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Matthew Jordan knows his way around a links all right. The 29-year-old from the Wirrall finished in a tie for 10th on his home patch at Hoylake in 2023, then repeated the feat exactly at Troon last year. He\u2019s going well again this time round too, and the escapes are as impressive as the birdies: he follows up the aforementioned birdie at 15 by getting up and down from a swale at the front of the long par-three 16th to save par. He\u2019s -3.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n A par for Lee Westwood on 18. The 52-year-old veteran from Worksop signs for a fine opening round of 69. He\u2019ll fancy his chances of keeping this going, too, having finished in a tie for fourth here six years ago.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Jon Rahm so nearly scrambles his par on 11. Having been forced to chip out from the thick rough, his approach flies to the back of the green, and he\u2019s left with a long snaking putt from 40 feet for his par. He\u2019s a dimple away from making it. He taps in, and that\u2019s back-to-back bogeys that bring him back down to level par, but at least he\u2019s simmered down now, and instead of walking off frowning, smiles wryly at his caddie and shares a joke in the gallows-humour style.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Scottie Scheffler dropped his first stroke of the day at 9, turning in 35. The world number one picks it back up immediately at 10. He\u2019s -2 again and despite this week\u2019s earlier exercises in existential philosophy has a determined look on his face. Those features turn to irritation as he pushes his tee shot at 11 into trouble down the right. It is raining quite hard, too, which might also be impacting on his mood.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Jon Rahm\u2019s first mini-meltdown of the week. He sends his tee shot at 11 into the rough down the right. He turns to shoot daggers at the gallers. \u201cWhistling three times \u2026 right on my backswing.\u201d On Sky Sports, Nick Faldo\u2019s observation is tinder-dry: \u201cI thought he was used to all the music and clatter they have on his tour.\u201d Rahm isn\u2019t in Koepka Kountry, but he is forced to chip back out onto the fairway. He\u2019s now chasing the par that would keep him at -1.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n There\u2019s plenty of English representation at the top of the early leaderboard. Matthew Jordan birdies 15 while Matt Fitzpatrick picks up a shot at 13; they\u2019re both a shot off the lead at -3. Lee Westwood meanwhile nearly slam-dunks into a bunker guarding the front of 17, but his slightly pulled approach squeaks over the trap and he\u2019s able to get down in two without too much fuss to save his par. He remains at -2.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Brooks Koepka breathes again. Albeit in reedy fashion. He finds the first ball within the allowed three-minute search, though he\u2019s still got to take an unplayable, dropping in the native area. He can\u2019t reach the green with his next shot, and isn\u2019t able to get close with his chip up. He gives his 30-foot bogey putt a good go, but that\u2019s a double. It could have been a lot worse, because for a brief moment back there, he could have been trudging back to the tee to hit his fifth. In fact that\u2019s quite a result, all told. He\u2019s +3.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Padraig Harrington and Nicolai H\u00f8jgaard have already lost a ball today. Now it\u2019s being reported that Brooks Koepka might have lost two. He\u2019s carved his tee shot at 11 into the bush that did for H\u00f8jgaard a few hours ago \u2026 then sent his provisional into the same place! Oh my. Brooks Koepka is a five-time major champion. Golf<\/a> is hard. Links golf is even harder. This is a glorious fiasco.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Thailand\u2019s Sadom Kaewkanjana has only played at the Open once before. But he made a pretty good fist of it. While Cameron Smith, Rory McIlroy and Cameron Young were duking it out for the big prize on the Sunday at St Andrews in 2022, hogging the limelight, Kaewkanjana was busy carding a final round of 65 en route to an 11th-place finish. He\u2019s in form on the Asian Tour, tying for second at the Philippine Open and winning the Kolon Korea, and that\u2019s translating well to Portrush, where he\u2019s birdied 2 and then eagled the short par-four 5th. He\u2019s now -3 through 6, just the one shot off the lead.