Southport (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Unheralded American Jackson Suber leads after the first round of the British Open at five under par, with world number one Scottie Scheffler among a host of major champions in the chasing pack. Rory McIlroy’s hopes of ending a 12-year wait to win his home major are hanging by a thread after a two-over par 72.
Suber, ranked 115th in the world, had a first-ever round at the British Open to remember. After making the turn at level par, he picked up five shots in the next eight holes, topped off by an eagle on the 17th to give him a one-shot lead over England’s Daniel Brown and South Korean Im Sung-jae. The 26-year-old is playing in just his third major and had never experienced European golf until his first practice round on Monday. “Monday was my first round of links golf, so I’ve played 27 holes before I played the first round today. I’ve never been to Europe,” said Suber. “Things just really started going after the birdie on 10. I just felt like the momentum was really in my favour.”
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Scheffler made a steady start to his defense of the tournament with a two-under par 68. After his record of 78 successive cuts made dating back four years came to an end at last week’s Scottish Open, Scheffler looked refreshed with four birdies in five holes between the second and the sixth. But bogeys at the seventh and par-five 17th dropped him back, and a birdie putt at the last came to a halt just inches shy of the hole. “I got off to a hot start in the round today and wasn’t able to make as many birdies as I would have hoped to down the stretch,” said Scheffler, who has not won on the PGA Tour since January. “If I continue to strike the ball the way I did today and just keep giving myself looks, that’s part of it. Golf is played over 72 holes, and I definitely liked what I saw today.”
Bryson DeChambeau is set to snap his unwanted streak of failing to make the cut at the previous three majors this year after an opening round of 67. The two-time US Open champion has often struggled in the wind of links conditions at the British Open but, with the weather set fair for the next three days, he is hoping to take advantage. “There’s still a lot of golf to be played, but, ultimately from my perspective, I was really excited about the way I played,” said DeChambeau. World number four Cameron Young is also poised to strike at three under.
McIlroy and the later starters endured the worst of the conditions as the wind picked up and further dried out a firm course after precious little rain in recent weeks. But the six-time major champion was completely out of sorts in a round that contained six bogeys, including at both par fives. McIlroy faces a battle in Friday’s second round just to avoid missing the cut for only the second time in his last 15 majors. “Just too many stupid mistakes. But every time I made a stupid mistake, thankfully I made a birdie to sort of keep myself in it,” said McIlroy. “Not too far away. Hopefully, we’ll get the better conditions tomorrow and maybe the greens are a little bit smoother in the morning.” Matt Fitzpatrick, playing in the same group as McIlroy, also struggled, with one of the form players on the PGA Tour this year posting a 72.
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