Rory McIlroy got his Open title tilt underway with a great start raising already high hopes that he could break his eight-year major duck.
The Northern Irishman was the favourite heading into the championship and went out in a blemish-free four-under – birdieing the first hole before three on the bounce from the fifth.
That came after Ian Poulter experienced a topsy-turvy round. The Englishman, one of the marquee names in the controversial breakaway LIV golf series, was booed on the first tee before nearly hooking his opening tee shot out of bounds on the widest fairway in golf. He bounced back well to end on three-under, impressive after the horror start.
Follow all the latest first round updates below…
02:07 PM
Rory drops a shot
But it could so easily have been a double bogey.
The world No 2 is in trouble off the tee at the par-four 13th. Out of the rough his approach finds a down slope just shy of a bunker. He’s left with a long par putt that he does well to get in in two. It’s his first blemish of the day and a reminder of what this course can do if you get out of position.
Rory’s back to four-under.
01:59 PM
It’s fair to say I got rather excited by that mammoth Poulter putt
At the ninth. It was an eagle putt of all of 162 feet.
I suspected it might have been the longest televised putt in history, beating Michael Phelps’ (yes, that Michael Phelps) monster putt in the 2012 Dunhill Pro-Am.
BUT our man in the know, James Corrigan, has reminded me that Dave Pelz holed one at Whistling Straits from 200ft (proper long…). So we’ll say Poulter’s putt is the longest longest ever televised putt in Britain – still not a bad accolade…
01:52 PM
Leaderboard
Eight-under: Cameron Young (64)
Five-under: Cam Smith (67), Ernie Els (13), Rory McIlroy (12)
Four-under: Barclay Brown (68), Kurt Kitayama (68), Westwood (15)
01:45 PM
Cam Smith speaks…
…after his impressive 67…
“Keeping it on the fairway is key, they are so firm and fast. Keeping it on the fairway is quite hard to do. Some of my lag putting was the best I’ve done. “
01:43 PM
More roars for Rory
That’s because he’s just added a birdie at the 12th. It could have been better – he drive just shy of the green and his putt up a slope hit the pin but refused to drop. That left him with a simple birdie putt to take him to five-under.
He’s looking as though he’s enjoying himself out there and well within himself – ominous for his rivals…
01:40 PM
Cameron Young ends with a birdie
Having driven through the back of the green at 18. It’s a fabulous round of 64 – his eight-under leads.
The pins are tucked away today BUT that round still shows what’s possible on this fabled course.
01:35 PM
He couldn’t, could he?
Yep, Lee ‘Westy’ Westwood is now at four-under after another birdie at the 15th. Despite his moving to the Saudi breakaway you think he’d still be a popular winner – a long, long way to go but good early signs for the man without a major.
01:32 PM
The afternoon ‘Big Names’ are getting their rounds underway
And it’s a great start for LIV posterboy Dustin Johnson – he’s birdied the first having left himself with a full shot for his approach. He got off to a rapid start here in 2015 before the weekend wind blew his chance of a Claret Jug away.
His playing partner Adam Scott pars and the third of the threeball, Mark Leishman, also birdies.
01:25 PM
Wonder for Westy
The LIV golfer and contender for ‘Best Player To Never Win A Major’ has rolled in a a birdie putt on the par-five 14th to move to three-under.
He was two-over through two but since then has registered five birdies and is looking good. If he is to ever win that elusive major – and considering he’s part of the rebel series you have to say his chances may be more limited now – you’d think it will be in an Open.
Anyway, rolling in birdies in an Open at St Andrews is a great way of ‘growing the game’…
01:18 PM
Update on Rory
He’s posted four pars since his three birdies on the bounce. He’s had chances to go lower – not least at the short par-four 10th when his drive left him 50 yards to the pin – but he’s stays at four-under, now through 11.
01:16 PM
Two movers to five-under
And they are none other than one oldie and one young gun (28’s still young, no?!). Ernie Els continues to roll back the years with a birdie at the 12th (to go with his birdie at 11) and Cam Smith ended his round with one at the 18th. The Aussie hasn’t ever done well at The Open (best finish being T-20) but he’s well in the early mix here.
