Round One Report

The rain fell, the wind blew and 156 of the world’s best golfers revelled in the fun on a gripping first day of The 153rd Open.

From the first drive to the final putt, round one was deliciously unpredictable and the leaderboard underlines just how exciting it all was – with 44 players within four shots of the lead.

Five men share that privilege on four-under-par, with Jacob Skov Olesen, Haotong Li, Matt Fitzpatrick, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Harris English all going round in 67 shots in changing conditions.

Of that group, only Fitzpatrick has won a major before but sitting just behind are a host of names who have one of golf’s four biggest prizes already resting on their mantlepiece – including Scottie Scheffler, Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy.

Scheffler is one shot back, Rose two and McIlroy three, while the likes of Brian Harman, Jon Rahm, Shane Lowry and Xander Schauffele are also well placed.

Morning starters make hay while the sun doesn't shine

It was a showery and breezy first morning at The 153rd Open, the kind that chilled the soul and made you forget all about the three heatwaves that have dominated the British and Irish summer.

But while nature shapes The Open, players shape the leaderboard and the morning was a battle against the golf course that tested everyone.

Li knows how to shoot a low score at The Open. He fired a 63 en route to a third-place finish at Royal Birkdale eight years ago, and he made an excellent start here.

The Chinese player was one of five players to shoot 67 but the only one to do it bogey-free, in a sublime display of controlling the golf ball. His four birdies came on the 5th, 7th, 10th and 17th holes, while an outstanding up-and-down on 9 to save par was arguably the highlight.

Shortly after, Fitzpatrick joined him on four-under-par. The Englishman admits his career hit rock bottom in March, so lost he was with his struggling game. But with a new swing coach in tow and a patch of promising form, he matched Li with the help of an eagle on 2 and chip-in birdie on 16.

Earlier, Olesen was the first to record a 67 as he made the most of calmer conditions very early on. But the 2024 Amateur Champion was equally impressive, and carried on his form from Final Qualifying, where he punched his ticket to The Open.

English and Bezuidenhout join the fun

Playing in the group after McIlroy, English caught some of the crowd and he certainly put on a show.

The American started like a train, birdieing 1, 2 and 4. He then recovered from a bogey at 5,  sinking further birdies at 6 and 7 to reach four-under-par at the turn.

A birdie at 12 pushed him into the solo lead at five-under-par but a bogey at the tricky 14th – the third hardest hole of the day – knocked him back into the crowd.

Bezuidenhout’s round, also in the afternoon, was just as good. Three straight birdies on 5, 6 and 7 filled him with confidence, while an eagle putt on 12 found the cup from 27 feet.

“Leading into this week, I had a decent finish last week at the Scottish Open, where I played well,” he said.

“I actually played a lot better, I thought. It's just hard to make putts on that golf course. Yeah, my game was in a good spot.

“I've been putting a lot of work in on my swing. I've been going through some swing changes and stuff. It's nice to see that paying off.”

Big names lurking

At The Open, danger lurks on every hole. And for the front five, it also lurks just over their collective shoulders on the leaderboard.

World No.1 Scottie Scheffler was up and down during a round that also clashed with a couple of heavy rain showers but, ominously, he finished with birdies on 16 and 17 and goes to bed on three-under-par.

He shared a score of 68 with England’s Matthew Jordan, who was T10 in both 2023 and 2024, Tyrrell Hatton and Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana.

There are a host of superstar names sitting on two-under-par, including Rose, Lee Westwood, Rickie Fowler and 2023 Champion Golfer of the Year Brian Harman.

Phil Mickelson, Rahm, Lowry, Sergio Garcia and Zach Johnson can also be pleased with their day’s work and are among a large group on one-under-par, just three shots off the lead – together with a certain home favourite.

McIlroy in contention

He might have spent much of his back nine puffing out his cheeks amid a frustrating run of holes but McIlroy can take some considerable comfort from the fact he is nine strokes better off than he was in 2019.

The 2014 Champion Golfer has been reminded of his torrid first round from The 148th Open all week, with a quadruple bogey on the 1st hole setting the tone for a difficult Championship.

This year, he again pulled his first tee shot into the left rough – though this time not out of bounds – and again walked off the green over par, though only by one stroke rather than four.

McIlroy looked set for a low score and perhaps even an assault on the lead when he responded to that slow start with birdies on 2, 5, 7 and 10 to reach three-under-par but three bogeys in four holes slowed his progress.

It is impossible to stem the flow of magic for long, though, and McIlroy responded to a wild drive on 17 that found the right rough with a sensational recovery from 150 yards, and a neat birdie putt.

He might be two shots worse off than he had been earlier in his round but he is only three off the lead – four fewer than he was after the same stage at the Masters, and we all know what happened there.

Xander content with start

Xander Schauffele insists he did not think about being the defending Champion once all day and, with regaining the Claret Jug at the forefront of his mind, he cannot afford to.

The 31-year-old made a solid start by scoring a level-par 71, the same as Robert MacIntyre and Sungjae Im among others.

“It's Thursday of a major. It's a positioning battle,” he said.

“If you're getting good clubs and this and that, you can kind of go out there and shoot a nice number, but it's really just trying to position yourself come the weekend.

“Maybe then it [being a Champion Golfer] will be an advantage. As of right now, the same nerves, the same kind of everything for a normal major.”

Emotional Harrington hails 'special day'

It might have meant an early alarm call but the grandstand on the 1st tee at 6:35am was packed to welcome Padraig Harrington.

The two-time Champion Golfer was given the honour of hitting the first shot of The 153rd Open and he duly delivered a crisply-struck iron down the heart of the fairway, and then followed up by walking in an 18-foot birdie putt.

That was as good as it got for the 53-year-old, who finished on four-over-par, but he said the reception he got on the 1st was one to remember.

“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,” he said.

“I wouldn't say I get too emotional. It felt like they were there for me, giving me a clap. I expected the nerves but I didn't expect that. So I did have to adjust myself for that.

“It was very special, I've got to say. It's a great honour to do it. I really hate the idea of being ceremonial, but I was prepared to take that to do it because it was here. I'm glad I did.”