Open superstars slam 'brutal' slow play amid miserable Portrush conditions
Shattered Viktor Hovland called slow Open play brutal as LIV star Marc Leishman reckons he felt he on course for about 12 hours.
Day one of The 153rd Championship was a slog with rounds taking forever in the wind and rain.
Hovland came off as the gloom had descended on the Dunluce Links and the Norwegian wasn't shy in his assessment of the painful situation.
The Ryder Cup star said: 'It was really slow, I think almost six hours, just under six hours. That's brutal, especially when you have to focus for so long. It's not easy. Wind picked up there in the afternoon. Yeah, it takes a lot out of you.'
Worn-out Leishman also didn't hide his irritation with Open rounds in a sharp comparison with LIV Golf.
The Australian star and his rivals endured an arduous day and he says it felt as if he was on the course forever compared to the rapid-fire nature of the shotgun starts on his regular Tour.
Leishman said: 'I think I got up about 8am, watched an hour [on TV]. It felt like we were on the course for about 12 hours. 'We've been on the course for three hours through eight holes. That was tough to deal with, especially coming from somewhere where we play in under four-and-a-half [hours] every week.
'You got to deal with all that sort of stuff and I felt like I dealt with it decently well. I just got a little frustrated there.'
Justin Thomas was another late finisher who didn't appreciate the scenario much as he said: 'It seemed really slow. The back nine's so tough with all the cross-winds. It's really, really hard to hit fairways.
"Then when you miss the fairway, it's hard to hit the green. It's a grind, so everyone's going through it.
'It's a lot of people in a golf tournament and that's going to create. I mean, a city that has a lot more population, traffic is going to be a lot worse than it is in Pikeville, Kentucky, that's just the way it is.
"Then you add the elements and add everything, it's just going to be a long day.'
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