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Li shoots 67<\/p>\n Thanks David, enjoy your cup of Nambarrie. Also deserving of a hot drop: Haotong Li. The 2017 runner-up to the runner-up follows up birdie at 17 with a no-nonsense par at 18. He signs for a blemish-free 67, some feat on this course and (latterly) these conditions. He joins Jacob Skov Olesen in a tie for the clubhouse \u2013 and the actual \u2013 lead.<\/p>\n -4: JS Olesen (F), Li (F)<\/p>\n Haotong Li cleans up on the 18th with a par. Photograph: Andrew Redington\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.10 EDT<\/p>\n One of the roars of the day as Northern Ireland\u2019s finest, Darren Clarke, climbs a greenside bank and holes a chip from thick hay at 17. Have some of that. It takes the 2011 Open winner back to +4.<\/p>\n And on that positive, I\u2019ll end my waffling and hand you back to the king of description, Mr Scott Murray. I\u2019m off outside to\u2026 nah, it\u2019s still raining heavily, I\u2019ll have a cuppa and stay in the media tent for a bit.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.59 EDT<\/p>\n A couple of lines from Phil Mickelson. The 2013 Open winner, now 55, shot a fine 1-under 70 earlier. To give that context, he\u2019s missed the cut in all three majors this year and his Open form starting with an early exit here in 2019 reads MC-MC-MC-MC-60.<\/p>\n We had a pretty good break before the rain came in. It came in just the last couple holes. Our group had a pretty good break, I thought.<\/p>\n I really enjoyed it. I played really well, and I had an opportunity. Like I really enjoy playing these conditions and playing this tournament. It\u2019s just a lot of fun.<\/p>\n I think winning The Open in 2013 was the greatest accomplishment in my career because I had to learn a style of golf that I didn\u2019t grow up playing. It\u2019s kind of the greatest source of pride for me as a player to overcome those obstacles. Now I\u2019ve come to really love it, enjoy it, and I seem to play well in some of the adverse conditions too.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lowry, at the 8th, has a 25-foot right-to-left breaker to hit -3 but it lacks the necessary zest and turns left before intended. Lowry opened with a 67 when winning at Portush in 2019. He\u2019s on track to match that again.<\/p>\n Tommy Fleetwood, the runner-up to Lowry six years ago, tees off at 3.10pm today so can still put his feet up for a while and perhaps enjoy a Full English\/leaderboard swish\/dance to Kung Fu Fighting.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Musical head now on, let\u2019s talk about The Lurkers. Not the British punk band on Beggars Banquet but, in this context, the trio of names creeping up the day one leaderboard. They need no introduction, Jon Rahm, Shane Lowry and Scottie Scheffler. That trio of major winners are -2 after 8, 7 and 7 holes respectively. They\u2019re tied fifth and just two off the pace.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Matthew Jordan was supposed to the one-hit wonder, local lad done good story at his home course Hoylake in the 2023 Open. The unheralded Englishman delighted the Royal Liverpool crowds to finish 10th. What a week. And yet at Troon a year later he shook off any comparisons with Babybird, The Knack and Carl Douglas by finishing tied 10th again. And, blow me down, he\u2019s at it again. Jordan, the World No. 152, has just birdied 10, 11 and 12 and is the joint-leader alongside Olesen and Westwood.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Some words, plenty of them as always, from the very chatty Padraig Harrington. This is just one question\u2019s worth, his response to hitting the tournament\u2019s opening tee shot. A reminder that he finished with a 4-over 75.<\/p>\n I hyped up the tee shot as much as I could so when I got there today, it wasn\u2019t too bad. I was decently comfortable when I got on the tee. Obviously didn\u2019t try for too much, hit a nice smooth 3-iron down there, held the pose a little bit.