12:58 PM
Missed chances for Cameron Young
He’s still on seven-under but it could so easily be nine-under after missed birdie chances at 14 and 15.
12:52 PM
DeChambeau ends on three-under
He birdies the last to get back his dropped shot at 16.
That was a solid start from the big-hitting American (I think it’s law you have to always describe him that way…). He didn’t try and maim the ball and try drive all the short pars fours. After a poor years he should be very happy with that round.
12:47 PM
Cam Smith stays at four-under
By virtue of playing the infamous Road Hole sensibly – namely don’t go pin-hunting, and bring in the Road Hole bunker into play, with your approach and play to the left of the green. He two-putts from distance to walk off with a not-to-be-sniffed-at four.
12:44 PM
The Big Easy rolling back the years
Ernie Els has just sunk a birdie putt at the 11th to move to four-under and a share of second spot. He’s back at 1,806 in the world rankings but the Open champion in 2002 and 2012 knows how to play links golf and illustrating it nicely at the moment.
12:40 PM
Tom Morgan at the Old Course
Our reporter has the latest on the travel problems in Fife…
The 52,000 crowd is unlikely to peak until later for Tiger Woods teeing off, but earlier arrivals at St Andrews avoided the worst of the expected chaos on the roads, with extra coaches and an additional park and ride easing extra pressure caused by a train shortage.
“It was longer than normal getting in, but we got the Stagecoach from Dundee and we’ve only arrived about 45 minutes later than we expected,” said Sarah McDonald, 56, who had travelled with her husband Graeme from Lancashire. James Easterbrook, 46, from Glasgow, added: “We’re pretty annoyed we couldn’t get the train, but, to be honest, the traffic’s been pretty well managed.”
Crowds have already been in fine voice. There have been pantomime boos for Ian Poulter, but jeers turned to cheers when the Englishman holed a monster 160ft putt for an eagle two.
Phil Campbell, the head of customer operations for ScotRail, conceded this week to spectators “we may not be able to get you to the course” due to a pay dispute. On May 23 ScotRail introduced temporary timetables after drivers declined to make themselves available for overtime or rest day working due to ongoing strike negotiations.
The train operator is running a very limited number of trains to and from Leuchars, the nearest station to St Andrews, but the last returning train is around 7pm.
Ahead of the first day’s competition, the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews admitted there would be only so much the event can do to ease gridlock on some of the historic roads around the Home of Golf. Extra local buses have been put on by Stagecoach, linking St Andrews to Dundee, Cupar, Glenrothes, and the villages around the East Neuk of Fife, as well as an express bus service connecting to Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The R&A could break its previous attendance record at 239,000 in 2000 across the week when Tiger Woods won by eight strokes.
12:36 PM
Cameron Young plays a great approach to par-five 14th
That leaves him with a 40-foot putt for eagle which he leaves short. He now has a six-footer for birdie and the chance to get to eight-under. Can he make it? No he cannot…he’ll be disappointed with that…just the par and he stays at seven-under, any consolation will be found in the fact he still has a three-shot lead.
12:33 PM
The leaderboard
Seven-under: Cameron Young (13)
Four-under: Barclay Brown (68), Kurt Kitayama (68), Cameron Smith (15), Rory McIlroy (8)
Three-under: Min Woo Lee (69), Ian Poulter (69), JooHyung Kim (69), Ernie Els (10), Bred Kennedy (10), Dylan Frittelli (5)
12:29 PM
From Kate Rowan out on the course
There was a scramble to get to the practice putting green when a bag with a cuddly tiger club cover was spotted. However, the throng of fans were left disappointed as it did not belong to Mr Woods. The owner was Chinese world No 139 Haotong Li who teed of at midday. Three hours before he tees off Tiger watch is well and truly on.
12:23 PM
Paul Lawrie has his say about the pin positions
Our man at St Andrews, James Corrigan, asked Lawrie, 1999 Open champion and the first out here this morning, about the tough pin positions, and the Scot had this to say…
“The fact that we have to put pins where they are to make sure that scoring is not silly around here tells you that maybe the length that things are going is just starting to get a wee bit out of hand.”
