Packed Open leaderboard as McIlroy scrambles to stay in touch
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland - Denmark's Jacob Skov Olesen, China's Li Haotong, England's Matthew Fitzpatrick, South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout and American Harris English shot four-under-par 67s to share the British Open first-round lead at Royal Portrush on Thursday.
World number one Scottie Scheffler was one stroke adrift, and Rory McIlroy scrambled to a 70 after a rollercoaster round in which he bogeyed the first hole and fought back to three under before fading on the back nine.
After early sunshine on the Dunluce Links, heavy rain and wind made conditions difficult for the players.
Qualifier Olesen, the world number 354, sank a 40-foot birdie putt on the tough opening hole and eagled the 12th before making his second bogey at the last.
"Obviously, annoyed to finish off with a bogey and not getting it up in two from there. But it happens, and whether it happens on hole seven or hole 18, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter," Olesen said.
Li made four birdies in a flawless round. The world number 111 finished third in the 2017 Open at Birkdale after shooting a closing 63.
"I think I had 18 highlights today. I tried to avoid a bogey and did it, which is great," Li said. "It's very tough, brutal."
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Fitzpatrick, the 2022 U.S. Open champion, eagled the second hole and notched up three birdies.
"I just felt like I did everything well," he said. "Drove it well, approach play was good, and chipped and putted well. It was just an all around good day."
SCHEFFLER IN CONTENTION
American Scheffler birdied the 16th and 17th holes thanks to superb iron shots to stay in contention for his first British Open title.
"Felt like I hit the ball nice off the tee, and really only had one swing I wasn't too happy with on maybe the second hole, so definitely a good bit of confidence for the next couple rounds," Scheffler said.
Northern Ireland's McIlroy, seeking his second Claret Jug, bogeyed the first hole after an errant drive but that was three shots better than he managed in the 2019 Open at Portrush.
It was not what his legion of fans had hoped for, however, after the world number two became the sixth player to complete the Grand Slam by winning this year's Masters.
He regained his composure to birdie the second, fifth, seventh and 10th to get to three under before posting three bogeys in his next four holes.
A 10-foot birdie putt on the 17th green took McIlroy back under par and he parred the last to remain in contention to win his sixth major title.
"It was good," McIlroy said. "I had it going three-under through 10 and let a few slip there around the middle of the round. I steadied the ship well, played the last four at one under, and it was nice to shoot under par."
England's Tyrrell Hatton and Matthew Jordan, and Thailand's Sadom Kaewkanjana joined Scheffler on three under.
Former world number one Lee Westwood, Dane Nicolai Hojgaard, Americans Rickie Fowler and Brian Harman, and England's Justin Rose were among a group of players on two under.
Veteran American Phil Mickelson, the 2013 Open champion, rolled back the years with a 70, including a spectacular par-save when he holed out from a greenside bunker.
"That bunker shot that buried in the lip, and then to make it, it was obviously a lot of luck. It was crazy. I was just trying to save bogey, and I got lucky," the 55-year-old said. REUTERS
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