The final major championship of the year got underway in Scotland on Thursday morning, with cold, windy and wet conditions expected throughout the week. Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler is the overwhelming favorite to winThere are plenty of other players who could have a shot at winning the Claret Jug on Sunday afternoon, including early-stage Justin Thomas, who hasn’t won since winning the 2022 PGA Championship but shot a 3-under 68 to take the clubhouse lead.
McIlroy, who fell in the rankings late in the U.S. Open and hasn’t won a major tournament in a decade, will play alongside Max Homa and Tyrrell Hatton in the morning session at 5:09 a.m. ET. Reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau is scheduled to start just before McIlroy.
Watch complete live coverage of the British Open on Yahoo Sports below.
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Cantlay punches holes in the sand with “Post Stamp”
This play by Patrick Cantlay is amazing. It looked like a two-pointer from start to finish.
Tiger is currently at +4
After being at -1 after three holes, Tiger Woods struggled over the rest of the front nine, playing holes 4 through 8 at +5. Woods missed the green, had a few wobbles on the putting green and two three-putts inflated his early score.
Koepka’s birdie streak ends at Post Stamp
Brooks dropped the ball in a greenside bunker, but in the muddy conditions at Royal Troon, he pulled the ball in from the wet sand for a tap-in par. Koepka steadily recovered after a pair of early bogeys to move to 2-under, one stroke behind Justin Thomas for the clubhouse lead.
What’s it like being the first hole of your first Open?
Spanish amateur Jaime Montojo, who finished his sophomore season at Texas A&M University last year, played in his first Open and created a memory he’ll never forget when he made an incredible shot from the fairway for an eagle on the first hole.
2011 Open champion Darren Clarke’s Shot of the Day contenders
Koepka on a roll
The five-time major winner recorded consecutive birdies on the fourth, fifth and sixth holes in the first round and is steadily climbing the rankings.
Woods stumbles at 5
Tiger Woods was out early after a poor tee shot on the par-3 fifth hole, a three-putt bogey on the fourth hole, and then a double bogey on the 220-yard par-3.
Tiger misses shot
After a nice drive and layup on the 601-yard par-5 fourth hole, Woods missed a long putt in two on his approach shot and three-putted back to par. The Big Cat was at par after four holes.
Justin Rose is 2 under.
The 2013 U.S. Open champion shot a bogey-free 69 in the opening round and was generally one of the best early stroke gainers.
Brooks Koepka at par after five holes
Koepka started with a par, bogey, bogey, but birdies on the fourth and fifth holes brought him back to even, especially on the 220-yard par-3 where he hit his tee shot to within three feet of the hole for a tap-in.
Schaeffler starts with a bogey
The world number one will start at one over after finding a pot bunker before the first hole and not being able to get up or down to save it. The Claret Jug favourite is a huge favourite among bettors heading into this week’s tournament at Royal Troon, with 24% of the money being backed on him to win the event.
Tiger is 1 under
The three-time British Open champion found himself in the red early after sinking a putt off the green on the third hole, and his birdie drew a roar from the crowd around the third green.
World No. 1 appears on the course
Scottie Scheffler stepped onto the first tee and smashed a powerful drive down the right side. At +550, Scheffler is the favorite to win, just ahead of Rory McIlroy, who has already been eliminated from the running.
Overall par
Tiger, Xander and Patrick Cantlay all had pars on the first hole, but Tiger hit his driver into the left rough on the second hole.
And off they went…
Tiger hit a drive to the right side of No. 1, Xander did the same, and Cantlay hit a drive to the right of center.
It’s raining… and so is Big Cat
Rain has started to fall at Royal Troon, making already difficult conditions even more difficult (note: of the 118 players currently on the course, only 11 are at or under par).
Next up to tee off (albeit at a less than perfect time) will be Tiger Woods, paired today with Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay.
DeChambeau is still Britain’s
Back-to-back major championship wins are looking tough for Bryson DeChambeau, with the U.S. Open champion already six over par after the first nine holes.
This isn’t too surprising, since the British Open has never been Bryson’s cup of tea: In his six tournaments, he’s finished in the top 10 once (tied for eighth in 2022), missed the cut twice and finished tied for 60th last year.
McIlroy is already out of contention
How will Rory McIlroy react after his heartbreaking loss at the U.S. Open? Well, not very well.
After shooting 2-over 38 for the first nine holes, he bogeyed the 10th hole and then hit an out-of-bounds shot for a double bogey on the 11th hole to finish 5-over and eight strokes behind Justin Thomas.
Who said Troon was tough?
As Steven Yeager can attest, you don’t need to worry about your putter when holing out of a thick ball.
Justin Thomas takes clubhouse lead at Troon
(AP Photo/Scott Heppell)
Justin Thomas went birdie-birdie to move into the clubhouse lead at The Open. It’s a good start for Thomas, who dropped to -4 in the morning but then dropped back down the rankings. Thomas is a two-time PGA Championship winner and is looking for his third major championship.