12:09 PM
Rory is on a roll
Yep, you’ve guessed it, the favourite has birdied his third hold on the bounce to move to four-under. He’s got that precious thing everyone wants in sport momentum (or Maurice (Mo to his mates…) Mentum as I call it…)
He didn’t go for the well-protected green in one at the 371-yard par four, laying up short of the Shell bunker. That left him with 76 yards in, and an-up-down from there moves him to a share of second.
12:05 PM
Ian Poulter ends on three-under
A great round after a horror start that saw the Ryder Cup hero booed on the first tee before nearly finding the out-of-bounds on the widest fairway in golf.
He managed to par that opening hole before turning in three-under thanks to a monster 162-foot birdie at the ninth – a record, we suspect for longest televised putt. Two birdies on the back nine were cancelled out by two bogeys but a first-round three-under 69 is a more-than-solid start for the LIV golfer.
11:58 AM
Here are how some ‘Big Names’ are faring
Lee Westwood is two-under through 10
Ernie Els is also on two-under (8)
Bryson DeChambeau three-under after 14
Justin Thomas is one-under after five
Viktor Hovland is also one-under through five
LIV golfers Mickelson and Reed are level-par after 16 and 15 respectively
11:55 AM
Cameron Young is on fire
He’s birdied the short par-four 12th having gone through the back of the green with his drive. A cute up-and-down moves him to seven-under.
He’s two clear of Joohyung Kim and while he’ll be hitting into the wind on the final six holes he’ll have chances to get even lower…
11:52 AM
Rory moves to three-under
A birdie at the par-four sixth – his tee shot left him 89 yards his approach left a six-foot putt – moves him to tied-sixth. Impressive.
11:49 AM
Here’s a fun fact
Courtesy of Michael Wolf (@bamabearcat)…
Until 1992 the Cheape family of St Andrews (and of Cheape bunker fame) owned the rights to use six tee times on the Old Course each and every day – including on days the Open Championship was being played. The R&A was finally able to buy back the rights to the tee times for £245,000.
Personally, I would have charged more, or at least kept one of the tee times…
11:39 AM
Cameron Young just avoids the bushes on the left of the 12th
And the leader is through the back of the green in one.
11:36 AM
Cameron Young has a two-shot lead
His tee shot at the par-three 11th left him with a 10-footer and he makes no mistake from there to move to six-under. Six birdies and no bogeys is a great way to start – he’s now got the short, inviting 351-yard par four 12th to come, well within his range…
11:33 AM
Rory gets to two-under
He goes for the green in two on the par-five fifth, as many will do this week, and is in the greenside rough. But a delightful chip off the up-slope leaves him a two-foot putt and he’s at two-under. This has been an impressive, solid start from the favourite.
11:16 AM
Cameron Young takes the sole lead
The big hitting American (aren’t they all..?!) has just birdied the ninth to be the first golfer out there to reach five-under. His drive at the 352-yard hole went over the back of the green, but a great up-and-down gets him the sole lead.
His tee-shot at the par-three 11th is a peach and leaves him with a 10-footer to get to six-under…
11:14 AM
Barclay Brown has already won the hat competition
And the English amateur has a putt on 18 to lead The Open – the eight-foot attempt just misses but it’s been a fine round.
He finishes on four-under thanks to five birdies and just the one bogey.
11:01 AM
Cam Smith always seems to do well at the majors
And despite his patchy record at The Open – his best finish is T-20 – the mulletted Aussie is four-under through 10. Four birdies – the latest at the short par four 10th – and no bogeys has sent him to the top of the leaderboard alongside Joohyung Kim and his fellow Cameron, Cameron Young.
Current leaders
4-under – Cameron Young, Cameron Smith, Joohyung Kim
3-under – Min Woo Lee, Kurt Kitayama, Billy Horschel, Brad Kennedy
10:44 AM
Are the pin positions too tough?
Our golf correspondent James Corrigan certainly thinks so.
