RORY MCILROY BATTLED back with a birdie on 18 to save an even-par round of 70 to stay in contention at the Open Championship. McIlroy was out-of-sorts in missing the cut at the Scottish Open last week, but made a fast start at Royal St George to birdie the first hole.
McIlroy then missed a birdie chance on two and his momentum stalled, hitting three straight bogeys on holes five, six, and seven before birdieing the eighth to limit some of the damage. Another bogey on 11 left McIlroy in danger of drifting to a battle to make the cut, but he picked up a shot on 13 before putting for birdie on 18 to leave him six shots from first-round leader Louis Oosthuizen.
“It probably doesn’t make a huge difference at one over or even this early in the tournament, but mentally it feels a bit better to birdie the last and I’m looking forward to getting back out tomorrow”, said McIlroy.
“Tommy (Fleetwood) shot a great 67 which is probably the best of our wave in the afternoon. Benjamin Hebert shot 66 but was out a touch earlier than us. When we were warming up it felt like a nice breeze but when we got out there, especially out by the water, it was really windy. Anything around even par today was pretty good.”
The pace was set by the early starters, with Oosthuizen holding his nerve for par at the last to sign for a six-under par 64, one clear of Spieth on five-under.
Oosthuizen has been frustrated so far this year in his attempt to add to his only major triumph after cruising to victory in the 2010 Open at St Andrew’s.
The South African finished second in this year’s last two Majors, the US PGA Championship and US Open, and is now in contention again.
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After starting with seven straight pars, Oosthuizen accelerated around the turn with six birdies in 10 holes.
Spieth, who lifted the Claret Jug at Royal Birkdale in 2017, shot up the leaderboard thanks to four consecutive birdies between the fifth and the eighth holes and finished strongly by picking up two more shots at 15 and 16.
Shane Lowry, meanwhile, made a nightmare start to his title defence with bogeys on the opening two holes before pulling a shot back to make the turn in one over.
Back-to-back birdies on the 16th and 17th brought him back to level par for the first time in the day before bunker trouble on the last hole saw him drop a shot.
Lowry’s one-over 71 leaves him seven shots off the lead.
Lowry with playing partner and first-round leader Louis Oosthuizen. Ian Walton
Ian Walton
Pre-tournament favourite Jon Rahm, this year’s US Open champion, is another with work to do after he finished with a birdie to get in on one-over par, alongside Darren Clarke, who also finished with a 71.
Off the course, Americans Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau’s ongoing feud has been the talk of the tour this week.
Koepka admitted he is no fan of the Royal St. George’s course, but the serial contender for major championships kept himself in the hunt with a round of 69 despite bogeying the 18th.
DeChambeau accepted before the tournament his booming drives off the tee may have to be tempered this week, with staying out of the lush rough the key to remaining in contention for the weekend.
However, he consistently found himself hacking out of what he described as “diabolical” hay in an up and down round that contained four birdies and five bogeys for a 71.
Elsewhere, two-time champion Padraig Harrington finished with a two-over 72, while the 2021 USPGA winner Phil Mickelson endured a nightmare opening round of 80, leaving him in a tie for last place. It was the worst opening round score of Mickelson’s career and featured no birdies, eight bogey, and a double on the closing hole.
– Updated 15.45: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Louis Oosthuizen had seven birdies in his opening round; he had six.
–Updated 21.05 with details of the afternoon tee-offs
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McIlroy battles to stay in contention, Lowry off the pace as Oosthuizen and Spieth make early running at the Open
LAST UPDATE | 15 Jul 2021
RORY MCILROY BATTLED back with a birdie on 18 to save an even-par round of 70 to stay in contention at the Open Championship. McIlroy was out-of-sorts in missing the cut at the Scottish Open last week, but made a fast start at Royal St George to birdie the first hole.
McIlroy then missed a birdie chance on two and his momentum stalled, hitting three straight bogeys on holes five, six, and seven before birdieing the eighth to limit some of the damage. Another bogey on 11 left McIlroy in danger of drifting to a battle to make the cut, but he picked up a shot on 13 before putting for birdie on 18 to leave him six shots from first-round leader Louis Oosthuizen.
“It probably doesn’t make a huge difference at one over or even this early in the tournament, but mentally it feels a bit better to birdie the last and I’m looking forward to getting back out tomorrow”, said McIlroy.
“Tommy (Fleetwood) shot a great 67 which is probably the best of our wave in the afternoon. Benjamin Hebert shot 66 but was out a touch earlier than us. When we were warming up it felt like a nice breeze but when we got out there, especially out by the water, it was really windy. Anything around even par today was pretty good.”
The pace was set by the early starters, with Oosthuizen holding his nerve for par at the last to sign for a six-under par 64, one clear of Spieth on five-under.
Oosthuizen has been frustrated so far this year in his attempt to add to his only major triumph after cruising to victory in the 2010 Open at St Andrew’s.
The South African finished second in this year’s last two Majors, the US PGA Championship and US Open, and is now in contention again.
After starting with seven straight pars, Oosthuizen accelerated around the turn with six birdies in 10 holes.
Spieth, who lifted the Claret Jug at Royal Birkdale in 2017, shot up the leaderboard thanks to four consecutive birdies between the fifth and the eighth holes and finished strongly by picking up two more shots at 15 and 16.
Shane Lowry, meanwhile, made a nightmare start to his title defence with bogeys on the opening two holes before pulling a shot back to make the turn in one over.
Back-to-back birdies on the 16th and 17th brought him back to level par for the first time in the day before bunker trouble on the last hole saw him drop a shot.
Lowry’s one-over 71 leaves him seven shots off the lead.
Pre-tournament favourite Jon Rahm, this year’s US Open champion, is another with work to do after he finished with a birdie to get in on one-over par, alongside Darren Clarke, who also finished with a 71.
Off the course, Americans Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau’s ongoing feud has been the talk of the tour this week.
Koepka admitted he is no fan of the Royal St. George’s course, but the serial contender for major championships kept himself in the hunt with a round of 69 despite bogeying the 18th.
DeChambeau accepted before the tournament his booming drives off the tee may have to be tempered this week, with staying out of the lush rough the key to remaining in contention for the weekend.
However, he consistently found himself hacking out of what he described as “diabolical” hay in an up and down round that contained four birdies and five bogeys for a 71.
Elsewhere, two-time champion Padraig Harrington finished with a two-over 72, while the 2021 USPGA winner Phil Mickelson endured a nightmare opening round of 80, leaving him in a tie for last place. It was the worst opening round score of Mickelson’s career and featured no birdies, eight bogey, and a double on the closing hole.
– Updated 15.45: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Louis Oosthuizen had seven birdies in his opening round; he had six.
–Updated 21.05 with details of the afternoon tee-offs
© – AFP, 2021, with reporting by Gavin Cooney
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Bernard Jackman, Murray Kinsella and Gavan Casey on the Boks’ superb victory over the Lions, John Cooney’s international future, the URC teaming up with Jay Z’s management company, the new breakdown law trials, and much more.
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Breakfast of Champions Day One Golf JORDAN SPIETH Louis Oosthuizen Shane Lowry The Open 2021