunder, though fingers crossed – he won’t be too far from the top by the end of the day.
-4: JS Olesen (F), Li (F)
-3: Jordan (F), Fitzpatrick (15), Kaewkanjana (8)
Who’s this? Why, it’s our old pal Sergio Garcia! Well now. Sergio has had his heart broken once or twice at the Open, most notably at Hoylake in 2014, when his bid crumbled to sand in a bunker at 15, and at Carnoustie in 2007, when he led after the first three rounds only to bogey the 72nd and lose to Padraig Harrington in a play-off. Probably shouldn’t have tempted fate by dressing as Ronald McDonald, the world’s most famous clown, on the Saturday that year. Anyway, he’s in much more demure black with red flashes today … and he’s just followed up birdie at the short par-four 5th with another at 6, after sending his tee shot to nine feet and tidying up. He’s -2 and … he couldn’t, could he? Well, at 45 years of age, the odds are against, though the Open does love a fortysomething winner, even in recent years – Darren Clarke, Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson – so let’s not rule anything out. And let’s say it for old times’ sake: come on Sergio!
It’s not quite happening for the defending champion Xander Schauffele. Out in 35, but he drops a stroke at 11 to slip back to level par, and now he’s drawn his tee shot at the par-three 13th towards the back-left of the green. Not far from the flag … but it rolls one foot too far, and topples away down a swale. The small margins. He’ll have a job on to get up and down from there to stay where he is.
Another staunch par save by Matthew Jordan! He’s short and right of 17, and though he uses the slopes and ridges to guide his chip up the bank before slinging hard to the left and closer to the flag, he’s still left with a 15-footer for his par. But in it goes! Those back-to-back scrambles are priceless, and now he just needs par up the last to sign for an opening round of 68.
Scottie Scheffler could only punch out from the thick stuff down the side of 11. A mini-calamity that led to bogey. Now he sends his tee shot at 12 into a bunker. He’s not in total control of the big stick right now. Struggling with his game a bit … and yet still -1 at the Open. Everything in context.
Shane Lowry rakes in a momentum-saving 25-footer on 11 to save his par. A guttural roar as the gutta disappears into the cup. The 2019 champion – the reigning Portrush champion, which is the angle both player and crowd will be looking at it from – remains at -1. He’s joined there by the major-championship nearly man Rickie Fowler; the popular Californian cards back-to-back birdies at 4 and 5, a fine response to dropping a stroke at 3. Meanwhile back to Ireland, and some admin: Darren Clarke finished with par and a 75. He’ll have work to do if he’s to make the weekend, but if he does go on to miss the cut, at least he’ll not be walking off with lava pouring out of his ears like he did last time round.
Matthew Jordan knows his way around a links all right. The 29-year-old from the Wirrall finished in a tie for 10th on his home patch at Hoylake in 2023, then repeated the feat exactly at Troon last year. He’s going well again this time round too, and the escapes are as impressive as the birdies: he follows up the aforementioned birdie at 15 by getting up and down from a swale at the front of the long par-three 16th to save par. He’s -3.
A par for Lee Westwood on 18. The 52-year-old veteran from Worksop signs for a fine opening round of 69. He’ll fancy his chances of keeping this going, too, having finished in a tie for fourth here six years ago.
Jon Rahm so nearly scrambles his par on 11. Having been forced to chip out from the thick rough, his approach flies to the back of the green, and he’s left with a long snaking putt from 40 feet for his par. He’s a dimple away from making it. He taps in, and that’s back-to-back bogeys that bring him back down to level par, but at least he’s simmered down now, and instead of walking off frowning, smiles wryly at his caddie and shares a joke in the gallows-humour style.
Scottie Scheffler dropped his first stroke of the day at 9, turning in 35. The world number one picks it back up immediately at 10. He’s -2 again and despite this week’s earlier exercises in existential philosophy has a determined look on his face. Those features turn to irritation as he pushes his tee shot at 11 into trouble down the right. It is raining quite hard, too, which might also be impacting on his mood.
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Jon Rahm’s first mini-meltdown of the week. He sends his tee shot at 11 into the rough down the right. He turns to shoot daggers at the gallers. “Whistling three times … right on my backswing.” On Sky Sports, Nick Faldo’s observation is tinder-dry: “I thought he was used to all the music and clatter they have on his tour.” Rahm isn’t in Koepka Kountry, but he is forced to chip back out onto the fairway. He’s now chasing the par that would keep him at -1.
There’s plenty of English representation at the top of the early leaderboard. Matthew Jordan birdies 15 while Matt Fitzpatrick picks up a shot at 13; they’re both a shot off the lead at -3. Lee Westwood meanwhile nearly slam-dunks into a bunker guarding the front of 17, but his slightly pulled approach squeaks over the trap and he’s able to get down in two without too much fuss to save his par. He remains at -2.
Brooks Koepka breathes again. Albeit in reedy fashion. He finds the first ball within the allowed three-minute search, though he’s still got to take an unplayable, dropping in the native area. He can’t reach the green with his next shot, and isn’t able to get close with his chip up. He gives his 30-foot bogey putt a good go, but that’s a double. It could have been a lot worse, because for a brief moment back there, he could have been trudging back to the tee to hit his fifth. In fact that’s quite a result, all told. He’s +3.
Padraig Harrington and Nicolai Højgaard have already lost a ball today. Now it’s being reported that Brooks Koepka might have lost two. He’s carved his tee shot at 11 into the bush that did for Højgaard a few hours ago … then sent his provisional into the same place! Oh my. Brooks Koepka is a five-time major champion. Golf is hard. Links golf is even harder. This is a glorious fiasco.
Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana has only played at the Open once before. But he made a pretty good fist of it. While Cameron Smith, Rory McIlroy and Cameron Young were duking it out for the big prize on the Sunday at St Andrews in 2022, hogging the limelight, Kaewkanjana was busy carding a final round of 65 en route to an 11th-place finish. He’s in form on the Asian Tour, tying for second at the Philippine Open and winning the Kolon Korea, and that’s translating well to Portrush, where he’s birdied 2 and then eagled the short par-four 5th. He’s now -3 through 6, just the one shot off the lead.
Li shoots 67
Thanks David, enjoy your cup of Nambarrie. Also deserving of a hot drop: Haotong Li. The 2017 runner-up to the runner-up follows up birdie at 17 with a no-nonsense par at 18. He signs for a blemish-free 67, some feat on this course and (latterly) these conditions. He joins Jacob Skov Olesen in a tie for the clubhouse – and the actual – lead.
-4: JS Olesen (F), Li (F)
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One of the roars of the day as Northern Ireland’s finest, Darren Clarke, climbs a greenside bank and holes a chip from thick hay at 17. Have some of that. It takes the 2011 Open winner back to +4.
And on that positive, I’ll end my waffling and hand you back to the king of description, Mr Scott Murray. I’m off outside to… nah, it’s still raining heavily, I’ll have a cuppa and stay in the media tent for a bit.
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A couple of lines from Phil Mickelson. The 2013 Open winner, now 55, shot a fine 1-under 70 earlier. To give that context, he’s missed the cut in all three majors this year and his Open form starting with an early exit here in 2019 reads MC-MC-MC-MC-60.
We had a pretty good break before the rain came in. It came in just the last couple holes. Our group had a pretty good break, I thought.
I really enjoyed it. I played really well, and I had an opportunity. Like I really enjoy playing these conditions and playing this tournament. It’s just a lot of fun.
I think winning The Open in 2013 was the greatest accomplishment in my career because I had to learn a style of golf that I didn’t grow up playing. It’s kind of the greatest source of pride for me as a player to overcome those obstacles. Now I’ve come to really love it, enjoy it, and I seem to play well in some of the adverse conditions too.
Lowry, at the 8th, has a 25-foot right-to-left breaker to hit -3 but it lacks the necessary zest and turns left before intended. Lowry opened with a 67 when winning at Portush in 2019. He’s on track to match that again.
Tommy Fleetwood, the runner-up to Lowry six years ago, tees off at 3.10pm today so can still put his feet up for a while and perhaps enjoy a Full English/leaderboard swish/dance to Kung Fu Fighting.
Musical head now on, let’s talk about The Lurkers. Not the British punk band on Beggars Banquet but, in this context, the trio of names creeping up the day one leaderboard. They need no introduction, Jon Rahm, Shane Lowry and Scottie Scheffler. That trio of major winners are -2 after 8, 7 and 7 holes respectively. They’re tied fifth and just two off the pace.
Matthew Jordan was supposed to the one-hit wonder, local lad done good story at his home course Hoylake in the 2023 Open. The unheralded Englishman delighted the Royal Liverpool crowds to finish 10th. What a week. And yet at Troon a year later he shook off any comparisons with Babybird, The Knack and Carl Douglas by finishing tied 10th again. And, blow me down, he’s at it again. Jordan, the World No. 152, has just birdied 10, 11 and 12 and is the joint-leader alongside Olesen and Westwood.
Some words, plenty of them as always, from the very chatty Padraig Harrington. This is just one question’s worth, his response to hitting the tournament’s opening tee shot. A reminder that he finished with a 4-over 75.
I hyped up the tee shot as much as I could so when I got there today, it wasn’t too bad. I was decently comfortable when I got on the tee. Obviously didn’t try for too much, hit a nice smooth 3-iron down there, held the pose a little bit.
I got a little emotional when I was clapped on, and then I calmed down, and I was kind of fine when I was hitting it. Obviously after that, I don’t know through the start maybe there was a little bit of hype in it, the three-putting 3 and 4, I just struggled. Three three-putts in the first seven holes, it just kills you when you’re always thinking about your pace as you’re standing over the ball, you’re always questioning your lines.
Yeah, it was a tough day on the greens, and it just ate into my game. Might have been a little bit of the fact that I was hyped up for the 1st tee box. Who knows? Certainly felt like I played better, could have played better, should have played better, scored better.
I don’t feel like there’s anything wrong with my putting, and I had a horrible day on the greens. It’s one of those things that’s the nature of the game, links golf. I’d love to be -- yeah, I’d love to be a bit better, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying.
We have a new clubhouse leader – Jacob Skov Olesen. The Norwegian bogeys the last but 67 around Royal Portrush is a very fine effort indeed. Looking at his numbers, all elements combined to produce that 4-under score. He currently ranks 11th for Strokes Gained: Off The Tee, 14th for Approach, 7th Around The Green and 3rd in Putting. Right now, he’s tied at the top with Lee Westwood. Time for a leaderboard update. You’ll notice Jon Rahm and Shane Lowry lurking nicely.
-4 J Olesen (F), Westwood (13)
-3 Li (16), Jordan (11)
-2 N Hojgaard (17), Fitzpatrick (9), Echavarria (2), Rahm (7), Lowry (6)
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The forecasters were right. Rain was predicted around midday and suddenly, with the afternoon only just upon us, it’s pouring down again. I heard one local out on the course this morning say that at least when the rains come, the winds die. And that shrewdie is correct. Just as I look at the TV screen next to me, there’s a limp flag as Phil Mickelson (now in waterproofs) putts at 18. The 2013 Open champ is -1 so he’ll be glad to get in and give himself a pat on the back for a fine five hours or so of work.