“I think the R&A might have gone a tad too far with the severity of these pin positions. Can understand the fear of the Old Course being humiliated in relatively benign conditions, but it’s definitely limiting the excitement. If only the governing bodies would rein back the ball, then the course set-up would not need to be so OTT.”
10:42 AM
Poor start from Shane Lowry
The 2019 champion has double-bogeyed the par-four second – a poor tee shot to the right – the one place you cannot go on the Old Course – was his undoing. He’s two-over through two.
10:39 AM
Justin Thomas is committing crimes against fashion
Well, at least fashion on the hallowed Fife links.
JT is wearing a hoodie – which I am sort of fine with (all the hullabaloo over Hatton wearing a hoodie at Wentworth a year or so ago was overdone) – but is also wearing the tightest of tight trousers and no socks….someone should have a word with him…
The US PGA champion is level par through two.
10:30 AM
There are currently 27 players under par
The course is playing as many expected – there are opportunities out there, good shots are getting rewarded and bad ones punished, as it should be. But with the tucked pins and rock-hard ground this isn’t the low-scoring fest some feared.
10:28 AM
Rory pars the second
He had a tricky two-putt to negotiate – up a steep slope to a plateau – and his distance judgement is perfect, that’s a good sign.
Playing partner Morikawa bogeys and falls to one-over.
10:22 AM
Min Woo Lee is hot at the moment
Having been two-over through three the Australian is six-under since. He’s eagled the par-five 14th and is enjoying his round.
10:19 AM
Three-way tie at the top now
Cameron Young, the highly thought of American, has joined Joohyung Kim and Min Woo Lee at four-under.
10:17 AM
Rory opens with birdie
As if to get us hoping very early on that this could be his year…stop flirting with us…!
The world No 2 hits his approach over the flag, leaving him a 50-footer to go one-under. It’s a beautiful putt that looked in from halfway.
Let the hope begin in earnest…
Morikawa pars and Schauffele bogeys.
10:14 AM
Terry Wogan eat your heart out
Ian Poulter is having an eventful round. He started off being booed on the first tee before nearly hitting his opening tee shot out of bounds on the widest fairway in golf.
He then proceeded to take the lead thanks to a 160 +foot putt at the ninth WHICH, I think, could well be the longest ever televised putt, a record once held by none other than Terry Wogan.
It’s not official but I think Poulter’s putt is longer than Michael Phelps’ 160-foot monster drained at the 2012 Dunhill Links at Kingsbarns…Terry’s 100-foot putt was sunk at Gleneagles in pro-celebrity TV programme in 1981.
10:03 AM
Rory gets his title tilt under way
As does the defending champion Collin Morikawa.
McIlroy hits his tee shot down the fairway as does last year’s Champion Golfer of the year…making up the threeball is Xander Schauffele and he joins them on the short grass.
McIlroy opened the 2010 championship here with a 63 before following up with an 80…he’s waited 12 years to get back here for an Open (a footy injury ruling him out of the 2015 edition), can he get back on the major-winning train at the one place he wants to win (well, here and Augusta, to be fair…).
09:59 AM
Poulter drops back to two-under
That’s due to a bogey at the par-three 11th – a three-putt (ouch) his undoing.
09:55 AM
JT Poston
Is one of the co-leaders on three-under and if he continues his current form he will indeed render the Old Course obsolete – that’s because he’s three-under through three, so he’s on for a 54…he obviously won’t get that but it’s fair to say it’s a more than useful start from the world No 60…
09:49 AM
DeChambeau birdies the seventh
After that monster drive it wasn’t to be an eagle BUT it’s the easiest of birdies and that’s three in a row for the American. He’s now at two-under.
09:48 AM
There’s a five-way tie at the top
Wu and Poulter have been joined on three-under by Americans Cameron Tringale, JT Poston and South Korea’s Joo-Hyung Kim.
Bubbling under on two-under are seven golfers, whose number includes Robert MacIntyre who has birdied the second and third.
