The Open 2019: first round – as it happened
This article is more than 4 years old
- JB Holmes shot 66, Rory McIlroy took 79, Emiliano Grillo aced 13, while David Duval ran up 14 at 7. Drama? We had it!
- The official live leaderboard for the 148th Open
Updated
Scott Murray (and David Tindall)
Thu 18 Jul 2019 15.21 EDT
First published on Thu 18 Jul 2019 01.30 EDT
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Key events
It’s nearly 14 hours since Darren Clarke hit the first shot of the 2019 Open, so this HBH report must come to a close. We’re back in the morning, early doors. See you then!
-5: Holmes
-4: Lowry
-3: Noren, Simpson, Garcia, Frittelli, MacIntyre, Aphibarnrat, Fox, Hatton, Fleetwood, Koepka, Westwood, Finau, Rahm
-2: Langasque, Rose, Park, Turner
Rahm batters his tee shot down the middle of 18. Much good it does him, because his second is a poor effort, short and left of the green. He lobs up nicely to six feet, but it’s no gimme. Before he can putt out, Cantlay attempts to get up and down from sand. He doesn’t make it. A final bogey that slips him back to -1. And then Rahm’s putt slips by the left of the hole. A poor denouement to his round, but it’s still a fine opening-day 68.
A level-par 71 for the 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed. That was a battling round that may stand him in good stead. His storied playing partner Tiger bogeys the last, however, and that’s a hope-shattering 78. He’s +7, just one shot better off than Rory McIlroy, which goes to show how bad he’s been. He’s looked tight all day, a stiff back limiting his rotation. Meanwhile the third member of the group, Matt Wallace, finishes with a 73, not a bad result given the three double bogeys he made. A strange group to follow today.
A fine sandy par by Rahm on 17. His approach was dismal, trickling into the trap, and he was left with a tricky lie on the downslope. But he whipped his ball out to four feet, a miraculous result, and it allowed him to save his par. He remains at -4.
Rory won’t be back in it, though, whatever happens tomorrow. Here’s Andy Bull on one of the great Open nightmares.
Bogeys for Dustin Johnson and Jason Day at the last. Day will be happy enough with his 70 nonetheless. DJ a little more miffed with his 72. Neither have played their way out of the competition a la McIlroy or Woods, however. A profitable morning tomorrow and they’ll be right back in it.
It’s Rahm’s turn in Bobby Locke’s Hollow to the left of 16. He putts up gently to a couple of feet, and that’s an easy par. His playing partner Patrick Cantlay makes only the seventh birdie of the day at the hole - Calamity Corner indeed - and he rises to -2. Up on 18, both Rose and Finau find the green in regulation, but neither can make their mid-range birdie putt. They end the day at -2 and -3 respectively. Finau has made it all the way round without a single bogey.
-5: Holmes (F)
-4: Lowry (F), Rahm (16)
-3: Noren (F), Simpson (F), Garcia (F), Frittelli (F), MacIntyre (F), Aphibarnrat (F), Fox (F), Hatton (F), Fleetwood (F), Koepka (F), Finau (F), Inamori (13)
Could this be Lee Westwood’s time, after all this waiting? His second into 18 takes a slightly fortuitous bounce off the shoulder of the bunker guarding the front right of the green, and kicks his ball left to 15 feet. In goes a carpe-diem putt for birdie, and he’s off to the clubhouse whistling and smiling, posting a card of 68 into the box. He’s -3. A long time yet to travel, but this may be the first chapter of a tale for the ages. Or yet another false dawn, of course, but let’s not sour the moment.
Rahm’s second into 15 is clunked heavy. He looks to have rescued the situation with a lovely chip from off the front of the green to three feet, but he suffers a rush of blood as he putts and sends his ball whistling past the hole. That’s his second bogey of the day, and JB Holmes now has the sole lead at -5.
Tiger makes an up and down for par from the cute little depression - Bobby Locke’s hollow - to the left of the green. He remains at +6. “Arnold Palmer in his later, Seniors Tour career, had a phrase he often used after a good round: ‘I’m glad the fans got to see a bit of the Palmer of old instead of the old Palmer’,” writes Hubert O’Hearn. “Today I fear we see the old Tiger as he moves through the rough with the winces of a sour back, such as it becomes all of us eventually when pushing a lawnmower (or getting up off a couch) becomes a task of Sisyphus.”
Rahm’s tee shot at 14 leaked into the thick rough down the right of the fairway. He could only thrash his second to the front right of the green as a result. But he does extremely well to putt up the bank to a couple of feet, then tidy up for par. He remains at -5 ... but now only has a share of the lead, because JB Holmes sends a low fizzer into the 18th, then rolls in the 20-footer that remains. A birdie that means he’s back home in 32 strokes! He’s the new clubhouse leader after a 66.
