The 150th Open: After the first round of The 150th Open, Rory McIlroy is only two strokes back of the lead while Tiger Woods battled in his comeback to St. Andrews.
McIlroy made an excellent start to his quest for a fifth major victory by shooting a six-under 66 on Thursday. McIlroy missed his Open title defence due to injury in 2015, the previous time it was played on the legendary Old Course.
The Northern Irishman made his first hole-in-one, a 55-footer, and then three straight birdies starting on the fourth to get to the turn in 32. McIlroy added another at the 12th before recording his only bogey of the day at the next hole, where a shoddy chip ran about 50 yards past the hole, resulting in a score of 73.
Following up, McIlroy took advantage of the par-five next and took a stroke at the par-four last, and his final birdie allowed him to close the gap on clubhouse leader Cameron Young and record his lowest first-round total at The Open since he won the competition in 2014.
“Yeah, fantastic start,” McIlroy said. “Just what you hope will happen when you’re starting off your week. I did everything that you’re supposed to do around St Andrews. It’s another good start at a major, three in a row for me now, and I’m looking forward to the next few days.”
Young made the best possible start to his Open debut by taking advantage of the calmer morning conditions, where he threatened a record-low major round en route to a bogey-free 64.
The American, who has previously finished in the top three five times on the PGA Tour this season, carded seven birdies in his first 12 holes then recovered from two missed chances at the 14th and 15th holes to add another on his final round.
After shooting a first-round score of 67, Cameron Smith is three strokes back, and Viktor Hovland shot a four-under 68. Dustin Johnson and Scottie Scheffler, who is ranked No. 1 in the world, are four strokes farther back.
With Xander Schauffele shooting a three-under 69 and Ian Poulter matching it after holing an incredible 160-foot eagle at the par-four ninth, the top players in the later starters largely struggled to pose a serious threat to the lead, leaving amateur Barclay Brown and fellow countryman Lee Westwood four shots back.
Robert Dinwiddie led the afternoon wave with a five-under 67, followed by Padraig Harrington’s opening-round 69 and US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick’s level-par 72. Tiger Woods, who shot a six-over 78, will likely struggle to make the cut.
Woods’ dreams of a fairy-tale victory were dashed at the opening par-four when his approach hit the water. He subsequently missed a pair of putts from inside five feet for a double-bogey six, and from the third and seventh, the world No. 994 made consecutive bogeys.
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