ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — The first round of the 150th Open Championship is in the books, and it turns out as odd as one would expect from a 15-hour day of associate golf at St. Andrews. Several storylines emerged, the most prominent of which was that of Rory McIlroy quest for the second opening and the fifth major championship of his career after having had his third hot start in a row in a major this year.
McIlroy shot 66 on Thursday in the easiest part of the day and sat alone in second place, the back of leader Cameron Young. The rookies have a lot of power at the top. The former Wake Forest professor Demon Deacon made a splash at this year’s PGA Championship and was one of the best rookies on the PGA Tour all season. He hit the ball and led the field in shots won from tee to green on Thursday.
“I do not know [if experience in contending at the PGA Championship helps]”Young said.” I think whenever you come out on top in a major championship or any PGA Tour event, to be honest, you get more and more comfortable. Whether I lead by three or one or four after today, I will sleep well. I feel like I’m close, even though it’s almost the end of the year, but I’m a bit ahead, and I think we’ll continue tomorrow when it comes. That’s really all I can control. “
Young was the best of a time, but his experience at the Southern Hills may be more helpful than he thought. He’s a smasher, that’s what this track demands. Young may not win this Open, but he’s not going anywhere for the next few days.
Let’s take a look at eight more takeaways from the first round at St. Andrews.
2. Scottie Scheffler’s march toward history: The world number one has been talking all week about how he doesn’t feel being considered the world number one. That changes with the victory at St. Andrews for Scheffler will join Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Tiger Woods as the only golfers with five wins including masters and The Open in the same year. He went bare-faced on Thursday, but he also hit very well. Scary Scheffler at the top of the leaderboard.
3. Wave on wave: Old Course plays harder and harder and harder as Thursday goes on. Every quarter wave sees a more difficult ride. Some were due to the Old roast getting more and more advanced, and some were due to the late wind blowing and it was legally cold by the time the last group ended. Now it looks like sooner or later a suitable wave.
4. Play speed: The rounds took over six hours on Thursday, which is absolutely insane. Part of this is due to the routing at the turn (Numbers 7-11) and the level of congestion that can be expected (not to mention the number of greens doubled). However, some of it is because the player is hit too many holes because he is bound to all holes. Despite that it’s hard to experience.
“It’s just a joke, isn’t it? Like six o’clock… this shouldn’t happen in golf,” said defending US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, who also gave a multitude of reasons. leads to slow play. “That’s how the golf course is set up. That’s how it’s solid. The way the golf course is designed. You’re going through a lot of things, and to get better corners and better lines, you have to hit through. all fairways. Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do. It’s just sadder than anything. It’s ridiculous.”
The big downside is that the second round runs almost eight o’clock as the festival ends in Round 1 at 10pm local time. That’s a very small turnaround time for everyone involved.
5. Fast and sure: Speaking of that quick, sure-fire setup, balls were introduced across the planet on Thursday, and it could only get worse as the week goes by. McIlroy described it as “crazy”, comparing St. Andrews with Carnoustie in 2018. Scheffler seemed surprised by some of the runaways.
“I’m not kidding you,” he said, “I think fairways are faster than greens in some ways.”
“We played Liverpool like that,” said Tiger Woods, “but it’s just different. Liverpool don’t have the same amount of ramps as St Andrews. ground. Here you really don’t have a lot of control. They’re very The greens are solid but slow and it’s an interesting combination.”
It remains to be seen whether this benefits the longer or shorter team – both to the top of the Round 1 standings – but one thing is for sure: bouncing balls will affect the top of the court throughout. remaining distance (for better or worse). That will be a fascinating aspect of The Open to watch literally as it plays out in the final 54 holes.
Rick Gehman joins Kyle Porter and Patrick McDonald to recap Thursday’s action at the Open Championship. Download and follow The Early Edge on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
6. LIV boys near the top: After struggling at the US Open, the LIV Golf team came to play this week. Talor Gooch, Dustin Johnson and Lee Westwood lead with four under, four behind, but Bryson DeChambeau, Ian Poulter and Scott Vincent are just behind them with three under. Later, some of the crew got a little frustrated in the interview area when they were asked about switching to LIV. Westwood was asked if he thought he would be booed. “I think the media is stoked about it and doing the best they can to support that,” he said. “I think the public just wants to go out there and watch a good game of golf no matter where it’s played or who’s playing it.”
Phil Mickelson, who shot 72 on Thursday, had an equally icy moment.
7. Rory’s Process: After his round, McIlroy discusses how he thinks his way around the Old Course quite well. When pressed as an example, he gave an extremely thoughtful answer about a well-earned denomination at number 17, Road Hole.
“I hit it the way there, and my ball was on the fairway, but it was a lie when I didn’t feel like I could get the lead of a tire under the ball,” McIlroy said. to get a good enough hit to hit it. So I chiseled a little gap down there, and I dragged it. But I played the right shot so, if I miss it, it’s not too bad but I can hit it up and down from.
“And that’s what I’m talking about, tricky. I’m only 85 yards ahead of the green zone on the 17th, and I know 4 will be a good score. So I think it’s okay to accept that sometimes. that and not. being extreme, even if you put yourself in some of these positions. I think that’s important.”
8. Amateur near the top: Barclay Brown, who is in his senior year at Stanford, shot 68 early and was among the T5 going into Round 2. The last time he won at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic in 2021, but this course has rewarded the amateur in recent years. Irishman Paul Dunne led after 54 holes in 2015, and American Jordan Nieburgge continued to finish in the top 10 that same year.
9. Tiger at sunset: Walking the final three holes with Tiger Woods on Thursday – as the sun dips below the Old – is quite a fun experience. He didn’t have his stuff, which must have disappointed him given how hard he worked to get back here, but the moment was still incredible. A fresh North Sea breeze blew past the last remaining people, and as Tiger stepped up to number 18 toward the blue stand, the yellow leaderboard and brown hotel – each taller than the previous hotel. there – it’s hard not to think he might never walk this course again at sunset during an Open.
No one knows what the future holds – not even him – but I enjoyed a different kind of moment than the ones he created in his infancy. This is not a young Cat, pacing by the seashore, ready to kill. It was an old man (in golfing terms at least) doing what we all do: chasing the sun, hoping that what he brought that day was enough.
