St. Andrews served up an entertaining and intriguing first round at the Open Championship.
As our own James Sugrue predicted, as did may others, the course was playing relatively easy, which was underlined by Cameron young's leading score of eight under par.
However, many in the field, including Tiger Woods, were undone by the pot bunkers, the lightning fast fairways, and the gargantuan greens.
Rory McIlroy remains the best of the Irish as he sits in solo second on six under, while Shane Lowry recovered well from a disastrous start but is still eight shots off Young.
Rory McIlroy At The Open
It was a dream start for McIlroy at the first hole of the Open. After a poor approach he holed a birdie putt of some 40 feet.
From then on it was efficient sailing, as he navigated the course superbly and carried out his pre-round plan to near perfection.
His aim was to finish the easier front nine a few shots under par, which he duly did, and headed for the tenth tee on four under.
The back nine was solid and the one bogey on his card was made on the tough par four 13th, while he also finished the famous 18th with a birdie three.
It is the third major in a row where McIlroy has finished the first round either in the lead or in second place.
Here we go.
55-foot birdie from @McIlroyRory to get things started @TheOpen 🔥 pic.twitter.com/wWD3kDWlBB— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 14, 2022
Shane Lowry At The Open
Heading into the round Lowry had short odds of 16/1, and since 2017 had made the second most birdies at the Open (behind Jordan Spieth).
However, he failed drastically to back these impressive stats up when he doubled bogeyed the second hole. He sent his drive into a gorse bush and was forced to take a drop before three-putting for a six.
He bogeyed the fourth as well but managed to get himself back to level par by the 11th hole, and finished on that score after a bogey on the tough 13th and a birdie on the par five 14th.
The Rest Of The Irish At The Open
Padraig Harrington put in a very encouraging round of 69, which leaves him in a tie for 14th.
David Carey is still out on the course on level par, while Ronan Mullarney is playing in the final group and is one shot better with five holes to play.
It was a disappointing day for 2011 champion Darren Clarke, who find himself 15 shots off the lead on seven over par, and near the bottom of the leaderboard.
Seamus Power was unable to find some of the form he showed at the recent Irish Open, and sits on one over par despite birdieing the first and final holes.
Tiger Woods At The Open
There was so much promise for Tiger heading into the first round of the Open at St. Andrews. He's won there in 2005, it's his favourite course, and it is not one which requires too much strain on the body.
Unfortunately the first hole turned out to be a signal of what was to come. After unluckily sending his opening drive into a divot, his approach wedge was hit into the Swilcan Burn. Despite nearly holing out for his par he missed the putt back, and began with a double bogey six.
The Big Cat is six over at the time of writing, with the 18th to play.
A Tiger fightback? 🤔
Back-to-back birdies for Woods! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/h2opQhSJHM— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) July 14, 2022
Other Open Highlights
One of the most impressive shots of the day came from Si Woo Kim at the dreaded 17th. The South Korean found himself in the infamous road hole bunker, and was unable to get out on his first try. Not to be fazed in the slightest, Kim holed out for par on his second go.
Si Woo Kim has just HOLED OUT from the Road Hole bunker for a par 🤯
And follows it with a tremendous club toss celebration 🤣 pic.twitter.com/8WD5fNafmQ— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) July 14, 2022
LIV Golf stalwart Ian Poulter provided the early entertainment with one of the longest holed putts you are ever likely to see.
160 feet...🤯
Ian Poulter's monster putt for eagle! #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/Ju26M4yEc9— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) July 14, 2022
SEE ALSO: The Lowdown On The Seven Irishmen At The Open This Week