-5: Holmes (F), Rahm (14)
-4: Lowry (F)
-3: Noren (F), Simpson (F), Garcia (F), Frittelli (F), MacIntyre (F), Aphibarnrat (F), Fox (F), Hatton (F), Fleetwood (F), Koepka (F), Finau (17), Inamori (11)
Some showmanship from Tiger Woods, as a tramliner across 15 disappears into the hole! He holds his arms out wide in Rapinoesque celebration, then licks a finger and performs the internationally recognised mime for chalking one up. A birdie at last, and he’s +6 again. A wry smile momentarily flickers around the corners of his mouth, but his situation’s not so great and his mood quickly reverts to pensive-stroke-misery.
Yuki Inamori is playing in his first Open, reward for winning last year’s Japan Open. The 24-year-old from Kagoshima, Japan has yet to make a mark outside his home tour - a couple of middling performances in the States this year, one cut missed in Europe - until now, that is. Birdies at 2, 3 and now 11, the latest the result of an approach that kicked off a hillock to the right of the green and gathered towards the hole. He’s -3.
A lovely tee shot from Justin Rose at the tricky 16th. He uses a little of the camber on the left edge of the green to kick his ball towards the hole, then he arrows in the dead-straight 15-footer he’d left himself. He quietly rises to -2. Meanwhile some less agreeable news for fans of English golf ... Danny Willett had been going along nicely after three birdies in a row around the turn. But a double at 11 knocked his equilibrium, and there followed two more bogeys, at 12 and 17, plus another double at 14. He ended up with an extremely disappointing three-over 74.
Rahm doesn’t give his birdie effort enough on the right. That’s a poor putt, but he remains a shot clear at the top. Tiger however can’t get up and down from the deep bunker. Half in the trap, half out, he can only power-hoick his ball up onto the green, the truculent little orb stopping dead 40 feet from the hole. Another bogey, and he’s +7 now.
Lee Westwood sends a lovely snaking putt into the cup at the long par-three 16th from 40 feet. Over a bump, right to left, left to right, then back left again at the final turn. A birdie that takes the major-championship nearly man to -2. What a story this could be if the 46-year-old from Worksop finally achieves his potential just before the sands of time run out. A long way to go yet, of course, but we’re all allowed to dream. It’s free and you can’t stop us.
It’s very mild at Portrush now. A low, bronze sun shimmering. Not too much wind. No rain. The late starters are enjoying the best of today’s weather. The leader Rahm caresses an iron into the heart of the 200-yard par-three 13th. He’s pin high and will take a look at birdie from 15 feet. Tiger’s woes continue, however, as he sends his approach at 14 into a deep bunker to the left of the green. This round is turning into a McIlroyesque disaster. (Let’s not riff on poor old David Duval’s pain again.)
Rahm whistles his second into the heart of 12. Two careful putts later and that’s a bounce-back birdie that gives him sole ownership of the lead once again. Big Dustin follows up birdie at 13 with a fuss-free par at 14. He remains at -1, a shot behind his playing partner Jason Day who also pars.
-5: Rahm (12)
-4: Lowry (F), Holmes (16)
-3: Noren (F), Simpson (F), Garcia (F), Frittelli (F), MacIntyre (F), Aphibarnrat (F), Fox (F), Hatton (F), Fleetwood (F), Koepka (F), Finau (14)
After Jordan Spieth’s aforementioned birdie at 12, the 2017 champ parred his way home. He signs for a one-under 70. Cameron Smith nearly slam-dunks a chip into the cup at 18 for an outrageous birdie from atop a grassy knoll. But it’s just par and he’s signing for a 70 as well.
Rahm responds by crashing a big drive down the par-five 12th. Up on the green, Patrick Reed makes birdie to get himself back to level par. And a nice up and down from a shallow swale to the side of 14 by Justin Rose. A par that keeps him at -1.
A first bogey of the day for Jon Rahm. The slip sends him back into a tie for the lead at -4 with Shane Lowry and JB Holmes. Meanwhile the 2015 PGA champion Jason Day - who came within a shot of making the play-off at St Andrews that same year - has been going along nicely, without fuss or fanfare. Birdies at 5 and 9 saw him hit the turn in 34; it’s been pars all the way since. He’s -2 through 13.
-4: Lowry (F), Holmes (15), Rahm (11)
-3: Noren (F), Simpson (F), Garcia (F), Frittelli (F), MacIntyre (F), Aphibarnrat (F), Fox (F), Hatton (F), Fleetwood (F), Koepka (F), Finau (13)
Nonuple bogey alert!