US Open champion J.J. Spaun birdies 7 to join the group on -1 in tied 11th. Another recent American winner, last week’s surprise Scottish Open champion Chris Gotterup, is also on the move. Birdies at 10 and 13 have taken the monster hitter to -2.
John Cook, not the 11-time PGA Tour winner who finished runner-up in the 1992 Open, gets in touch: “In a slightly cheeky fashion, and as an Ulsterman forced to live in London, I’d politely point out that whatever delicious plate of food you ate that cost you £11 this morning it was not a full English breakfast. They were outlawed in Ulster around the time of Oliver Cromwell, who I understand had a lovely short game but was a bit loose off the tee.”
Yes, it did confuse me a bit John. I thought the local vernacular was an “Ulster Fry” but this was billed on the menu board as a “Full English Breakfast”. I’ve just gone to the canteen to double check. There’s also a vegetarian version for £8. For the record, my morning ‘feast’ featured two sausages, scrambled egg, the last bit of bacon (there was a three-minute wait for the next batch), two slices of black pudding and three cooked tomatoes.
Meanwhile, Shane Lowry is up to -2 after a birdie at 6.
Kristoffer Reitan is an interesting name now in the top five of the leaderboard. He’s just moved to -2 after flicking an approach to kick-in range at 9. Reitan certainly isn’t afraid to go low. Earlier this year he won the Soudal Open with a 62 and seven days later added a 60 in the Austrian Alpine Open. The Norwegian also has an interesting background. His family are supermarket tycoons and own Reitan Retail: a leading company in the Nordic and Baltic countries. More fun facts here as I get them.
Just popped my head outside for five minutes and the weather seems virtually identical to what it was early this morning. A bit breezy but nothing extreme. In fact, the forecast suggests it’ll hold steady at around 14-15mph for the rest of the golfing day. No obvious sign of any more rain yet but it’s still predicted to arrive between midday and 4pm. Local man Tom McKibbin was being interviewed by various reporters in the mixed zone just outside the media centre. He said his 1-over 72 was a bit up and down, featuring good stuff and bad, and was a fair reflection of his round. That seemed a very honest assessment.
The big yellow scoredboard in the media centre has room for 14 names and creeping into the final two slots are two very familiar names. Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka birdied the 1st and is still at -1 after 6 and he’s been joined there by Xander Schauffele after the defending champ’s gain at the 5th. Both are tied seventh, four behind leader Olesen.
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Exactly five hours since he hit the 153rd Open’s first tee-shot, Padraig Harrington completes his 75th swish of the day and signs for a par at 18 to complete a round of 4-over. Not the score he wanted but there’s always tomorrow to try and bank another two days of crowd pleasing. Playing partners Nicolai Hojgaard and Tom McKibbin shoot 69 and 72 respectively. Hojgaard’s 68 may not be the clubhouse lead for long though as Danish compatriot Olesen is only two holes from home.
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After Scottie Scheffler’s press conference featured an unexpected diversion into existential pondering, he shows that holing 10 footers for par really does have meaning. He reacts to doing just that with a fist-pump at 4. Filled with the joys, he pumps a drive at the par-4 5th that nearly reaches the green. And up and down there will secure a birdie that will take him to -2.
Well, well, well, leader Olesen has just chipped in with his third to the par-4 15th and the Dane now leads by two on -5. When it’s your day and all that.
-5 J Olesen (15)
-3 Li (12), Westwood (10)
-2 N Hojgaard (17), Jordan (8), Fitzpatrick (6), Echavarria (2)
What of the World No.1 and defending champion? That’s two different players by the way even though their surnames get muddled by the guy who does my windows. Scottie Scheffler is into red figures after sinking an 18-footer for birdie at 3 but his approach to 4 catches the front of the green and rolls back off it. Nearish namesake Xander Schauffele has opened with four straight pars, as has Jon Rahm by the way.
The weather forecast is always a huge topic of conversation in an Open – will there be a draw bias? – and the official Met Office update is pointing to on and off rain between midday and 4pm today before sun starts to emerge again around 5pm. That news will be of great interest to this bunch below. Will Rory get to play the majority of his round in the clearer, brighter skies?
1437 Tyrrell Hatton, Russell Henley (USA), Min-Woo Lee (Aus)
1448 Bryson DeChambeau (USA), Robert MacIntyre, Justin Rose
1459 Ludvig Aaberg (Swe), Viktor Hovland (Nor), Jordan Spieth (USA)
1510 Tommy Fleetwood, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas (USA)
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We’re at Portrush so let’s have an update on the Irish. Lowry two-putted for birdie at the 2nd hole to go to -1 so that’s a solid start. Tom McKibbin has oscillated between +2 and -2 today and is currently splitting the difference: he’s even par after 16. Padraig Harrington flashed a broad smile after a birdie at 1 but the two-time Open winner has found it tough going since and has dropped to +4 with just 17 and 18 to play.
Scottie Scheffler is playing in his fifth Open this week and it’s a par-par start for the World No. 1. He’s a two-time Masters winner and captured a third major when landing the PGA Championship in May. His Open record shows a seventh, an eighth and nothing worse than 23rd in four appearances. It’s a foundation but perhaps also hints at this being the major he may find most hard to win. Scheffler loves control and links golf will always wrestle some away from him.
