LIVE: THE OPEN LIVE SECOND ROUND SCORES AND UPDATES FROM ROYAL TROON
The opening day of the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon belongs to qualifier Dan Brown.
Brown, 29, fired a flawless first-round 65 on his Open Championship debut at the Ayrshire Links to open up a one-shot lead on 2019 Open champion Shane Lowry.
The Englishman came through Final Qualifying at West Lancs earlier this month in the same tournament where Sergio Garcia missed out.
Brown, who won the ISPS Handa World Invitational last season on the DP World Tour, birdied the 3rd, 5th, 10th, 11th, 16th and 18th in a bogey-free 65 to hit the front in his first-ever major start at the 152nd Open Championship.
"It did get dark out there and got a little bit tricky but the wind dropped as well," said Brown.
"You've got those bright yellow scoreboards out there so it's hard to miss, but I felt comfortable with my game out there.
"I'm very excited, but you've got to keep your feet on the ground, so I'm just going to go out and do the best I can [tomorrow]."
Brown is now seeking to become the first player since Keegan Bradley at the 2011 US PGA to win in their major debut.
Former Open champion and links specialist Lowry, 37, also carded a bogey-free round
Lowry went round in a 5-under 66 and also finished his round like Brown with a birdie-three on the tough par-4 18th.
Justin Thomas finds himself in solo third on 3-under par.
The two-time US PGA champion had a mixed bag featuring seven birdies, two bogeys and a double on the 12th.
US PGA champion Xander Schauffele is also off to a solid start following a 2-under 69.
World No.1 Scottie Scheffler is another big name firmly in the mix as he goes in search of a third career major title and first Claret Jug.
Scheffler birdied the last, tapping home from a foot, to card a respectable 1-under 70.
That sees him lie T11 after day one.
Elsewhere, it was a day to forget for two legends in the game, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods.
McIlroy slumped to a dismal round of 7-over 78.
It's now coming up to a full 10 years since McIlroy last won his fourth major title at the 2014 US PGA.
The World No.2 made just one birdie on the round at the 3rd.
He bogeyed the 1st, 10th, 15th and 18th, and made two doubles on the 8th and 11th.
Woods also struggled to find any form, finishing the day on 8-over par.
Having not played much competitive golf in the lead-up to today, expectations were low, but by his own high standards, it was a very disappointing day for the 15-time major champion.
The halfway cut is expected to fall around the 5 or 6-over par mark on Friday evening, so the likes of Woods and McIlroy will need to put their foot down in the second round if they are to be around for the weekend.
Another player to struggle in the first round was US Open Bryson DeChambeau, who despite making eagle on the 16th went round in a 5-over 76.
Despite its short length, Troon's famous Postage Stamp 8th hole dished out some serious scorecard damage today.
McIlroy, Clark, and Morikawa all walked off with a double bogey, proving that par-3 holes don't have to be long to be tough.
The Open Championship First Round Leaderboard | |
D.Brown | -6 |
S.Lowry | -5 |
J. Thomas | -3 |
A. Noren | -2 |
N. Hojgaard | -2 |
J. Rose | -2 |
Brown -6 (F)
What a finish from qualifier Brown, who birdies the 16th and 18th in near darkness to card a flawless 65.
Brown now finds himself at 6-under par for the tournament and one shot clear of 2019 Open champion Shane Lowry heading into the second round.
The 29-year-old, who qualified for The Open via West Lancs earlier this month, is competing in his first ever major championship at Royal Troon.
"It did get dark out there and got a little bit tricky but the wind dropped as well," said Brown.
"You've got those bright yellow scoreboards out there so it's hard to miss, but I felt comfortable with my game out there.
"I'm very excited, but you've got to keep your feet on the ground, so I'm just going to go out and do the best I can [tomorrow]."
S. Lowry -5 (66)
A lovely birdie on the 18th gives Lowry the solo lead at five under, and the crowd goes wild.
He's been sublime today. The Irishman was faultless with not a single blemish on the scorecard.
Could he double his major tally this week? We wouldn't be betting against him based on today's evidence.
T. Woods +8 (79)
Woods was far from his best today, and he looks like he's struggling with a lack of tournament sharpness.
While he still has one round to go, it looks like he will need to pull a rabbit out of a hat if he wants to see the weekend.
J. Spieth -1(16)
Jordan Spieth makes an incredible eagle on the 16th hole to get back into the red.
He couldn't have played the par five much better, with his approach shot being one of the best we've seen today.
The American has had to work hard to stay at level par for the last few holes, but he's shown flashes of the player we fell in love with almost a decade ago.
D. Brown -4 (11)
What a day Dan Brown is having.
This is his first major appearance, but you would never have guessed it by looking at his scorecard.