<\/p>\n I got a little emotional when I was clapped on, and then I calmed down, and I was kind of fine when I was hitting it. Obviously after that, I don\u2019t know through the start maybe there was a little bit of hype in it, the three-putting 3 and 4, I just struggled. Three three-putts in the first seven holes, it just kills you when you\u2019re always thinking about your pace as you\u2019re standing over the ball, you\u2019re always questioning your lines.<\/p>\n Yeah, it was a tough day on the greens, and it just ate into my game. Might have been a little bit of the fact that I was hyped up for the 1st tee box. Who knows? Certainly felt like I played better, could have played better, should have played better, scored better.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t feel like there\u2019s anything wrong with my putting, and I had a horrible day on the greens. It\u2019s one of those things that\u2019s the nature of the game, links golf. I\u2019d love to be — yeah, I\u2019d love to be a bit better, but it wasn\u2019t for a lack of trying.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n We have a new clubhouse leader \u2013 Jacob Skov Olesen. The Norwegian bogeys the last but 67 around Royal Portrush is a very fine effort indeed. Looking at his numbers, all elements combined to produce that 4-under score. He currently ranks 11th for Strokes Gained: Off The Tee, 14th for Approach, 7th Around The Green and 3rd in Putting. Right now, he\u2019s tied at the top with Lee Westwood. Time for a leaderboard update. You\u2019ll notice Jon Rahm and Shane Lowry lurking nicely.<\/p>\n -4 J Olesen (F), Westwood (13) Jacob Skov Olesen shakes hands with Jason Day on the 18th green after finishing their first round. Photograph: Paul Childs\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.28 EDT<\/p>\n The forecasters were right. Rain was predicted around midday and suddenly, with the afternoon only just upon us, it\u2019s pouring down again. I heard one local out on the course this morning say that at least when the rains come, the winds die. And that shrewdie is correct. Just as I look at the TV screen next to me, there\u2019s a limp flag as Phil Mickelson (now in waterproofs) putts at 18. The 2013 Open champ is -1 so he\u2019ll be glad to get in and give himself a pat on the back for a fine five hours or so of work.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n US Open champion J.J. Spaun birdies 7 to join the group on -1 in tied 11th. Another recent American winner, last week\u2019s surprise Scottish Open champion Chris Gotterup, is also on the move. Birdies at 10 and 13 have taken the monster hitter to -2.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n John Cook, not the 11-time PGA Tour<\/a> winner who finished runner-up in the 1992 Open, gets in touch: \u201cIn a slightly cheeky fashion, and as an Ulsterman forced to live in London, I\u2019d politely point out that whatever delicious plate of food you ate that cost you \u00a311 this morning it was not a full English breakfast. They were outlawed in Ulster around the time of Oliver Cromwell, who I understand had a lovely short game but was a bit loose off the tee.\u201d<\/p>\n Yes, it did confuse me a bit John. I thought the local vernacular was an \u201cUlster Fry\u201d but this was billed on the menu board as a \u201cFull English Breakfast\u201d. I\u2019ve just gone to the canteen to double check. There\u2019s also a vegetarian version for \u00a38. For the record, my morning \u2018feast\u2019 featured two sausages, scrambled egg, the last bit of bacon (there was a three-minute wait for the next batch), two slices of black pudding and three cooked tomatoes.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Shane Lowry is up to -2 after a birdie at 6.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Kristoffer Reitan is an interesting name now in the top five of the leaderboard. He\u2019s just moved to -2 after flicking an approach to kick-in range at 9. Reitan certainly isn\u2019t afraid to go low. Earlier this year he won the Soudal Open with a 62 and seven days later added a 60 in the Austrian Alpine Open. The Norwegian also has an interesting background. His family are supermarket tycoons and own Reitan Retail: a leading company in the Nordic and Baltic countries. More fun facts here as I get them.