The roof on the press tent is always a good guide to what the weather is doing. And, right now, it’s all very still and silent. No rain, and winds are fairly modest. It’s not uniform obviously and out on the course, flags and trouser legs are flapping in the more exposed areas such as down at the 5th where the green backs onto the ocean. I wondered down there early on and a got a brief glimpse of the tip of Giant’s Causeway.
Umbrellas are down again. This is a dance we may see all week. Only a brief cameo from the rain this time but it could be more sustained this afternoon. Shane Lowry, a hardy Irishman, is immune to all these weather changes and he biffs a beautiful second shot onto the green at the par-5 2nd hole. Chance for eagle. Up at 10, Li birdies to join Westwood in tied second on -3.
Well, -3 is so 10.34am. In fact, Jacob Skov Olesen has chosen to bypass it completely by draining a huge putt for eagle at 12 to vault from -2 to -4. That’s one clear of Westwood and two in front of a dwinding group on -2 which now comprises fellow Dane Nicolai Hojgaard, Mickelson and Li. J.B. Holmes was the solo leader after round one here in 2019 with a 5-under 66. Olesen is on track to match or even better that after sinking his hefty 42-foot putt for eagle on the course’s third and final par 5.
Rain won’t have much of an impact on the fairways and greens. This is linksland. It’s absorbed quickly. But the already gnarly rough does increase in difficulty when wet. Stay away (said with loud hailer).
The -2 barrier is broken by… Lee Westwood. The Englishman pounds two big hits onto the 7th green and has a realistic look at eagle. It curls away on the low side but he brushes in the short birdie putt and he’s the first in the field to hit -3. The other big news from the course is that the umbrellas are up! It’s raining! Quite heavily too.
Lip out for Lowry at 1. That nine-footer was for birdie. Should we read anything into it? An early sign that the golfing gods will tease him a little this week? Or maybe it’s best to concentrate on the excellent approach. Stellar iron play was a big factor in his 2019 win.
It’s a seven-way tie at the top! The bunch at -2 is expanding all the time, one of the new entries Matt Fitzpatrick via an eagle at the 2nd. We’re nearly three hours into this Open and no-one has yet reached the giddy heights of -3. It won’t be long surely but who will break out of the logjam?
-2: N Hojgaard (13), J Olesen (10), Mickelson (10), Li (8), Herbert (8), Westwood (6), Fitzpatrick (2).
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Shane Lowry is up and running. The Irishman won The Open by six here in 2019, a magical week which will be almost impossible to match. But if he wants a (not quite) precedent, how about Louis Oosthuisen winning the 2010 Open at St Andrews by seven and then almost repeating the feat the next time the Old Course staged the tournament in 2015 (Oosthuizen lost a three-way playoff, also featuring Marc Leishman, to Zach Johnson). Lowry is immediately into his stride, cutting a lovely iron down the first fairway.
So, I’m writing this live from Portrush. It was an early start (5am alarm call) to get here for the opening tee-shots at 6.30am. I’ve had a few pennies on local man Tom McKibbin this week and followed him for the first six holes in an entertaining three-ball also featuring Padraig Harrington and Nicolai Hojgaard. McKibbin struggled early and had to sink a testy par putt to avoid dropping to +3. But he made that putt at 4, birdied 5 and, as I walked back to the media centre, McKibbin’s name magically appeared at the top of the leaderboard. Clearly freed up by the aversion of my penetrating gaze, he’d eagled the par-5 7th. He added another at 9 to go to -2 but, just as I sat down in the press canteen for a full English (£11 if you’re interested; we get a £30 food card so that’s a third of the budget gone), I watched him on one of the TVs in there hacking around in rough at 11. He racked up a double bogey, as did Hojgaard. Both bounced back with birdie at 12 to get into red figures again and Hojaard as added another at 13 to make it bunched a the top.
Thanks Scott. Ludicrous claim but thankyou. You join me as defending champion, Xander Schauffele, launches his opening tee-shot. And it’s a good ‘un from the hero of Troon 12 months ago. On the short grass. A nerve settler. New US Open champion J.J. Spaun and Jon Rahm make up a high-quality three-ball. Rahm once won the Irish Open down the road at Portstewart and he was 11th in the 2019 Open here so he likes this stretch of the Northern Irish coast.
… and with that, I’m going to hand over to THE MOST HANDSOME MAN IN WEST YORKSHIRE (population 2.3 million), David Tindall. See you again in a while.
Haotong Li shot 63 on the final day at Birkdale as a 21-year-old in 2017. He’s not done too much in the majors since that third-placed finish behind Jordan Spieth and Matt Kuchar, and his career hasn’t quite hit the heights some predicted at that time. Although four wins on the European Tour isn’t exactly shabby. But perhaps he’s ready to hit the heights again, and with birdies at 5 and 7, the 29-year-old from China joins the leaders at -2. He’s certainly got the confidence to launch another bid for the title: he carries a wedge on which the following is engraved: HAOTONG IS THE MOST HANDSOME MAN IN CHINA. There are 1.4 billion people in China.
Double bogeys for Tom McKibbin and Nicolai Højgaard at 11. Højgaard will possibly be the happier – or rather, the less consumed by fume – of the two, given he parred with his second ball to limit the damage. McKibbin, having found his, decelerated when chipping out from the thick stuff, and while it’s not the most egregious of errors, on account of the filthy tangled lie, he might feel he’s looked a gift horse in the mouth having found his ball. But both slip from -2 back to level par. Which means – thanks to Lee Westwood making birdie at 5 – there’s a vintage look to the top of the leaderboard. Who’d have bet on this?!
