If you’re reading this and you set your alarm clock at an ungodly hour to check in on The Open, you are one of us. If you slept in a bit and are catching up on the latest, you are in the right place.
(Scroll down for the latest updates)
There are some terrific groups off early at Royal St. George's, so if you did catch the early action, you were in for a treat. Here are some of our favorites: At 3:03 a.m. (eastern), Brooks Koepka, Jason Kokrak and Garrick Higgo were off. At 4:25 a.m., Jordan Spieth, Bryson DeChambeau and Branden Grace. And at 4:58 a.m., Jon Rahm, Shane Lowry and Louis Oosthuizen.
Golf in its purest form is here. We'd say to enjoy it, but wouldn't that be stating the obvious?
9:27 a.m.: How about that 9:36 pairing? Brian Harman birdies the last to shoot 65—and he barely edged his two playing partners. With pars on 18, Mackenzie Hughes and Dylan Frittelli both open with 66. That's a cumulative 13 under par for the threesome. Decent! Even more impressive is they've combined for a total of zero top-25 finishes in the Open.
9:10 a.m.: Louis Oosthuizen is absolutely cooking right now with the irons. Every approach shot seems to be within 10 feet–and he's converting his fair share. After making a six-footer on the par-3 16th, Oosthuizen moves to six under and in solo possession of first. Up ahead, Jordan Spieth two-putts for par on No. 18 to shoot an opening 65—matching the opening 65 he shot at Royal Birkdale four years ago when he went on to win the claret jug. Now that is what they call an AUSPICIOUS start! Anyway, Spieth is the leader in the clubhouse. At least, until Louis finishes.
8:59 a.m.: Louis Oosthuizen misses a great look on No. 15 that would have given him the outright lead at six under. Still, it's another fine start for the South African, who has already finished runner-up at the past two majors.
8:40 a.m.: What were we saying about Jordan Spieth feeling it? He rams in another birdie, this time from 20 feet, on No. 16. Wow! Spieth is now tied for the lead at five under with . . . Louis Oosthuizen. Of course. What a fantastic start for two past Open champs. Even better? The weather looks like it's going to be much more difficult for those teeing off later.
8:25 a.m.: After missing a good look for birdie at No. 14, Jordan Spieth responds by hitting an approach inside 10 feet on No. 15 and converting to get to four under. And how about this?
Yep. He's feeling it. Look out, everyone.
8:21 a.m.: A wild ride for Will Zalatoris just got even wilder as the Wake Forest product knocked down a wedge on the par-4 12th—and knocked it in for an eagle. Zalatoris only has two pars in his last 10 holes, but the eagle now has him to three under for his round as he makes his Open Championship debut. Not that we should be too surprised considering how his other major championship debuts have gone so far this year. The 24-year-old finished runner-up at the Masters and T-8 at the PGA Championship. Stud.
8:09 a.m.: Welcome to the tournament, Bryson DeChambeau! After a rough start, the 2020 U.S. Open champ has birdied three consecutive holes to move into red numbers for the first time. Playing partner Jordan Spieth looked like he'd add a birdie at the par-5 14th as well, but missed a short look. He remains at three under, two shots behind Mackenzie Hughes.
7:51 a.m.: Brooks Koepka bogeys the home hole for an opening 1-under 69, a solid if not somewhat frustrating opening round. Koepka's ball-striking seemed to be really stealth from what we saw (though Golf Channel didn't show as much of his shots as we would've liked). What we saw were a few missed par putts in the 5-10 foot range. The four-time major champion will want to clean those up before the next three rounds.
Yet another good round from Koepka in the majors ... this perspective from stats guru Justin Ray puts it proper context.
7:42 a.m.: World No. 1 Dustin Johnson bogeyed his last two holes to make the turn in even-par 35. Those are a couple sloppy missed short putts from DJ.
He's getting beaten by five by Mackenzie Hughes right now, who just birdied the par-5 12th hole—his fifth birdie of the day—to grab the outright lead.
