Padraig Harrington gets Open under way at Royal Portrush
Harrington took an iron and hit the middle of the fairway – which was more than Rory McIlroy did six years ago when the tournament returned to the Dunluce Links after finding out of bounds down the left on his first morning – and responded with a beaming smile.
The opening tee shot of The 153rd Open. pic.twitter.com/rRZokRqF8M
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 17, 2025
Despite being given the honour Harrington, who won the US Senior Open a fortnight ago, is determined to compete as he bids to become the oldest winner of the Claret Jug.
'I still think I'm a player but I'm quite happy to take the ceremonial position of hitting the first shot. I have to create my own reality and in my reality I can win,' he said on Wednesday.
There was almost as much noise for 22-year-old Tom McKibbin, from McIlroy's Holywood club an hour down the road, whose tee shot crept into the left rough, while Ryder Cup winner Nicolai Hojgaard also found the fairway.
Harrington hit his approach to 18 feet and holed his birdie attempt, which was greeted by a loud roar and another broad grin from the Irishman, but McKibbin took three to get to the green for a bogey.
The morning starters, which included world number one and US PGA champion Scottie Scheffler playing alongside Irish 2019 champion Shane Lowry and former winner Collin Morikawa off at 10.09am, were likely to get the best of the weather.
That also meant the group ahead of Xander Schauffele, beginning his defence of the Claret Jug, Jon Rahm and US Open champion JJ Spaun would also be likely beneficiaries.
Conversely McIlroy, not due out until 3.10pm with Ryder Cup team-mate Tommy Fleetwood and American rival Justin Thomas, was facing a greater chance of rain, some of it heavy, with winds gusting up to 20mph.
Scotland's Robert MacIntyre, second at last month's US Open, Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Rose and Jordan Spieth, European Ryder Cup partners Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland, were also paired together in the two groups immediately prior to McIlroy.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
a few seconds ago
- The Independent
Brian Harman hunts down another British Open title with early lead at Royal Portrush
Brian Harman took dead aim in a mild breeze and surprising sunshine Friday at Royal Portrush for a 6-under 64 that sent him into the weekend hunting another British Open title. He was called the 'Butcher of Hoylake' when Harman won the claret jug at Royal Liverpool two years ago because the British press was fascinating by the Georgia native's love for hunting. Now it's about his golf, and it was superb. Harman played bogey-free, only once having to stress for par as Royal Portrush allowed for some good scoring in weather that again did not live up to its expectation. Not that anyone was complaining. Temperatures were warm, at least by Irish standards. The breeze was noticeable without being overly punishing. 'They're very different golf courses, but the golf is similar,' Harman said. 'You've got to be able to flight your golf ball. You've got to know how far everything's going. Then you can't get frustrated. You're going to end up in funny spots where it doesn't seem fair, and you just have to kind of outlast that stuff.' Among those who finished, Harman at 8-under 134 was three shots clear of a group that included Harris English (70), Harman's former teammate at Georgia; Rasmus Hojgaard of Denmark (68), Tyrrell Hatton of England (69) and Robert MacIntyre of Scotland (66). Rory McIlroy broke par for the second straight round and lost ground. Thousands of spectators followed him along hills ands knobs. There were cheers, but not many roars as McIlroy went around in 69. He wasn't at his best in the opening round and was pleased to be only three behind. He was at least five shots back going into the weekend. But at least he's still playing, after a terrific rally to miss the cut by one shot at Royal Portrush in 2019. 'I didn't have this opportunity six years ago, so to play an extra two days in this atmosphere in front of these crowds, I'm very excited for that,' McIlroy said. 'I feel like my game's definitely good enough to make a run.' Scottie Scheffler played in the afternoon. He hit his shot down the middle of the fairway, his next one to 6 feet, his third one in the hole for a birdie. And then out came the umbrellas and some of the heaviest rain of the week. It lasted only a few holes. Harman had a five-shot lead after 36 holes at Hoylake when he won in 2023, and he wound up winning by six with a game so steady that no one made a serious run at him. He is likely to have a little more company this time around. But his game looked to be as superb as ever. He was putting for birdie on just about every hole. He was never out of position. Harman opened with an approach to 3 feet on the first hole and drilled his second shot on the par-5 second to 18 feet for a tap-in birdie. He finished with another dandy, an approach to 8 feet on the 18th hole. 'I'm not trying to be heroic or do anything crazy. I know that I've got the game to do it, and it's just a matter of executing and staying in my own head,' Harman said. Among those chasing is Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, making yet another case that he could be the first American playing captain the Ryder Cup since 1963. Bradley is coming off a win at the Travelers Championship. Now he appears to be finally figuring out links golf. Bradley has missed the cut the last five times and his best finish in 11 appearances is a tie for 15th in 2013 at Muirfield. He shot 67, a round that began with a 5-wood to 18 feet for eagle on the second hole that Bradley said was among the best shots he has hit this year. 'It was nice because I really wanted to play the weekend for the first time in, like, years,' Bradley said. 'But I also wanted to play well enough to get myself in position, so that was a great start to the round.' ___