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Just popped my head outside for five minutes and the weather seems virtually identical to what it was early this morning. A bit breezy but nothing extreme. In fact, the forecast suggests it\u2019ll hold steady at around 14-15mph for the rest of the golfing day. No obvious sign of any more rain yet but it\u2019s still predicted to arrive between midday and 4pm. Local man Tom McKibbin was being interviewed by various reporters in the mixed zone just outside the media centre. He said his 1-over 72 was a bit up and down, featuring good stuff and bad, and was a fair reflection of his round. That seemed a very honest assessment.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The big yellow scoredboard in the media centre has room for 14 names and creeping into the final two slots are two very familiar names. Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka birdied the 1st and is still at -1 after 6 and he\u2019s been joined there by Xander Schauffele after the defending champ\u2019s gain at the 5th. Both are tied seventh, four behind leader Olesen.<\/p>\n Brooks Koepka tees off on the fifth. Photograph: Stuart Franklin\/R&A\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.01 EDT<\/p>\n Exactly five hours since he hit the 153rd Open\u2019s first tee-shot, Padraig Harrington completes his 75th swish of the day and signs for a par at 18 to complete a round of 4-over. Not the score he wanted but there\u2019s always tomorrow to try and bank another two days of crowd pleasing. Playing partners Nicolai Hojgaard and Tom McKibbin shoot 69 and 72 respectively. Hojgaard\u2019s 68 may not be the clubhouse lead for long though as Danish compatriot Olesen is only two holes from home.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.46 EDT<\/p>\n After Scottie Scheffler\u2019s press conference featured an unexpected diversion into existential pondering<\/a>, he shows that holing 10 footers for par really does have meaning. He reacts to doing just that with a fist-pump at 4. Filled with the joys, he pumps a drive at the par-4 5th that nearly reaches the green. And up and down there will secure a birdie that will take him to -2.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Well, well, well, leader Olesen has just chipped in with his third to the par-4 15th and the Dane now leads by two on -5. When it\u2019s your day and all that.<\/p>\n -5 J Olesen (15) Share<\/a><\/p>\n What of the World No.1 and defending champion? That\u2019s two different players by the way even though their surnames get muddled by the guy who does my windows. Scottie Scheffler is into red figures after sinking an 18-footer for birdie at 3 but his approach to 4 catches the front of the green and rolls back off it. Nearish namesake Xander Schauffele has opened with four straight pars, as has Jon Rahm by the way.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The weather forecast is always a huge topic of conversation in an Open \u2013 will there be a draw bias? \u2013 and the official Met Office update is pointing to on and off rain between midday and 4pm today before sun starts to emerge again around 5pm. That news will be of great interest to this bunch below. Will Rory get to play the majority of his round in the clearer, brighter skies?<\/p>\n 1437 Tyrrell Hatton, Russell Henley (USA), Min-Woo Lee (Aus) A view of the second hole at Royal Portrush. Photograph: Oisin Keniry\/R&A\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.21 EDT<\/p>\n We\u2019re at Portrush so let\u2019s have an update on the Irish. Lowry two-putted for birdie at the 2nd hole to go to -1 so that\u2019s a solid start. Tom McKibbin has oscillated between +2 and -2 today and is currently splitting the difference: he\u2019s even par after 16. Padraig Harrington flashed a broad smile after a birdie at 1 but the two-time Open winner has found it tough going since and has dropped to +4 with just 17 and 18 to play.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Scottie Scheffler is playing in his fifth Open this week and it\u2019s a par-par start for the World No. 1. He\u2019s a two-time Masters winner and captured a third major when landing the PGA Championship in May. His Open record shows a seventh, an eighth and nothing worse than 23rd in four appearances. It\u2019s a foundation but perhaps also hints at this being the major he may find most hard to win. Scheffler loves control and links golf will always wrestle some away from him.