-2: Mickelson (8), Westwood (6)
-1: Olesen (8), J Smith (6), Li (6), Jaeger (3), Reitan (2)
From jug to Claret Jug. Speaking of great stories – which Underdog undoubtedly is – here’s another, courtesy of our desk in Australia. Ryan Peake has had a troubled history, to say the very least. Here’s how he’s rebuilt his life after time in the jug. He’s making his Open debut this week, and given the benefit of experience and perspective, bogeys at 1, 2 and 5 this morning are unlikely to faze him too much. He’s currently +2.
Tom McKibbin has found his ball. It’s not exactly in the ideal spot, though, and he can’t hack it back onto the fairway at the first attempt. He’s back on the short stuff in three. Meanwhile Nicolai Højgaard can’t find his ball – despite McKibbin and Padraig Harrington doing their best to help – and he trudges back to the tee. Looks like they’ll both be going backwards … and with Jacob Skov Olesen making bogey at 8, slipping to -1, there’s a fair chance Phil Mickelson will be the sole leader of the Open in a few minutes!
While all that nonsense was unfolding, Phil Mickelson was quietly making birdie at 7. The 55-year-old joins the leaders at -2! Thoughts immediately turn to Tom Watson and his near miss of 2009. It can’t be helped. On that subject, Underdogs, the story of that famous Turnberry tussle, is well worth your time. Poor old Stewart Cink, we didn’t show him enough love. It’s not too late to right that wrong. He tees off in a couple of hours. Let’s cheer him round like the hero he is.
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Padraig Harrington ends up with a double bogey at 10, the punishment for losing his ball. And then on 11 – this is absurd – there’s trouble afoot for Tom McKibbin, who carves his tee shot right into a bush. And then – this is preposterous – Nicolai Højgaard follows him, finding even thicker vegetation a few yards up the same side of the hole! The nearby marshal starts rummaging around with concern, unable to immediately spot McKibbin’s ball. We couldn’t have another two lost balls here, could we? Even if they find them, they might have to take unplayables. Blimey.
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Jacob Skov Olesen joins the leaders with birdie at the par-five 7th. And yet it’s something of a disappointment having sent his second shot from 279 yards to 14 feet. An eagle would have catapulted him into the lead, but after no-fuss pars for Nicolai Højgaard and Tom McKibbin at 10, here we are.
-2: Højgaard (10), McKibbin (10), Olesen (7)
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The first, and possibly not last, lost ball of the week. It’s poor Padraig Harrington, the 2007 and 2008 champion’s early buzz wearing off and turning into a thick funk at pace. He hoicks his drive at the par-four 10th into big trouble down the right, and despite spotters posted nearby, his ball disappears into serious, knee-high grass and sandy filth, and after a three-minute search involving several helpful punters, can’t be found. He’s got to take the walk of shame back to the tee and have another crack. This one goes into rough down the left. He’ll always have Carnoustie. And Birkdale.
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Tom McKibbin smoothly holes his birdie putt at 9, and Darren Clarke has done his fellow local hero a solid after all! The 22-year-old from Belfast was one of the dark-horse tips going into this week – local knowledge, immense potential, all that – but it didn’t look like it was on when he was two-over through 3. But he’s four-under through the last five holes, and he turns in 34! As does his partner Nicolai Højgaard, who tidies up for his par. The third member of the group, Padraig Harrington, pars to turn in 38; he’s +2.
-2: Højgaard (9), McKibbin (9)
-1: Olesen (6), Mickelson (6), Riley (3), Gotterup (2), Westwood (2), Jaeger (1)
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The early leader Nicolai Højgaard lashes out of the thick rough down the right of Darren Clarke – this is going to take some getting used to, if we’re not to get extremely confused – but can’t find the green. His ball topples off the left and down a swale. He chips up to seven feet, but will have work to do if he’s to escape with par. Tom McKibbin however – admittedly in less unpleasant rough – arrows his approach from 169 yards to nine feet. He’ll have a great look at birdie. These two fellows could be changing places in a minute or two.
Phil Mickelson dices with death at the short downhill par-four 5th. He’s unfortunate with his drive, which takes a kick left onto a rough-strewn bank, rather than heading right towards the green. But he then misjudges his chip, hoping to stun it into a ridge running across the green, and missing it altogether. He’s forced to holler after his ball in impotent panic, pleading with it to stop rolling before it topples over the back and past the white OB posts lurking close by. Thankfully it stops just in time. He rolls his 60-foot left-to-right swinging putt to a couple of feet, and makes off with par. He was a wee bit disappointed not to make the long birdie putt, as it flirted with the hole, but he’d have taken that par when his ball was scampering in the direction of the beach.
The first shot in an Open Championship on the newly christened 9th hole, Darren Clarke, is appropriately taken by Northern Ireland’s Tom McKibbin. The spirit of Clarke doesn’t do his compatriot any favours, as McKibbin’s tee shot disappears into rubbish down the right. Nicolai Højgaard’s effort is even worse, much wider, and into even thicker oomska. Finally up steps Padraig Harrington, who answers Ireland’s call by splitting the fairway. But the other two lads are in bother. Oh Darren! How could you!
Nicolai Højgaard gives a 15-foot birdie putt at 8 a brave rattle. It misses on the low side and rolls three feet past. But he makes the one coming back. He remains at -2. More trouble though for his playing partner Padraig Harrington, who putts up from the false front of the green, and gets nowhere near. He can’t make the four-footer that remains, and that’s a third bogey in six holes. It’s not technically his third three-putt of the day, the first stroke coming from off the green, but it’ll feel like that in his head. He’s +2 and the broad smile, showcased between the immediate wake of his opening tee shot and making the birdie that followed, is long gone.