An update on David Duval. Turns out his octuple-bogey 13 on 7 wasn’t a 13 after all. It was a 14. A nonuple bogey, then. And that’s a round of 91. Still not quite as bad as Ian Baker-Finch’s effort at Troon in 1997, but that’s a low bar for a former champion to clear. So here’s what happened: he lost his first two tee shots, then sent his third into deep rough. At which point he played the wrong ball, a mistake only discovered up on the green. So he had to go back to the tee having been hit with three penalties for lost balls, plus a two-stroke penalty for playing the wrong ball. He teed off for the fourth time, and took six from there. All of which adds up to 14.
JB Holmes continues his slow climb up the rankings. He joins clubhouse leader Shane Lowry in second place, following his birdie at 12 with another at 14. This one’s the reward for rolling in a 30-footer.
-5: Rahm (10)
-4: Lowry (F), Holmes (14)
-3: Noren (F), Simpson (F), Garcia (F), Frittelli (F), MacIntyre (F), Aphibarnrat (F), Fox (F), Hatton (F), Fleetwood (F), Koepka (F), Finau (13)
A garden-variety par for Brooks Koepka coming up the last, and he signs for a 68. He’s the tenth player to do so today. Chances are he won’t be the last. Bogey for Louis Oosthuizen, though, and the 2010 champ settles for a slightly disappointing 70. Shots gone at 16 and 18. And par for great young Indian hope Shubhankar Sharma; the 22-year-old cards an almost-Faldoesque card of 17 pars and a birdie at 13. He’s -1, and looks happy enough with his day’s work.
Tommy Fleetwood isn’t far away from draining a 60-footer across 18 to finish like Kiradech Aphibarnrat. But he’s happy enough with par, and that’s a blemish-free round of 68. He’s in the big group at -3. Meanwhile Justin Rose keeps pootling along in steady fashion, with a birdie at 12. He’s -1.
Many thanks to David. So before we concentrate on the live action, another quick word on Ryan Fox’s record-breaking back nine at the Open of 29. He birdied every hole from 12 to 18, with the exception of Calamity, the par-three 16th. The previous record of 30 was set by Eric Brown at Lythan in 1958, and has since been matched by Tommy Nakajima (1986 Troon), Ross Drummond (Muirfield 1987), Mark Brooks (Turnberry 1994), Phil Mickelson (St Andrews 2000), Stuart Appelby (Muirfield 2002), Kenichi Kuboya (Turnberry 2009), Rory McIlroy (St Andrews 2010) and Justin Rose (last year at Carnoustie). He’s -3 ... which is now two off the lead, because Jon Rahm has made it three birdies in a row, at 9. He turns in 31 (which seeing we’re on the subject, is three shots shy of the Open front-nine record, 28, set by Denis Durnian at Birkdale in 1983).
-5: Rahm (9)
-4: Lowry (F)
While Tyrrell Hatton’s team tell him it was a great day really, Tiger continues to leak oil. He’s reached the turn in +6 and that’s so bad it’s one worse than Rory managed on the front nine. Back to the top and Rahm sets up another birdie chance, this one from about 20 feet at 9. It must definitely be getting chillier as Rahm has boosted his outerware with a gilet.
Righty, on that note I shall hand you back to a refreshed Scott Murray.
In a blink of an eye, the four-way tie for the lead is halved. Hatton’s bogey at 18 is expected but Koepka’s at 17 is not. Par putts from four feet in majors are gimmes for the American but he pushes this one right and it doesn’t even touch the hole. His first mistake of the day leaves Lowry and Rahm - both Irish Open winners - in tied first.
Tyrrell Hatton nearly got through 18 holes without blowing a fuse but the lid has come off at the last. He hacks out of the rough, looks furious and we’re just grateful there’s not a big branch and a red mini in the vicinity. After clearing his head and possibly counting to ten, Hatton plays a solid approach to 20 feet so could still escape with a par.
Ryan Fox, so cruelly beaten by two monster putts from Russell Knox (Knox sinks Fox) in the Irish Open two years ago, has come home in 29! What a response from the Kiwi after a 3-over 39 on the front nine. Back at 7 and Rahm completes the job by rolling in his birdie putt to join Lowry, Hatton and Koepka in a tie for first place on -4.
Rahm’s charge continues. The Spaniard has his tail up, flighting an approach to 8 which grabs and sucks back to about four feet. Some real action on that ball which highlights the soft conditions. Another squally shower passes through but it’s a brief appearance with minimal inconvenience.