Reuters
a minute ago
- Reuters
No stress, no fuss, Harman's boring approach works Open wonders again
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland, July 18 (Reuters) - American Brian Harman did what Brian Harman does best to take the clubhouse lead at the British Open on Friday -- hit fairways, sink putts and leave the stressing to others. Two years after seizing the halfway lead at Royal Liverpool and going on to lift the Claret Jug by a whopping six strokes, the 38-year-old from Savannah, Georgia is at it again, this timer across the Irish Sea at Royal Portrush. He carded the lowest round of the tournament, a bogey-free six-under-par 65 to move to eight under and throw down the gauntlet to the chasing pack. If Harman is interested in omens, he also fired a bogey-free 65 at Hoylake two years ago and was never threatened as he went on to claim his sole major, sapping the spirit of the chasers on a rain-soaked final day with a nerveless display. There is nothing flashy about the left-handed world number 26 who goes about his business with little fanfare. Indeed, as he played the 17th hole on Friday, many of the fans perched alongside the fairway seemed oblivious to the fact the Open leader was in their vicinity, instead gazing into the distance for a bird's eye view of home favourite Rory McIlroy. But his unflappable nature and relentless accuracy means that while British links courses mess with the minds of some of his compatriots, Harman feels completely in his element. "I'll approach the weekend the same way. The only thing I'm really worried about is the first tee ball tomorrow, and then I'll try to hit the next one up there close to the flag," Harman, who lives on a 60-acre ranch, hunts for his own food and drives a tractor, told reporters. "If not, go to the second hole. It's a very boring approach that I take. I'm not trying to be heroic or do anything crazy. I know that I've got the game to do it. It's just a matter of executing and staying in my own head." Harman enjoys the fact that there are "a million different ways" to play a course like the Dunluce Links, although it took him a while to figure them out as he missed the cut in four successive Open appearances between 2015 and 2019, when it was last staged at Royal Portrush. "I love the golf over here. It suits me. Distance, of course, matters over here, but it doesn't matter as much as maybe some other tournaments," he said. "You've got to know how far everything's going. Then you can't get frustrated. Like you're going to get bad breaks, you're going to end up in funny spots where it doesn't seem fair, and you just have to kind of outlast that stuff." Asked if he came close to dropping a shot on Friday, Harman struggled to come up with anything more than needing to hole a six-footer to save par at the 11th. No stress, no drama, just as Harman likes it.
BBC News
a minute ago
- BBC News
DeChambeau soars after tough start left him yearning for home
After starting his Open Championship with a dispiriting seven-over 78, Bryson DeChambeau thrust himself back into the tournament with a superb 65 on Friday. With a nickname like 'The Scientist' and a reputation for gruelling, long-into-the-night range sessions, surely some great change enabled his resurgence in the second round? Not according to the man himself. "I've played the same as I did yesterday. That's links golf for you," said the 31-year-old American. "I executed pretty much the same shots as I did yesterday. I didn't feel like I played any different. Today they just kind of went more my way."DeChambeau conquered feared US Open venues Winged Foot and Pinehurst to win his two majors, but he struggled around Royal Portrush on Thursday. His travails included a double bogey six at the fourth after failing to advance his ball out of thick ended his birdie-less opening round with two bogeys and admitted he told himself he wanted "to go home". "But I woke up this morning and I said, you know what, I can't give up," he added."My dad always told me never to give up, just got to keep going, and that's what I did today.""I was proud of the way I fought back, really persevered through some emotionally difficult moments," added DeChambeau, who resisted the urge to "slam clubs and throw things".DeChambeau, who has been a hugely popular amongst fans at Portrush this week, must wait to see if his joint-best-of-the-week 65 will be enough to make the cut. At the time of writing, he is on the projected cut mark at one over.