Another career in microcosm. It’s Lee Westwood, who had his chances to win at Troon in 2004, Turnberry in 2009 and Muirfield in 2013, only to stumble along the closing stretch. A lovely draw into 1, further assisted by the banking to the right of the green, rolls up to nine feet. But the birdie putt never looks like dropping. Par. He’s going round with the new Scottish Open champion Chris Gotterup, who also pars. Gotterup is making his Open debut this week, having qualified as a result of his efforts at Renaissance Club last Sunday; Westwood is teeing it up in this competition for the 28th time.
Tom McKibbin has responded brilliantly to his cold start. He whistles his second at the long par-five 7th from 231 yards to 17 feet, and walks in the putt. The first eagle of the week! He’s gone 3-3-3 for the last three holes, and joins the leaders at -1 … for a couple of seconds, because his playing partner Nicolai Højgaard makes birdie to become the first player to reach the heady heights of -2. Hey, it’s early.
-2: N Højgaard (7)
-1: McKibbin (7), Olesen (4), Mickelson (3), D Johnson (2), Herbert (1)
KJ Choi is struggling. Opening with a skied drive is never ideal, and last year’s Senior Open champion hasn’t cleared his head. He misses the par-three 6th to the right, and requires three strokes to chop his way out of the native area. A triple-bogey six, and he’s propping up the field at +6. The smallest of consolations: this won’t be the only big score of the day.
That was gloriously absurd. Mickelson had left himself in all sorts, his ball a fried egg nailed to the wall. Even the great man wasn’t able to extricate it. But the second sand splash was exquisite, his trademark high-stakes mix of soft hands and aggression. Going for it, and getting his reward. You’ll see that shot more than once. In fact, here it is. Spin and enjoy.
A short game masterclass.
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 17, 2025
Mickelson holes out from the sand. pic.twitter.com/hEX1brav4i
Some Mickelson magic
Phil Mickelson distilled at the par-three 3rd! His tee shot plugs under the lip of a pot bunker. It’s almost impossible to escape. He opens the face of his wedge and lashes hard … but even this genius can’t get the ball out. It slams into the face and rolls back into the middle of the trap. But take two is something else. He swishes smoothly, sending his ball high, landing it 15 feet to the right of the pin, and using a combination of camber and spin to roll serenely into the cup! Par. You knew that was going in once it took it’s left-turn screech and rolled out. He raises both arms in the air as the crowd go wild. He remains at -1. That’s one of the shots of the week already. Disaster averted in sensational style, and with such skill and panache. Mickelson in microcosm. The purest tincture o’Phil.
The 2010 champion Louis Oosthuizen is the first player to send his tee shot at the gettable par-four 5th into the green. His ball initially rolls up to six feet or so, but the slope of the green takes it back to 22 feet. He can’t quite make the eagle putt he’s left himself, but expect more fun and games like this over the next four days.
An early thrill for Phil Mickelson, who birdies 2 to join the Danish pair in the lead. He wanders off insouciantly, just another day at the office for the 2013 champion golfer. Then Lucas Herbert walks one in from 30 feet on 1 to join the party. Nicolai Højgaard does well to stay in the picture, meanwhile, having sent his tee shot at 6 down a swale to the right of the par-three green. He chips up to five feet and finishes the job to save his par … just, though he needed all of the hole, the ball threatening to lip out on the left. Still, he’s one of four players under par during these early moments of the 153rd Open.
-1: N Højgaard (6), Olesen (3), Mickelson (2), Herbert (1)
In more local news, Tom McKibbin repairs some of the damage of his slow start. The short downhill par-four 5th is driveable, though there are risks involved with out-of-bounds and the beach behind the green. No need to worry about any of that, though, because he finds a fairway bunker down the right. But he whips out to eight feet, and holes the birdie putt to move back to +1.
Here comes another local lad! It’s the 2011 champion Darren Clarke, whose name now graces the 9th hole here. He’s a huge favourite with the gallery, and gets the ovation you’d expect. Then he belts a no-nonsense driver down the middle. He was never going to do anything else, given his experience in hitting the opening tee shot here in 2019. Here’s his account of that morning, courtesy of the R&A:
It was huge for me to hit the opening tee shot in 2019. It was a great honour to do it and I thought it was going to be OK. Everything was fine when I practiced that morning. Then when I stepped onto the tee I was like ‘oh goodness’! I’ve obviously played in the Ryder Cup, won The Open and won World Golf Championship events but it was quite nerve-wracking. My plan was to hit an iron off the tee like most of the guys will do, to avoid the bunker on the right and keep it short of the one on the left. But I ended up hitting driver and then a 9-iron to 25 feet and holed it for a birdie which was a nice way to start.
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Everyone in the field is dreaming of becoming just the third player, after Max Faulkner and Shane Lowry, to win an Open Championship at Royal Portrush. Well, everyone except for Lowry, by logic and strict definition, but let’s not pull pedantically at threads. Here’s how the former professional at Bramley Golf Club, near Guildford, got his hands on the Claret Jug in 1951.
Cameron Smith finds the par-five 2nd in two. He’s left with a 43-footer for eagle … but one of the best putters in the world seriously underhits his effort, leaving a six-footer for birdie. He can’t make that and trudges off on a downer. He remains at +1 … where he’s joined by Padraig Harrington, who suffers his second three-putt in succession, this time at 4, and there goes that dream fast start.