Tyrrell Hatton joins the lead! The Englishman makes it a three-way tie at the top by draining a 20-footer across the green at 17. A birdie at 18 will give him the new clubhouse lead although that’s a big ask given how it’s playing. With the weather calming again, more and more afternoon starters are infiltrating the leaderboard and among those at -3 now is double Irish Open champion Jon Rahm thanks to a birdie at 7.
The sweet-swinging Louis Oosthuizen cruises to -3 and just one off the pace. The South African won the Open at St Andrews in 2010 and lost a play-off at the Old Course in 2015 but he’s not managed another top 15 in his other seven starts in this event. Favourite Oosthuizen fact: he celebrated his 2010 Open win by buying a tractor for his farm. I’m sure many of us would have done the same.
With a quadruple-bogey at 1, Rory found a spectacular way to get to +4 but Tiger Woods has arrived there more by slow death. He looks cold, weary and out of synch. Tiger opened steadily enough but has slid down to tied 120th with a run of bogey, double bogey, bogey at 5, 6 and 7. Tiger can still strut his stuff at Augusta National on a Sunday but can he do it on rainy evening in Ireland on a Thursday, asked the critics? Not so far it would seem.
Tyrrell Hatton comes within a whisker of joining Lowry and Koepka at the top of the charts. His pitch over a valley checks up on its second bounce and does a little dance around the hole, just failing to topple in. The Englishman is a two-time winner of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and has been showing signs of a return to form in recent weeks. He stays one back and in a big tie for third which includes Tommy Fleetwood. Tyrrell and Tommy, a pair of cheeky scamps, possibly from the 1940s.
Koepka hits a lovely second into the 15th and has a 15-footer to take the lead on his own. In theory, this is the stretch of the course where Royal Portrush bites back. Looking at the hardest holes on the course today, the 18th is ranked second (4.37) while 15, 16 and 17 are sixth, fourth and third respectively. Not that Koepka will be bothered.
Brooks Koepka shares the lead in another major. Wow. The guy is so serene he must have a TV in every room. One for Monkees fans there. Yep, Koepka is at it again, sauntering along and, before you know, hitting top spot without appearing to do that much. For the first time in many an hour, Shane Lowry has company at the top.
Hello again from Royal Portrush just as one of those pesky squally showers passes through. It’s been t-shirt weather for a while but caddies are reaching into bags for raingear. The good thing is these little bursts don’t last long and the weather looks pretty decent for the rest of the day.
Jordan Spieth made bogey at 11. Coming hot off the heels of that double at 8, he’d wiped out all his early gains and was back at level par. But the chap from Dallas is made of strong stuff, and he’s instantly bounced back with birdie at 12 to move back into red figures. Incidentally, apologies for mistakenly referring to Spieth as simply “he” when reporting that double on 8. Fixed that now. Many thanks to a couple of friendly eagle-eyed readers for spotting the error, including blood pressure’s Alan Hardy, who spluttered: “It would have been nice if you’d told us who the ‘he’ you were referring to is at 15.38 actually was. Yes, I know it’s Jordan Spieth, but I wish I didn’t have to do the research for you highly paid ‘journalists’.” Blimey. That’s me told. I haven’t seen anyone get so hot under the collar about the use of a pronoun since the emergence of Jordan Peterson.
And with that, I’m going to sit on the naughty step in my hairshirt for a while. David Tindall will be your loving guide while I repent.
Patrick Cantlay posted top-ten finishes at the Masters and the PGA. His quest for another high finish at a major looks to be starting well, with birdies at 2 and 5. He’s -2. Matt Kuchar is gong round with him, and he’s done exactly the same thing, step by step. And birdie for Justin Thomas, who has responded to slipping to three over through 4 with birdies at 5, 9, 10 and now 14. He’s -1 and just three off the lead!
Even the greatest can thin a chip straight through the green. And that’s what Tiger’s just done from the bottom of the hill to the side of 6. The ball initially threatens to snag on a hairy hillock, before toppling back down another swale. He does extremely well to bump up to six feet, but he can’t knock in the bogey putt. A double, and that’s three shots shed in two holes. He’s +3.
Brooks Koepka spurns a fine chance to grab himself a share of the lead at 13, having knocked his tee shot to six feet. That was always heading left, most uncharacteristically. He stays at -3. Erik van Rooyen meanwhile tugs at a short one on 15, and he slips back to -2.
Another birdie for Tyrrell Hatton! This one comes at 14, and he’s the latest of the later starters to join the ever-growing group a shot behind the leader Shane Lowry at -3. Back on the par-three 6th, Tiger pulls his tee shot into the deep swale to the left of the green. That’ll be a testing up and down. The 15-time major winner’s post-Augusta malaise continues ... for now, anyway. There’s always time.