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The roof on the press tent is always a good guide to what the weather is doing. And, right now, it\u2019s all very still and silent. No rain, and winds are fairly modest. It\u2019s not uniform obviously and out on the course, flags and trouser legs are flapping in the more exposed areas such as down at the 5th where the green backs onto the ocean. I wondered down there early on and a got a brief glimpse of the tip of Giant\u2019s Causeway.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Umbrellas are down again. This is a dance we may see all week. Only a brief cameo from the rain this time but it could be more sustained this afternoon. Shane Lowry, a hardy Irishman, is immune to all these weather changes and he biffs a beautiful second shot onto the green at the par-5 2nd hole. Chance for eagle. Up at 10, Li birdies to join Westwood in tied second on -3.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Well, -3 is so 10.34am. In fact, Jacob Skov Olesen has chosen to bypass it completely by draining a huge putt for eagle at 12 to vault from -2 to -4. That\u2019s one clear of Westwood and two in front of a dwinding group on -2 which now comprises fellow Dane Nicolai Hojgaard, Mickelson and Li. J.B. Holmes was the solo leader after round one here in 2019 with a 5-under 66. Olesen is on track to match or even better that after sinking his hefty 42-foot putt for eagle on the course\u2019s third and final par 5.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Rain won\u2019t have much of an impact on the fairways and greens. This is linksland. It\u2019s absorbed quickly. But the already gnarly rough does increase in difficulty when wet. Stay away (said with loud hailer).<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The -2 barrier is broken by\u2026 Lee Westwood. The Englishman pounds two big hits onto the 7th green and has a realistic look at eagle. It curls away on the low side but he brushes in the short birdie putt and he\u2019s the first in the field to hit -3. The other big news from the course is that the umbrellas are up! It\u2019s raining! Quite heavily too.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lip out for Lowry at 1. That nine-footer was for birdie. Should we read anything into it? An early sign that the golfing gods will tease him a little this week? Or maybe it\u2019s best to concentrate on the excellent approach. Stellar iron play was a big factor in his 2019 win.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s a seven-way tie at the top! The bunch at -2 is expanding all the time, one of the new entries Matt Fitzpatrick via an eagle at the 2nd. We\u2019re nearly three hours into this Open and no-one has yet reached the giddy heights of -3. It won\u2019t be long surely but who will break out of the logjam?<\/p>\n -2: N Hojgaard (13), J Olesen (10), Mickelson (10), Li (8), Herbert (8), Westwood (6), Fitzpatrick (2).<\/p>\n Lee Westwood acknowledges the crowd on the fifth green. Photograph: Warren Little\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.22 EDT<\/p>\n Shane Lowry is up and running. The Irishman won The Open<\/a> by six here in 2019, a magical week which will be almost impossible to match. But if he wants a (not quite) precedent, how about Louis Oosthuisen winning the 2010 Open at St Andrews by seven and then almost repeating the feat the next time the Old Course staged the tournament in 2015 (Oosthuizen lost a three-way playoff, also featuring Marc Leishman, to Zach Johnson). Lowry is immediately into his stride, cutting a lovely iron down the first fairway.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n So, I\u2019m writing this live from Portrush. It was an early start (5am alarm call) to get here for the opening tee-shots at 6.30am. I\u2019ve had a few pennies on local man Tom McKibbin this week and followed him for the first six holes in an entertaining three-ball also featuring Padraig Harrington and Nicolai Hojgaard. McKibbin struggled early and had to sink a testy par putt to avoid dropping to +3. But he made that putt at 4, birdied 5 and, as I walked back to the media centre, McKibbin\u2019s name magically appeared at the top of the leaderboard. Clearly freed up by the aversion of my penetrating gaze, he\u2019d eagled the par-5 7th. He added another at 9 to go to -2 but, just as I sat down in the press canteen for a full English (\u00a311 if you\u2019re interested; we get a \u00a330 food card so that\u2019s a third of the budget gone), I watched him on one of the TVs in there hacking around in rough at 11. He racked up a double bogey, as did Hojgaard. Both bounced back with birdie at 12 to get into red figures again and Hojaard as added another at 13 to make it bunched a the top.