09:43 AM
Dechambeau has been the dictionary definition of reserve so far
Irons off the tee etc – far more Shooter McGavin than Happy Gilmore…
That is until the par-four seventh when he goes for the green at the 371-yard hole. He nails the drive, carrying Shell bunker (which is at roughly 310 yards) and will have a putt for eagle to get to three-under. That’s the DeChambeau we expected this week…
09:37 AM
LIV Americans
Phil Mickelson is at one-under after six pars and a birdie at the seventh, and DeChambeau is one-under thanks to back-to-back birdies at the fifth and sixth.
09:36 AM
So I said I wasn’t great with distances
I had Poulter’s eagle putt on the ninth as 120 feet. The official Twitter account of The Open has it down as ‘over 160 feet’. Bravo…
09:29 AM
Justin Rose speaks
Via Twitter the 2013 US Open champion said: “On the 4th hole yesterday during my practice round, I made a swing with my driver and started to feel pain in my lower back. I’ve been getting around the clock treatment but it just doesn’t feel ready to compete in this prestigious championship.”
09:28 AM
Poulter didn’t hold sole lead for too long
He’s been joined by Brandon Wu on three-under, the American has just birdied the 10th.
09:27 AM
Ian Poulter eagles the ninth!
After his horror start he’s bounced back brilliantly. He was on one-under on the ninth tee before he drove the green on the 352-yard par four. He then drained his 120 foot (at a guess…distances aren’t my forte…) putt.
He now leads on three-under, a fine turnaround!
09:23 AM
The low scores everyone feared…
…aren’t materialising.
Despite the benign conditions it’s only two-under that leads and there are six golfers on that number.
09:22 AM
Simpson drops a shot at 12
The American is Exhibit A in showing how short par fours aren’t always lambs to the slaughter. He tried to drive the green and found the bushes to the left – ultimately doing well to only drop a shot, the ultimate risk-and-reward hole.
He’s now at one-under.
09:11 AM
Nick Faldo is on Sky comms
And he must be loving it as he’s already had a chance to remind everyone he won The Open at St Andrews back in 1990…
To be fair the five-shot win was impressive and if I won the Masters and then Open at the home of golf in the same year I might dine out on it for the rest of my life…
09:08 AM
Webb Simpson was sole leader
But has dropped back to two-under and now he’ll do well to avoid dropping a shot at the risk-and-reward 12th. He went for the green at the 351-yard par four and found the bushes on the left – that wasn’t the shot shaped (draw verging on a hook) to hit there…
09:03 AM
Ian Poulter didn’t have the best start
Being booed and hooking your opening tee shot was less than ideal but he has got over that horror beginning by parring the first five holes and birdieing the sixth. A fine approach to the 414-yard par-four left him with a 14 foot putt that he sank well. He’s at one-under.
08:59 AM
The leaders are on two-under
And there are now four off them.
Webb Simpson has dropped a shot at the 10th (he hasn’t parred a hole since the sixth…) and joins our favourite amateur Barclay Brown (he of the bucket hat, see below…), American Cameron Tringale and big-hitting Australian Lucas Herbert.
08:52 AM
If there was a hat competition
There’s little doubt that Barclay Brown would beat Patrick Reed…
No slightly rude and provocative sartorial statement, a la Reed with his LIV number, from the amateur. Brown is wearing a festival bucket hat and is managing to pull it off on the hallowed links…bravo!
The Englishman is currently second on two-under through nine…what a fine start.
08:43 AM
Webb Simpson is at three-under
That’s thanks to a birdie at the ninth – he has fallen back to two-under with bogey at the famous eighth – the first of two par threes – but he showed great bouncebackability (thanks, Iain Dowie…) to get back to three-under the very next hole.
The ninth is one of the six par fours that are well in range for most big(ish) hitters…
Read about that hole and the other 17 here, courtesy of Billy Foster…
08:38 AM
More on Rose’s withdrawal
By James Corrigan
Rose seen struggling on Wednesday in practice but after intensive therapy he and his team said they thought he would good to go. It’s a kick in the teeth for the Englishman who was so looking forward to this Championship, as he wrote in his Telegraph column on Tuesday. Japan’s Rikayuna Hoshina got a late call up
08:35 AM
Justin Rose has pulled out
The Englishman withdrew just minutes before he was due to begin his opening round.
