The American took the lead in the first round at The 154th Open, but it wasn’t a major champion like Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffle, Wyndham Clark or Collin Morikawa who got off to an early start, it was No.122 Jackson Suber, who marked his first trip to England to lead the field at Royal Birkdale after a fifth-5 on the superpar.
The 26-year-old from Florida, who had never played a links course before this week, went out on an impressive par 34, making two birdies and two bogeys, but burned on the back nine with birdies at 10, 11, 14 and 16, then climbed to the top of the leaderboard with an eagle four to 7 to lead after the first round.
On a day where the starters were in excellent conditions, and the wind picked up gradually in the afternoon, the leaderboard was led by England’s Dan Brown and South Korea’s Sungjae Im a few hours after both players shot 66s after returning to the clubhouse before lunch.
On another warm day, Bob MacIntyre is part of the pack chasing after an opening 67, scores matched by Bryson De Chambeau, Cameron Young, Thomas Detry, Francesco Molinari, Alex Smalley, Ryan Gerard and MJ Daffue.
With the offense so hot, players were not penalized for missing fairways, DeChambeau was able to shoot under par despite only hitting four fairways. Hitting driver whenever he could, the two-time US Open champion bogeyed the first two holes, and added three more on 10, 16 and 17 to defy his critics and put himself in trouble.
SCOTTIE IN THE DISTANCE, RORY LOOKS AT THE COUNTRY
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler posted a two-under 68, despite being 4-under after six holes, while Rory McIlroy had a poor day on the greens to register a two-over 72. The reigning Masters champion missed three putts within four feet as he struggled to read Birkdale’s break due to the uneven difficulty of the afternoon. hot summer sun.
“The two players on the par-fives weren’t great and I struggled the first two holes to find speed on the greens,” said the 2014 Open champion, who felt he was driving the ball well after driving the 415-yard ninth hole green. “I felt like they were very inconsistent, just because some parts of the vegetable are still alive and growing and some are really dead.
“I felt like I did a little bit, but a lot of stupid mistakes. But every time I make a stupid mistake, I’m thankful I made a birdie to keep myself there. I’m not too far off. Hopefully the conditions will be better tomorrow and maybe the greens will be a little smoother in the morning.”
Each of the last 26 Open men were within five shots of the lead after the first round, but McIlroy believes he can get back into contention when he tees off at 10.09am on Friday.
“If you look at the difference between the goals scored this morning and the points scored this afternoon, it looks like that will be changed tomorrow with the conditions,” he added. “Hopefully I can take advantage of the best form in the morning and shoot for par and get back at it.”
Hometown hero Tommy Fleetwood, who was applauded from every tee and on the green as the champion-in-waiting, shot a one-under 69, despite admitting he didn’t have his ‘B game’ to stay among the group of 34 players who posted scores below par on the first day.
The pre-tournament favorite with work to do on Friday included Matt Fitzpatrick, who shot 72, while Justin Rose was among those struggling after five-over 75s left him with a lot of work to do.
Padraig Harrington, who won the 137th Open Championship at Birkdale in 2008, lifts the board after the first round after shooting 10 over 80, and the 54-year-old US Senior Open champion twice bogeyed the first hole and failed to make one birdie during a difficult afternoon on the links.
With variable winds and unrelenting sunshine forecast for the rest of the week, conditions are set to be tough and fast, so it will be interesting to see if those who take bold lines and play boldly off the tee will fare better than those who take a more conservative approach and stay out of the penalty bunkers.
For all scores, visit www.theopen.com/leaderboard
