Outfit of the Day
Jason Day is never one to shy away from a fashion statement on the golf course.
And he is back at it again today with this bold number at Portrush.
Day shot a two-over-par 73 in round one – but did he look the part doing it?
I’ll leave that for you to decide…
Leaderboard latest
Open outsiders Jakob Skov Olesen and Haotong Li are safely in the clubhouse with their matching 67s, and lead the way.
Former US Open champ Matt Fitzpatrick and Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana however are only one shot back.
T1 – Olesen – 4
T1 – Li – 4
T3 – Fitzpatrick – 3
T3 – Kaewkanjana – 3
Special stuff
Brilliant from Thai star Sadom Kaewkanjana.
He drives the green with a 328-yard tee shot and drains the putt from 23ft for an eagle on the fifth.
Kaewkanjana – who became an ordained monk – is -3 and in third.
Olesen has been joined on the clubhouse lead of -4 by China’s Haotong Li.
Lowry and Scheffler both drop a shot at the ninth, their first bogeys.
Darren delight
Huge cheers on 17.
Another of the home heroes, Darren Clarke, has this Portrush crowd celebrating.
He was in the thick stuff beside the 17th green on the par 4.
But not only did he dig the ball out to get on the dancefloor – he plopped it straight into the hole for a birdie.
Back to +4 for the veteran.
Port-rushing under cover
Uh oh.
The rain has arrived properly now.
It is hammering down on the roof of the media marquee and plenty of soaked journalists are venturing back inside.
Not so the hardy golfers and punters, who stick up their brollies and crack on with it.
According to the Met Office, this is the worst of the weather and could last for around two hours before clearing up a little bit later on this afternoon,
As one overseas reporter once asked: “Have you ever thought about hosting The Open during the summer…?”
Ole, ole, Olesen
Our early clubhouse leader, Jacob Skov Olesen, has a bit of “previous” in this part of the world, writes our man David Facey here at Portrush.
He showed his prowess as a links golfer by winning the highly prestigious Amateur Championship last year, about 40 miles down the coast at Ballyliffin.
The 26-year-old Dane turned pro shortly after making his Open debut at Troon last year, giving up automatic spots at this year’s Masters and US Open.
He does not look like he has any regrets so far as he cards an opening 67 to finish at -4.
Denmark is proving a terrific breeding ground for young talent, with the Hojgaard twins, Nicolai and Rasmus, leading the way.
Olesen’s namesake, Thobjorn, and the in-form Kristoffer Reitan are other Danish players who have made a big impact recently.