Dustin finally gets his flat stick going! A lovely tee shot at 6, over the flag to eight feet, and he guides in the putt. He returns to level par. Tiger however makes a terrible error with the putter on 5, leaving a 40-foot birdie effort 12 feet short. The greens are running at around 10 on the stimp, not exactly PGA Tour speeds, but there’s no excuse for that. The mistake costs Tiger a shot, and he slips to +1.
A couple of big rakes. Erik van Rooyen tickles in a long downhill effort on 14, while Tommy Fleetwood converts from distance at 13. Birdies that take both men to -3. They’re alongside Brooks Koepka, who nearly drains an eagle putt on 12. Instead he taps in to calmly rise up an increasingly exciting leaderboard.
-4: Lowry (F)
-3: Noren (F), Simpson (F), Garcia (F), Frittelli (F), MacIntyre (F), Aphibarnrat (F), Van Rooyen (14), Fleetwood (13), Koepka (12)
Lee Westwood has finished second at the Open on one occasion (2010), third twice (2009 and 2013) and fourth once (2004). Throw in a tie for tenth back in 1997, and there are a lot of what-ifs in a Montgomeriesque career. If he wants to land that elusive major, his time is running out: he’s 46 years old. That might explain the zeal with which he’s begun his round today. Responding to bogey at 4, he’s carded three birdies in a row, at 5, 6 and 7. He’s -2!
When Dustin Johnson putts well, he’s practically unstoppable. But he’s not putting well. Having fired a long putt miles past the hole at 4, leading to a three-putt bogey, he leaves an eagle putt ten feet short at 5, having driven the green. The par putt inevitably drifts by the left of the cup. He remains at +1. Meanwhile back to back birdies for Thomas Pieters, at 12 and 13. The big Belgian is -2.
A cool start to the week for everyone’s favourite entertaining hothead Tyrrell Hatton. Birdies at 5 and now 12 have whisked him up the standings to -2. The 27-year-old Ryder Cup hero from High Wycombe already has a top-five finish at the Open to his name. He’d have been just two off winner JB Holmes at Troon in 2016, if you factor out Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson, that is, on account of their playing another tournament. Anyway, he takes his good form from last week’s Scottish Open to the Antrim coast.
Justin Rose drops back to level par after a wild tee shot at 4 forces him to take a drop. Dustin Johnson also finds himself heading the wrong way: after opening with three pars, he trundles a heavy handed putt 15 feet past the flag, and can’t save himself coming back. He’s +1.
Birdie for Jon Rahm at 2. He’s -1, as is Tony Finau , who makes one at 4. Tiger sticks his tee shot at 3 to eight feet, but can’t make his birdie putt and that’s three pars in a row. Birdies at 8, 9 and 10 for the former Masters champion Danny Willett! He’s -3 already, just one off Shane Lowry’s lead. Willett has a decent if not spectacular record at the Open: a tie for sixth in 2015, and a tie for 15th in 2013. It’d be lovely to see him finish high this week, putting an end to his elongated post-Augusta comedown.
More from a downcast Rory McIlroy. “I didn’t hit it well enough, I didn’t put it in the right positions. I put myself behind the eight-ball from the start. I thought if I could have got home and shot, maybe, two over par for the day, I could have still been in the tournament. But obviously the finish derailed that a little bit. I’ve always said I always get nervous on the first tee, whether it’s the Open at Portrush or any other tournament. I’m always anxious to get going. But it almost settled me down: I can’t get off to a worse start, so you may as well get your head down and keep trying. The support was fantastic, I really appreciated it. A rough start and a rough finish, and it adds up to a pretty dreadful score.” Hats off to him for coming out and answering those questions - there are many sports stars who wouldn’t - especially as he looked utterly dejected, his dream of winning the Open on home soil up in smoke. A thoroughly depressing watch. Ah well, he’ll always have Hoylake.
Say what you like about Rory McIlroy, he always comes out to talk to his public. Here he is, talking to Sky after that horror-show 79. “Obviously when you play the first and last holes in a combined seven over par, you’re making life tough for yourself! I was understandably nervous on the first tee. I hit a bad tee shot OB. Got a bad lie with the second and had to take an unplayable, obviously it wasn’t the ideal start. But after that I felt I battled back and showed some resilience. A couple of birdies, then held it together in some difficult conditions at the start of the back nine. But I lost concentration a bit after the missed par putt on 16, and then hit a tee shot a couple of yards offline on 18 and got a dreadful lie. So it was one of those days.”
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