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Thanks Scott. Ludicrous claim but thankyou. You join me as defending champion, Xander Schauffele, launches his opening tee-shot. And it\u2019s a good \u2018un from the hero of Troon 12 months ago. On the short grass. A nerve settler. New US Open champion J.J. Spaun and Jon Rahm make up a high-quality three-ball. Rahm once won the Irish Open down the road at Portstewart and he was 11th in the 2019 Open here so he likes this stretch of the Northern Irish coast.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u2026 and with that, I\u2019m going to hand over to THE MOST HANDSOME MAN IN WEST YORKSHIRE (population 2.3 million), David Tindall. See you again in a while.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Haotong Li shot 63 on the final day at Birkdale as a 21-year-old in 2017. He\u2019s not done too much in the majors since that third-placed finish behind Jordan Spieth and Matt Kuchar, and his career hasn\u2019t quite hit the heights some predicted at that time. Although four wins on the European Tour<\/a> isn\u2019t exactly shabby. But perhaps he\u2019s ready to hit the heights again, and with birdies at 5 and 7, the 29-year-old from China joins the leaders at -2. He\u2019s certainly got the confidence to launch another bid for the title: he carries a wedge on which the following is engraved: HAOTONG IS THE MOST HANDSOME MAN IN CHINA. There are 1.4 billion people in China.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Double bogeys for Tom McKibbin and Nicolai H\u00f8jgaard at 11. H\u00f8jgaard will possibly be the happier \u2013 or rather, the less consumed by fume \u2013 of the two, given he parred with his second ball to limit the damage. McKibbin, having found his, decelerated when chipping out from the thick stuff, and while it\u2019s not the most egregious of errors, on account of the filthy tangled lie, he might feel he\u2019s looked a gift horse in the mouth having found his ball. But both slip from -2 back to level par. Which means \u2013 thanks to Lee Westwood making birdie at 5 \u2013 there\u2019s a vintage look to the top of the leaderboard. Who\u2019d have bet on this?!<\/p>\n -2: Mickelson (8), Westwood (6) Share<\/a><\/p>\n From jug to Claret Jug. Speaking of great stories \u2013 which Underdog undoubtedly is \u2013 here\u2019s another, courtesy of our desk in Australia. Ryan Peake has had a troubled history, to say the very least. Here\u2019s how he\u2019s rebuilt his life after time in the jug. He\u2019s making his Open debut this week, and given the benefit of experience and perspective, bogeys at 1, 2 and 5 this morning are unlikely to faze him too much. He\u2019s currently +2.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Tom McKibbin has found his ball. It\u2019s not exactly in the ideal spot, though, and he can\u2019t hack it back onto the fairway at the first attempt. He\u2019s back on the short stuff in three. Meanwhile Nicolai H\u00f8jgaard can\u2019t find his ball \u2013 despite McKibbin and Padraig Harrington doing their best to help \u2013 and he trudges back to the tee. Looks like they\u2019ll both be going backwards \u2026 and with Jacob Skov Olesen making bogey at 8, slipping to -1, there\u2019s a fair chance Phil Mickelson will be the sole leader of the Open in a few minutes!<\/p>\n
-3 Li (16), Jordan (11)
-2 N Hojgaard (17), Fitzpatrick (9), Echavarria (2), Rahm (7), Lowry (6)<\/p>\n
-3 Li (12), Westwood (10)
-2 N Hojgaard (17), Jordan (8), Fitzpatrick (6), Echavarria (2)<\/p>\n
1448 Bryson DeChambeau (USA), Robert MacIntyre, Justin Rose
1459 Ludvig Aaberg (Swe), Viktor Hovland (Nor), Jordan Spieth (USA)
1510 Tommy Fleetwood, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas (USA)<\/p>\n
-1: Olesen (8), J Smith (6), Li (6), Jaeger (3), Reitan (2)<\/p>\n