He must have had roughly 40 feet for birdie on the 11th, and he dropped it right in the front door to join Lowry at the top of the leaderboard.
The Open Leaderboard | |
S. Lowry | -4 |
J. Thomas | -3 |
D. Brown | -3 |
A. Noren | -2 |
N. Hojgaard | -2 |
J. Rose | -2 |
P. Mickelson +2 (73)
Mickelson nearly holed his second shot on the 18th hole but will undoubtedly be happy with the tap-in birdie to finish.
The 2013 Open champion is in a solid position heading into Friday and will still fancy his chances of adding to his major tally at a venue where he once came so close.
D. Brown -3 (10)
Daniel Brown has made an excellent start to his Open Championship with a bogey-free first ten holes.
The Englishman has also made three birdies and now sits just one shot back from Lowry.
J. Spieth E (13)
Spieth has had to battle today, and a well-earned birdie on the 13th hole moves him back to level par.
He's shown some excellent touch with a wedge in hand through round one, and his putter has joined in on the fun now.
Another birdie through the final stretch will leave him in an excellent position heading into Friday.
B. Koepka -1 (15)
Koepka's scorecard is covered in colour, and he adds another drop of ink with a bogey on the 14th hole.
Having missed the fairway right, he always had his work cut out, and unfortunately for the LIV Golf star, he couldn't convert a mid-range par putt to stay in a tie for third place.
X. Schauffele -2 (15)
A wayward second shot left Schauffele with a tough up and down to save par on the 14th hole. His chip was excellent from the thick rough, but unfortunately, there was a bit too much speed on the putt, and it lipped out, leaving a tap-in bogey for the US PGA champion.
S. Lowry -4 (12)
Lowry's putter comes to the rescue again, maintaining his one-shot lead at the top.
The Irishman has eight pars and four birdies today. Justin Rose is the only player to have gone bogey-free on day one so far, but his Ryder Cup teammate might soon join him.
S. Lowry -4 (11)
Another birdie putt finds the bottom of the cup for Lowry, and he's now got a one-shot lead at the top of the leaderboard.
His putting has been absolutely sublime today.
X. Schauffele -3 (11)
An excellent 45-foot putt finds the bottom of the cup on the tough 11th hole to see Schauffele grab a share of the lead.
With the weather improving, the American could certainly stretch his legs at the top if he keeps up his current form.
The Open Leaderboard | |
J. Thomas | -3 |
S. Lowry | -3 |
A. Noren | -2 |
N. Hojgaard | -2 |
J. Rose | -2 |
R. Henley | -2 |
Lowry -3 (10)
Lowry was destined to drop a shot on the 10th hole following a pretty sloppy chip shot. However, his putter rose to the occasion once more, and the Irishman retained his position at the top of the leaderboard with an excellent par save from distance.
T. Woods +4 (10)
Woods looks to have knocked his tee shot out of bounds right on the tough par four 11th.
He's teed up a second ball and piped it straight down the middle. We will have to see whether the first is dead, but whatever happens, he's in a spot of bother.
S. Lowry -3 (9)
Lowry makes the turn with a share for the lead at three under.
The Irishman had a tester for par on the 9th, but his putter has been red hot today, and it came to the rescue once again from about eight feet.
With wet and windy conditions predicted for the remainder of the week, Lowry will fancy his chances of getting his hands on the Claret Jug for a second time.
C. Morikawa +3 (8)
The Postage Stamp damages Morikawa's scorecard as he walks off with a disappointing double bogey following some sloppy short-game work.
The shortest par-3 on the Open rota only requires a flick with a wedge from the tee box, but it's already inflicted its fair share of pain today.
P. Cantlay E (8)
When Cantlay's tee shot sailed into the bunker right of the 8th green, he would have been thinking bogey wouldn't be a bad score.
However, a stunning shot from the sand sees him walking off with a birdie.
The Postage Stamp has taken some prisoners today, but Cantlay is certainly not one of them.
T. Woods +3 (7)
Woods' tough start continues as he three putts the 7th hole to move to plus-three for the round.
There was a time when Woods never missed the tricky short ones, but unfortunately, that now seems like a long time ago.
B. Koepka -2 (7)
Brooksy is on a roll, and he's now made four birdies in a row to move into a tie for second place.
J. Montojo -2 (1)
It's a start to remember for the Spanish amateur Montojo as he holes out on the 1st hole for an incredible eagle.
B. Koepka -1 (6)
The big-hitting American has made three birdies on the bounce, and following an excellent approach on the 7th, he looks poised to make it four.
M. Jordan -1 (7)
Birdies on the 6th and 7th holes move Jordan into the red for the first time today.
He's now fully repaired the damage done on the 2nd, where he made a double bogey.