First up Padraig Harrington … now here’s Phil Mickelson, another veteran who will fancy their chances of pulling off a seismic record-breaking shock. The 55-year-old six-time major winner races his first putt of the week six feet past the flag on 1, but then tidies up for par and makes a small fist-pump that suggests he’s not minded just to make up the numbers.
Padraig Harrington bogeys the par-three 3rd as well. Two putts from 42 feet far from a gimme … and he doesn’t make them. His place at the top is taken by Jacob Skov Olesen: the 26-year-old Dane, making his professional debut at the Open – he finished in a tie for 60th at Troon as an amateur – tramlines a 40-foot putt on 1. Had that not hit the cup, it was halfway to Giant’s Causeway. A sizzling Danish start to the Open.
-1: Højgaard (3), Olesen (1)
E: Harrington (3), Migliozzi (2)
Taylor Pendrith, having wanged his very first tee shot at the Open out of bounds, does extremely well to gather himself. He makes a par with his second ball. So that’s the first double bogey of the week. It’s not going to be the last, is it. But that’s a brave response to a nightmare start. He’s +2 … as is Tom McKibbin, who drops another stroke after coming up short of the par-three 3rd.
KJ Choi is playing in his first Open for 11 years, his reward for winning the Senior Open last year. The 55-year-old Korean’s skied opening drive led to inevitable bogey … as did those aforementioned errant first strokes by Cameron Smith and Marco Penge. Of the first nine players to complete the intimidating 1st hole: one birdie, two pars, six bogeys. Welcome to Royal Portrush!
Nicolai Højgaard only qualified for this Open last week at the Scottish. He looks like taking last week’s good form into this week, making his birdie at the par-five 2nd to join his playing partner Padraig Harrington at the top of the leaderboard. There are only a dozen players out there, but leading the Open is leading the Open. For the record …
-1: Harrington (2), N Højgaard (2)
E: Migliozzi (1)
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Taylor Pendrith of Canada becomes the first player to wing his opening tee shot out of bounds. A big hook over the rope on the left. The 34-year-old Canadian is making his Championship debut this week, so that’s not going to calm the nerves.
This opening tee shot is messing with a few heads already. KJ Choi skies his effort 176 yards into thick rough down the left. Even if that was straight it wasn’t reaching the fairway. In the next group, the 2022 champion Cameron Smith somehow manages to be even worse, a mishit low hook fizzing into the same native area, covering just 153 yards. Marco Penge, who came so close at last week’s Scottish Open, also sails way left, though he’s gone 226 yards at least. A lot of people will be mindful of Rory McIlroy’s quadruple-bogey eight start here in 2019. To repeat: OB left, OB right. Is it any wonder?
The morning wave look to have the more favourable conditions compared to the later starters. There are dark clouds rumbling over Portrush right now, but “intermittent rain … with briefly heavier bursts” is the worst expected this morning. The breeze will pick up though, and there could be a chance of 25-35 mph gusts and possibly “thundery downpours” later this afternoon.
Padraig Harrington looks up for this. He turns 54 years of age next month, and if successful this week would become the oldest winner of the oldest major by the best part of eight years. (Old Tom Morris has held that record since 1867.) Having just landed the Senior US Open title, the 2007 and 2008 winner is in form, and you can be sure he thinks he can make history. And why shouldn’t he? From 210 yards he lashes his second pin high to 15 feet, then rolls in the birdie putt! Another huge smile, and those early nerves are all forgotten. The first rumbling roar of the week from the home gallery, and we really are up and running in style. Opening bogey for Tom McKibben, though, the inevitable result of his finding more rough with his second shot.
-1: Harrington (1)
E: Højgaard (1)
+1: McKibben (1)
Here we go, then … and the two-time winner Padraig Harrington steps up to hit the first shot of the 153rd Open Championship. Despite everything he’s done in the game – and he’s the brand-new Senior US Open champion – he looks pensive, approaching nervous. David Lancaster, the official starter, welcomes him to the tee. Out of bounds left and right. But what’s the worry? He clips an iron straight down the middle, after which his face melts into a huge smile. His playing partners Nicolai Højgaard and local lad Tom McKibbin take their turns – the latter finding the thick stuff down the left – and four days of glorious links-infused nonsense stretch out in front of us. Here we go, then!
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Preamble
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the 153rd Open Championship. Xander Schauffele, who saw off Billy Horschel, Justin Rose and Thriston Lawrence at Troon last year, is the defending champion … and yet because this edition will be contested on the links of Royal Portrush in County Antrim, it kind of feels like Shane Lowry, the winner here in 2019, is defending too. Hey, we don’t write the rules, it just does.
Another Irish winner on home soil, then? Lowry fancies doubling up, while course-record holder Rory McIlroy will doubtless think the old place owes him one after that quadruple-bogey start in 2019 and subsequent tearful missed cut. Tom McKibbin, 2007 and 2008 winner Padraig Harrington and 2011 champion Darren Clarke also hear Ireland’s call.
Bob MacIntyre, fresh from his runner-up spot at the US Open, will be aiming to become Scotland’s first major champion since Paul Lawrie in 1999. As for the English, Tommy Fleetwood, second at Portrush six years ago, would be a popular winner as well, while it feels like Tyrrell Hatton is effing and jeffing his way closer and closer to a breakthrough major.
Other European hopes include Jon Rahm, Ludvig Åberg, Viktor Hovland and Sepp Straka. The US charge, led by world number-one and tournament favourite Scottie Scheffler, also features the aforementioned reigning champ Schauffele, Bryson DeChambeau, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth.
