TROONE, Scotland (AP) — The wind was all for Thursday at the British Open. It came from the opposite direction to the Irish Sea, with intermittent rain, and made Royal Troon a tougher test than anyone expected.
Turns out that’s not even a big surprise.
Daniel Brown made his major championship debut a memorable one. He birdied two of the last three holes At 6-under 65, one shot ahead of Shane Lowry, he had enough spectators to celebrate his wonderful day in the Scottish twilight.
It was too dark to photograph his name on the leaderboard, which didn’t interest the 29-year-old from England anyway.
“I’m going to try and put my feet on the ground a little bit and get back to work tomorrow,” Brown said.
A one-time winner on the European Tour, he arrives at Royal Troon on the back of a seven-straight winless streak dating back to March until two good events. One was the final qualification to qualify for his first major, and the other saw him make the cut at the Scottish Open and finish tied for 61st.
But this day was all about the wind – yes, it was harsh, but it was different. Scoring on the downwind front nine, the players struggled from start to finish instead of trying to keep it together on the way back.
Rory McIlroy certainly found that to be the case. He scored 78 runs With a pair of double bogeys. Ditto for US Open champion Bryson DeCambeau, who shot 42 for a 76. There were 79 For his highest start at a major after an 80 at the 2015 US Open at Chambers Bay.
Lori kept the motor all year round, put as well, Soaking in warm applause There were three more laps ahead of him, reminding himself that it was only a good start. But he knew what to expect.
“Luckily, I got here two weeks ago and I played this wind the second day I played here. I looked at the golf course every wind and I could see it,” Lowry said. “Yeah, I think that’s a good thing, and it’s paying off a little bit today.”
Justin Thomas is off to another great start for the second straight week in Scotland, even if his score isn’t. He had a 68 – he had a 62 at the Scottish Open last week – and feels he played well because misses are so severely punished at Troon.
Included in the group’s 69 were reigning PGA champion Xander Schauffele and Justin Rose, who also went bogey-free at the Open to much acclaim, as he had to endure a 36-hole final qualifier to enter.
Throw in the occasional rain, and Masters champion Scotty Scheffler had it tough after a struggling 70.
“I don’t know if confusing is the right word, challenging, especially when you’re dealing with rain,” Scheffler said. “When you get a wet ball in the air, it’s amazing how short it goes. I think on No. 2 today, I was a little oversloping at 165 and I hit a 5-iron with a grip, which is usually about 205 for me. It went up to 155 and I scratched it.
Lowry, the Open champion at Royal Portrush five years ago, hit his stride around the turn. He birdied the seventh from nearly 10 feet and nailed the famous “postage stamp” that caused so much damage to the 123-yard hole to 10 feet on the par-3 eighth.
Before that he made two big pars, including a 25-foot putt on the 10th A 20-foot birdie putt hole on the 11th 4 to reach under. Lowry finished his round with a 5-under par for his 66.
The applause grew louder and Lori reminded herself that it was Thursday.
“For some reason he felt like the crowd was really excited there,” he said. “It was late afternoon – there were a few pints of Tennent’s in there … and it felt like the weekend. There’s still a lot to do, a few more days to go, so I stayed in my lane and hit some good shots and I was really happy with the way I handled myself.
Thomas had played earlier in the day and was 4 under 11. He had to work hard to keep a good score on his card.
His tee shot landed in a bush on the tough 12th hole, requiring a penalty drop, and he missed a 4-foot putt to make double bogey. His next drive took a wild hole into the fairway, calling out to his caddy gallery, “Last call. Anyone see the other ball on the right? They eventually find it, but it leads to the bogey.
“A little hiccup at the start of the back nine but just be patient and keep plugging away,” Thomas said.
In fact, Thomas managed to hold it together. He avoided another bogey with a 12-foot par putt, finished with a 6-iron to 8 feet for birdie on the 17th, and a birdie on the 18th that showed how much the wind helped — a 4-iron off the tee, wedged 25 on the 458-yard closing hole. within feet.
Justin Leonard, who won at Royal Troon in 1997, returned for the first time since 2016 and was given the honors of the opening tee shot with a shiny claret jug placed nearby on a podium. He had one 80 in 12 rounds of 80 or higher.
McIlroy broke 80, but not by much.
He is hoping for one last chance this year to end his 10-year drought in the majors. Now McIlroy only wants to go on weekends. He took two to get a bunker in the post office, then sent it on his drive 11 over the railroad tracks and out of bounds. He could not resolve the wind.
“You play your practice rounds and you try to come up with a strategy that you think you’re going to get around the golf course. When the wind is like that other options present themselves and you start second-guessing yourself a little bit,” McIlroy said.
“The conditions were tough on that back nine and I didn’t do a good enough job.”
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