'Craziest': First-round pain at The Open on day that tests world's best, local heroes and a monk
Five players share lead on four under as Bob MacIntyre and Rory McIlroy suffer back-nine struggles at Royal Portrush
It was a painfully long first day in the 153rd Open Championship due to challenging conditions at times. “Felt like we were on the golf course for about 12 hours,” declared Australian Marc Leishman, who was exaggerating, but you probably get the gist of how players were feeling by the time they signed their cards.
As rounds later in the day crept close to six hours, it was around 10pm when the final putt dropped, with the headlines going to the County Antrim course as 67, four under par, proved to be the lowest score and that was purely down to what makes this historic event arguably the best of the lot.
“The weather here is the craziest weather pattern I've ever experienced in my life,” observed Jason Day, Leishman’s compatriot. “There's no consistency to it whatsoever. I mean, I'd love to be a weatherman here. You just get it wrong all the time!”
In fairness, the forecast had flagged up the fact it could be “changeable” and that was certainly the case, especially in the middle of the day as the heavens opened for a spell. It also felt fresh one minute then muggy the next at various points in the day.
Out in the morning, Dane Jacob Skov Olesen, China’s Haotong Li and England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick all signed for 67s before South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout matched that score later in the day, as did American Harris English.
After both being just one shot off the lead earlier in their rounds, Rory McIlroy and Bob MacIntyre had to settle for 70 and 71 respectively after suffering back-nine struggles. Given that he was all over the place, it was a remarkable effort for McIlroy, who is a man on a mission this week after missing the cut on home soil six years ago.
“Yeah, it was a tough enough day, especially either chopping out of the rough or out of the fairway bunkers most of the time. So to shoot under par was a good effort,” said McIlroy. “I had it going at three-under through ten and let a few slip. I steadied the ship well, played the last four at one under, and it was nice to shoot under par.”
‘Solid day’ for MacIntyre
MacIntyre, who finished joint-sixth on his major debut in 2019, described level par as a “solid day”, saying he had played “beautifully” to be three under after eight holes before suffering a “disappointing finish”. That said, he made a good par save at the 15th then did well to get down in two putts from long range at the last.
Two-time US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, who was playing in the same group as MacIntyre and 2024 runner-up Justin Rose, had an air shot at the fourth as he slumped to a 78 - his worst score at an Open. That left him in danger of missing the cut along with fellow major winners Collin Morikawa and Brooks Koepka after they carded matching 75s.
Xander Schauffele, the defending champion, sits alongside MacIntyre on level par, with Shane Lowry, the winner here six years ago, in a group on one under that, in addition to McIlroy, also includes Jon Rahm. Rose, meanwhile, is on two under, one behind fellow Englishman Tyrrell Hatton.
After winning last year’s The R&A Amateur Championship at Ballyliffin, Olesen gave up his spot in The Masters in April when he decided to turn professional after securing his DP World Tour card at the end of last year.
“I was pretty at ease with that decision,” insisted the 26-year-old, who secured his spot in this week’s field through one of the Final Qualifiers at Burnham & Berrow. “I think it would have been a different decision if I was 19 at the time. But also getting out on the DP World Tour has always been a dream of mine.
“It's what I watched all the time growing up, Thomas Björn, Anders Hansen, those Danish guys before us. I had already made the decision before even going to the second stage of Q-School that, if I got through, it would be a no-brainer to turn pro.”
His eye-catching opening effort here was illuminated by an eagle at the 12th, where a 40-footer was converted. “It’s something I’m prepared for,” he said of the conditions after experiencing something similar over the course of the week at Ballyliffin.
World No 1 Scottie Scheffler picked up two shots in the last three holes to card a 68. “Outside of the second hole, I felt like I hit the ball nice off the tee,” he said. “I hit the ball really solid, so definitely a good bit of confidence for the next couple rounds.”
He’d spoken earlier in the week about how his family will always come first and responded to a microscopic reaction to that. “I try to be as honest as I can with y'all, with the stuff that I'm willing to kind of say,” he said. “At times I feel like maybe I should be a little less honest.
“But really it's just a matter of perspective, and I've had some players come up to me and say that they feel and think the same things. If anybody has disagreed with me, they haven't said it to my face yet.”
Fitzpatrick, the 2022 US Open champion, is finding his best form again after hitting rock bottom earlier this year. “Yeah, The Players this year, it was really bad and even Valero (Texas Open), a couple weeks later, I couldn't find the face with the ball,” he said. “It was just not good. That's the lowest I've felt in my career.”
While most of the players in the field here had golf careers in their sights from an early age, Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana has a slightly different background as an ordained monk. “Being a monk gives me a lot of focus,” said the 27-year-old, who tied for tenth in the 2022 Open at St Andrews. “Forget everything outside, just live in the present. So I really enjoy being a monk.”
He might go back to being one if six-hour rounds become the norm.
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