And yes, we probably have forgotten your particular favourite and/or dark-horse tip, so sorry for neglecting to mention them. We’ll get round to them soon, no doubt. The first shot will be hit in anger by Padraig Harrington, and this Hole-By-Hole report will be up and running the moment persimmon meets featherie. It’s on!
Here are the tee times for the first round (GBR & IRE unless stated, all times local, (a) denotes amateurs) …
0635 Padraig Harrington, Nicolai Hoejgaard (Den), Tom McKibbin
0646 K. J. Choi (Kor), Guido Migliozzi (Ita), Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa)
0657 (a) Justin Hastings (Cay), Marco Penge, Cameron Smith (Aus)
0708 Jason Day (Aus), Jacob Skov Olesen (Den), Taylor Pendrith (Can)
0719 Phil Mickelson (USA), Ryan Peake (Aus), Daniel van Tonder (Rsa)
0730 Byeong-Hun An (Kor), Max Greyserman (USA), Niklas Noergaard (Den)
0741 Dustin Johnson (USA), Haotong Li (Chn), Jordan Smith
0752 Darren Clarke, Lucas Herbert (Aus), Davis Riley (USA)
0803 Mikiya Akutsu (Jpn), Julien Guerrier (Fra), Chun-An Yu (Tai)
0814 Thomas Detry (Bel), Chris Gotterup (USA), Lee Westwood
0825 Patrick Cantlay (USA), Mackenzie Hughes (Can), Cameron Young (USA)
0836 (a) Filip Jakubcik (Cze), Matthew Jordan, Thorbjoern Olesen (Den)
0847 Stephan Jaeger (Ger), Sebastian Soederberg (Swe), Henrik Stenson (Swe)
0903 Martin Couvra (Fra), Kristoffer Reitan (Nor), Adrien Saddier (Fra)
0914 Takumi Kanaya (Jpn), (a) Bryan Newman (Rsa), Justin Walters (Rsa)
0925 Matthew Fitzpatrick, Ryan Fox (Nzl), Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn)
0936 Akshay Bhatia (USA), Ben Griffin (USA), Sepp Straka (Aut)
0947 Sam Burns (USA), Brooks Koepka (USA), Aldrich Potgieter (Rsa)
0958 Jon Rahm (Spa), Xander Schauffele (USA), JJ Spaun (USA)
1009 Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa (USA), Scottie Scheffler (USA)
1020 Wyndham Clark (USA), Corey Conners (Can), Tom Hoge (USA)
1031 Nicolas Echavarria (Col), Denny McCarthy (USA), Patrick Reed (USA)
1042 Ryggs Johnston (USA), Matthias Schmid (Ger), (a) Richard Teder (Est)
1053 John Axelsen (Den), Darren Fichardt (Rsa), Dylan Naidoo (Rsa)
1104 Oliver Lindell (Fin), Jesper Sandborg (Swe), Justin Suh (USA)
1115 Sadom Kaewkanjana (Tha), Riki Kawamoto (Jpn), Sampson Zheng (Chn)
1126 Stewart Cink (USA), Marc Leishman (Aus), Matteo Manassero (Ita)
1147 (a) Connor Graham, Francesco Molinari (Ita), Jesper Svensson (Swe)
1158 Daniel Brown, Daniel Hillier (Nzl), Zach Johnson (USA)
1209 (a) Ethan Fang (USA), Rickie Fowler (USA), Adam Scott (Aus)
1220 Laurie Canter, Sergio Garcia (Spa), Elvis Smylie (Aus)
1231 Andrew Novak (USA), Matthieu Pavon (Fra), Matt Wallace
1242 Dean Burmester (Rsa), Rikuya Hoshino (Jpn), Davis Thompson (USA)
1253 (a) Sebastian Cave, Shugo Imahira (Jpn), Si-Woo Kim (Kor)
1304 Bud Cauley (USA), Michael Kim (USA), John Parry
1315 Angel Hidalgo (Spa), Matt McCarty (USA), Shaun Norris (Rsa)
1326 Daniel Berger (USA), Keegan Bradley (USA), Sung-Jae Im (Kor)
1337 Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Rsa), Rasmus Hoejgaard (Den), Romain Langasque (Fra)
1348 Harry Hall, Aaron Rai, Sahith Theegala (USA)
1404 Thriston Lawrence (Rsa), Justin Leonard (USA), Antoine Rozner (Fra)
1415 Chris Kirk (USA), Carlos Ortiz (Mex), JT Poston (USA)
1426 Brian Harman (USA), Maverick McNealy (USA), Joaquin Niemann (Chi)
1437 Tyrrell Hatton, Russell Henley (USA), Min-Woo Lee (Aus)
1448 Bryson DeChambeau (USA), Robert MacIntyre, Justin Rose
1459 Ludvig Aaberg (Swe), Viktor Hovland (Nor), Jordan Spieth (USA)
1510 Tommy Fleetwood, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas (USA)
1521 Harris English (USA), Tony Finau (USA), Nick Taylor (Can)
1532 Lucas Glover (USA), Joo-Hyung Kim (Kor), Jhonattan Vegas (Ven)
1543 Brian Campbell (USA), John Catlin (USA), (a) Frazer Jones
1554 (a) Cameron Adam, Nathan Kimsey, Jason Kokrak (USA)
1605 Curtis Knipes, Curtis Luck (Aus), Daniel Young
1616 George Bloor, OJ Farrell, Young-Han Song (Kor)