The former world No 1 was due to tee off at 8:14am alongside Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari, but was a noticeable absentee on the first and confirmed his withdrawal soon after. Rose had abandoned his practice round on Wednesday when he suffered with a back issue, and despite practising on the range on Thursday morning, he took the decision to pull out before his Open Championship campaign had begun.
08:27 AM
DeChambeau drops at shot at the second
He three putted and is at one-over, the tight pin position proving too much for the American who took an iron off the tee.
08:25 AM
What an Alpha combo…
Two big hitters…
08:23 AM
The field is currently four-over
Those pin positions and fact it’s a bit chilly not conducive to ‘tearing the course apart’, so far at least…
08:20 AM
The pin positions are tricky today
In benign conditions tucking the pins away is one way to defend the course. A good example of this is on the second where the flag is just above a hollow – DeChambeau has to putt up the hollow/bowl and does well to get the ball to within five feet.
08:13 AM
Webb Simpson is the early leader
The 2012 US Open champion (don’t worry if you cannot remember him winning it, it wasn’t the most memorable tournament – typical US Open, defensive golf etc etc) is three-under through seven thanks to birdies at the third, fifth and seventh.
08:10 AM
DeChambeau hits an iron off the second tee
That’s a bit of a surprise – while an iron off the first was clearly the play (with the burn to negotiate) you would have thought he’d get the big dog out for the second.
08:06 AM
Having said DeChambeau will have an easy birdie putt…
The American misses from three feet – he pushed that, not one to dwell on.
08:02 AM
DeChambeau is up and running
The big-hitting American (yep, I know it’s not the most imaginative description, but it’s fairly accurate…) takes an iron off the tee (no thought of trying to take on the Swilcan Burn and drive the green) and stiffs his approach to two feet. He’ll have an easy putt for an opening birdie.
DeChambeau is without a top-20 this year so if he challenges for the Claret Jug it will be a shock.
He’s playing with Santa, aka John Daly, his forerunner as the grip-it-and-rip-it King who won here in 1995. He’s off to a good start with a simple par.
07:58 AM
How NOT to ingratiate yourself with your hosts…
Yep, Patrick Reed, a golfer who could (at polite times) be described as Marmite, is wearing a LIV golf cap…classy. Is it in his contract?! ‘In return for many millions you must wear a LIV baseball cap at The Open’…
07:53 AM
Mickelson got a four at the first
No problems for the six-time major winner as he registers a par – on in two and a regulation two-putt.
07:48 AM
Paul Lawrie is at two-over
The 1999 champion bogeyed the second and doubled the fourth BUT has just birdied the fifth to get back to two-over.
07:46 AM
Here’s where Poulter’s tee shot on the first ended up
That’s as far right as you can go without ending up in the town…
07:42 AM
There has been much talk about the weather
More specifically the wind. If conditions are calm throughout there is a fear the ‘Old Lady’ of St Andrews could be taken apart by the big hitters.
READ: It would be an affront to golf if ‘Old Lady’ of St Andrews can no longer defend herself
Well, channelling my inner Michael Fish it’s very calm out there at the moment. The wind was blowing in the practice rounds but it’s currently fairly still…
07:32 AM
‘Phil’ about to get started
The poster boy for the the hugely controversial rebel LIV tour made his long-awaited return to the PGA Tour at last month’s US Open, where he missed the cut.Mickelson, who lifted the Claret Jug in 2013, wasn’t, unlike Poulter, booed…The American finds the fairway without much trouble.
07:28 AM
Of the early starters…
Webb Simpson is the only man in red figures, the American former US Open champion is on one-under. Highly fancied Min Woo Lee is two-over. Both golfers are through three holes.
07:26 AM
Poulter makes four at the first
After that tee shot that may well give him (and anyone who watched it) nightmares the Ryder Cup star was able to register a four.
07:18 AM
So the first ‘Big Name’ to get under way was Ian Poulter
And it’s fair to say it wasn’t the best start. The Englishman who is one of the marquee names to play in the hugely controversial Saudi breakaway LIV Golf series was booed on the first tee and then that was compounded by a horrible hooked tee shot that only just stayed on the fairway (this is the widest fairway in the whole of golf). The tee shot was so wide that he has to got relief from a fence that was impeding his swing for his second.
