American Cameron Young took the lead with a pair of eights below the pair of 64 in the first round of the 150th British Open in St Andrews on Thursday, but Rory McIlroy sat down just twice after a start impressive in his candidacy for the team. War Claret.
Young, the 25-year-old American, produced an impeccable round without bogeys and eight birds.
This gave him a two-shot advantage at McIlroy’s clubhouse, all 66 of which included three consecutive birdies between the fifth and seventh holes.
Cameron Smith is the Australian leader, easily making his best start to an Open Championship with a 67 out of five under that included six birdies and only one bogey in the 11th.
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LEADER TABLE A COMPLETE ROUND>
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“Places like (St Andrews) just have a certain feel and they almost give you goosebumps,” Smith said after his round.
“Being on the first tee in St Andrews at an Open is something I’ve only dreamed of doing as a kid, and having it all come true and having the support I gave out there today was pretty cool.
“(The Open) hasn’t been too kind to me so far, so it would be nice to have a good entry.”
In the rest of Australia, Brad Kennedy impressed with a round of four under, while Min Woo Lee is at three under and Lucas Herbert at two.
Playing the toughest afternoon, Adam Scott signed for an even round, while Marc Leishman sits at four after an eight-hole final nightmare that featured five bogeys.
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Young, 32nd in the world, finished tied third in this year’s PGA Championship and has now put himself in a solid position to be a contender for the weekend.
“I think every time you’re in charge of a major championship or a PGA Tour event, frankly, you’re getting more and more comfortable,” said Young, who first played at the Old Course with his parents. at 13 years old.
“Whether I lead by three or one or four after today, I’ll sleep well.”
McIlroy was the favorite for Claret Jug at the start of the week and the Northern Irishman, who won the Open in 2014, lived up to his bill in the opening round.
His 66, with just one shot dropped in the 13th par-four hole, equalized his score in the opening round on his way to victory at Hoylake eight years ago.
“I have to go out tomorrow and make a backup of what I just did today. I think it’s important to do that,” said the 33-year-old, who won’t be out until mid-Friday.
“But again, this golf course won’t change that much, I don’t think, between today and tomorrow in terms of conditions.” Australian Cameron Smith sat third at the clubhouse after a first 67.
– Bad start for Woods –
Tiger Woods, two-time Open champion at St Andrews, was one of the top names who didn’t come out until the afternoon, and the 46-year-old suffered a disastrous start.
He sent his approach to the first green at Swilcan Burn and finished with a six double bogey. More shots fell in the third, fourth and seventh, while he played the new one at once, leaving him at six during the day and is unlikely to reach the cut.
The historic celebration of the world’s oldest golf tournament has failed to escape the controversy sparked by the LIV tour, backed by Saudi Arabia.
Englishman Ian Poulter, one of 24 players in this week’s lineup who agreed to join the LIV series, was booed on the first tee when he came out early in the morning.
After being mocked by the galleries, he hit his exit pitch far to the left and almost ended up off limits on the other side of 18th Street.
However, he recovered to shoot a 69 in a round that included a mammoth eagle putt in the ninth par-four, and Poulter insisted he heard no taunts.
“In fact, I thought I had a great reception on the first tee, to be honest. All I heard was applause,” Poulter said.
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– LIV CRÍTICA –
Former Open champion Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood are also among the members of the LIV series in St Andrews.
Westwood and Johnson fired 68 to be right in the mix, while DeChambeau and Ian Poulter were once back. Mickelson was matched for the day.
The open organizers, R&A, chose not to ban the rebels, in contrast to the moves made by the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour.
However, R&A Executive Director Martin Slumbers made a strong criticism of LIV, which offers prizes of $ 25 million for each 54-hole event, compared to a prize pool of $ 14 million for this week’s Open.
The LIV model, he said Wednesday, “is not the best long-term interest in the sport as a whole and is totally driven by money.”
St Andrews players this week compete to succeed Collin Morikawa, the Californian who won the Claret Jug last year at Royal St George’s and started Thursday with a level 72 pair.
Former England Open champion Justin Rose retired just before his scheduled start time due to a back injury, with his place taken by Japanese Rikuya Hoshino.
The course hosts the championship for the 30th time, and the Open expects record attendance for the week of 290,000, meaning full galleries for the first championship since the end of the pandemic-related restrictions.
‘TROLLING’ OF THE VILLAGE OF THE USA
Finally, a little publicity for LIV Golf.
American villain Patrick Reed made sure everyone knew where his loyalty was now as he began his initial round.
Reed wore not only one LIV logo, but two, thanks to his hat and neck.
There are 24 players from the Saudi rebel league at this year’s Open, with the group banned from PGA Tour events, but not for R&A.
Reed’s best result at the Open is 10th in 2019.
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BRYSON LAWYER
Just two days from the start of the open, Bryson DeChambeau was abandoned by sponsor Bridgestone for his links to LIV Golf.
DeChambeau played last month at the LIV Golf event in Portland, going against the wishes of the PGA Tour and getting an indefinite ban on competing.
To make matters worse for the 2020 U.S. Open champion is that Bridgestone has sided with the PGA Tour and therefore cut DeChambeau.
“The PGA Tour is an extremely important part of professional golf and Bridgestone has a sports marketing relationship with this series of highly visible tournaments,” Bridgestone said in a statement. Golf.com.
“Given that Bryson DeChambeau will no longer participate in these events, Bridgestone and Bryson have agreed to end their collaboration with the brand ambassador.”
DeChambeau signed with Bridgestone in 2016 and began using his golf balls in his big year 2020.
He has also already lost his sponsorship with Rocket Mortgage to join LIV Golf.
Bryson DeChambeau has been abandoned by sponsor Bridgestone for his links to LIV Golf. Source: AFP
NOTABLE SECOND ROUND TEE TIMES (EAST)
Australians in bold
15:35 – Mark Calcavecchia, Ryan Fox, Jediah Morgan
17:14 – Dustin Johnson, Adam Scott, Marc Leishman
5:25 p.m. – Scottie Schefer, Joaquin Niemann, Tyrrell Hatton
18:14 – Shugo Imahira, Jason ScrivenerDavid Law
6:58 p.m. – Tiger Woods, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Max Homa
7:09 p.m. – Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm, Harold Varner III
19:42 – Laurie Canter, Dimitrios PapadatosMatthew Griffn
20.36: Paul Lawrie, Webb Simpson, Min Woo Lee
21:30 – Phil Mickelson, Lucas HerbertKurt Kitayama
9:53 p.m. – John Daly, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Tringale
10:04 p.m. – Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka, Seamus Power
22.26: Cameron Young, Kyoung-Hoon Lee, Robert MacIntyre
11.26pm – Ernie Els, Adri Arnaus, Brad Kennedy
11:59 p.m. – Collin Morikawa, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele
12.10pm (Saturday) – Shane Lowry, Justin Thomas, Viktor Hovland
12.21pm – Will Zalatoris, Hideki Matsuyama, Tony Finau
12.54 h – Anthony QuayleZander Lombard, John Parry