The Englishman got on the green in two, however, and should make par from there.
07:14 AM
Selected tee times
07:08 Guido Migliozzi (Ita), Ian Poulter (Eng), Jamie Donaldson (Wal)
07:30 Lucas Herbert (Aus), Phil Mickelson (US), Kurt Kitayama (US)
07:52 John Daly (US), Bryson DeChambeau (US), Cameron Tringale (US)
08:03 Brooks Koepka (US), Seamus Power (Ire), Cameron Smith (Aus)
08:14 Tommy Fleetwood (Eng), Francesco Molinari (Ita), Justin Rose (Eng)
09:58 Rory McIlroy (NI), Collin Morikawa (US), Xander Schauffele (US)
10:09 Viktor Hovland (Nor), Shane Lowry, Justin Thomas (US)
10:20 Tony Finau (US), Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Will Zalatoris (US)
13:04 Paul Casey (Eng), Sung Jae Im (Kor), Gary Woodland (US)
13:15 Dustin Johnson (US), Marc Leishman (Aus), Adam Scott (Aus)
13:26 Tyrrell Hatton (Eng), Joaquin Niemann (Chi), Scottie Scheffler (US)
14:59 Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng), Max Homa (US), Tiger Woods (US)
15:10 Jon Rahm (Spa), Jordan Spieth (US), Harold Varner III (US)
07:13 AM
It doesn’t get much better than this
Hello and welcome to Telegraph Sport’s coverage of The Open at St Andrews – a tournament that if you cannot get excited about then you have no soul.
The best golfers on the planet playing for the Claret Jug at home of golf just oozes tradition, history and, if you’re like me, kid-on-Christmas-Eve levels of excitement.
As if to add to the almost mythical levels of anticipation Rory McIlroy says winning an Open Championship at St Andrews is golf’s “Holy Grail”. Three-time Open champion Bobby Jones famously said an elite player’s career would not be complete without lifting the Claret Jug on the Old Course.
“I don’t know if a golfer’s career isn’t complete if you don’t, but I think it’s the Holy Grail of our sport,” replied McIlroy as he was asked about the quote. But a roll call of those who have lifted the Claret Jug at the home of golf does certainly indicate that it has a reputation for crowning some of the most distinguished names to have played the game – Jones, Sam Snead, Peter Thomson, Jack Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods have all tasted glory at St Andrews (although the last two winners of the Open here, Louis Oosthuizen and Zach Johnson, good as they are, aren’t exactly all-time greats…).
McIlroy starts the tournament as favourite and having missed that chance to defend his 2014 Open win when the major was last played on the hallowed fairways in Fife in 2015 (thanks to a football injury, of all things…) he’s keen to add his name to the list of all-time greats to have lifted the Claret Jug at St Andrews.
“I’m playing well. I’m in good form. My confidence in my game is as high as it’s been in quite a while,” said McIlroy, who was second in the Masters, eighth in the US PGA and fifth in the US Open. “But I can’t go in here thinking that this might be my time. I just have to go out and play a really good tournament. I’ve got to string four good rounds together, and hopefully at the end of the week, that’s good enough to win.
“I’m happy where everything’s at, and I just can’t get ahead of myself. Just have to make sure that I prepare well the next couple of days and get myself in the right frame of mind for Thursday.”
One worry surrounding this edition of golf’s oldest tournament is whether today’s technology and big hitters could render the ‘Old Lady’ of St Andrews obsolete. Faldo has speculated that if conditions are calm for next four days then we could see the first 59 in a major.
McIlroy, however, isn’t predicting a birdie fest. The favourite thinks that while the winning score could be low it won’t be near the 20-under mark.
“I don’t think we are going to see it,” McIlroy said regarding the fear the course could be overpowered. “You can bomb it and get close to the greens but that doesn’t necessarily mean you are going to make birdies.
“I can see it (the winning total) being low, but I can’t see something in the 20 under range. Everyone has seen how firm and fast the fairways are and it’s going to get pretty tricky at the end of the week.”
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