7:33 a.m.: A bogey at the home hole won't completely soil Viktor Hovland's stellar opening round, as the Norwegian opens his Open career with a 2-under 68. It should be no surprise this ball-striking maven excelled in his first round here ... if the conditions get blustery over the weekend, we'll see if the lack of Open experience hurts him. So far, not too much at all.
7:20 a.m.: Mackenzie Hughes' name is now becoming a familiar sight at the top of the leader board at majors. The 54-hole co-leader at Torrey Pines now has a share of the lead (very) early at Royal St. George's. We have Brian Harman and Hughes atop the board ... this very well may be the plodders' type of Open.
7:05 a.m.: Links golf can make the world's best players look silly. Even the hottest golfer on the planet. Jon Rahm found a pot bunker in the fairway at the ninth hole, and he probably took too much club to try to chase it close to the green. His attempt hit the face of the bunker and came back into the sand. That's a relatable moment from one of the least-relatable golfers in the world.
6:56 a.m.: The biggest of big game hunters, Brian Harman, makes his first bogey at the ninth to drop back to 4-under. He is actually quite possible the smallest of all the big game hunters, but we digress. Viktor Hovland had a chance to join Harman atop the lead but just misses a nine-footer for birdie at the par-3 16th. The young Norwegian is looking great, though, in his Open debut.
6:44 a.m.: Dustin Johnson is off to a fantastic start thanks to this long birdie make at the fifth. If it's possible for the World No. 1-ranked player to be under the radar before the week, that was definitely the case with his poor play (for him, one top 10 in his past 10 starts counts). He's off to the perfect start early at The Open.
6:36 a.m.: Proper shot there from our leader here at the John Deere Open Championship. Brian Harman uses the side board left of the green perfectly, as his approach nestles close to the hole for his fifth birdie. The diminutive lefty is now 5-under through eight ... all the more amazing when you can consider his Open history.
Per Justin Ray, Harman has missed his past four cuts at the Open, carding a combined 16-over in those eight rounds. He's now 5-under through eight holes—after missing the cut at the John Deere last week. This is a crazy game folks.
6:24 a.m.: Make that four birdies in a row for Jordan Spieth. The 2017 champ is now one back ... those new irons in the bag are working well thus far!
6:16 a.m.: That is three straight birdies for Jordan Spieth—who needs coffee when you have Spieth in the mix already on a Thursday? The three-time major champ is now two off Brian Harman's lead with that birdie barrage on holes five through seven ... and he just stuck one tight on No. 8. WOW!
6:14 p.m.: Englishman Andy Sullivan sets the pace with a first-round 3-under 67. Justin Harding from South Africa is on that number playing his 18th hole, too. Some birdies are being made with the wind not gusting too much right now.
6:10 a.m.: It’s still going well, Koepka remaining at -1. But he’s missed a number of 15-footers through 12 holes. Might need a few of those to drop.
On the 18th, Richard Bland, the underdog who stole the show through 36 holes at the U.S. Open, finishes with an even-par day in front of the hometown crowd.
6:03 a.m.: Bryson makes a nice chip from 50 yards at the par-5 seventh to give himself a chance at birdie to get to even. Spieth followed Bryson’s lead, although his three-footer is a bit more precarious. And Dustin Johnson gets into red with a birdie at the third. Things are happening!
5:56 a.m.: We weren’t kidding about the 59 watch for Harman. Now at four under through five with a 15-footer to get to six. Meanwhile Koepka just plods along at one under through 11, doing exactly what he needs to be doing in Round 1.
5:53 a.m.: Starting to think the R&A postponed the Open strictly to give Spieth more time to get right.
5:45 a.m.: Spieth rolls in a 15-footer at the par-3 sixth for back-to-back birdies to move to red figures. Also in red: Joel Dahmen, who makes the turn in two under. It should be noted that earlier this week the Stanley Cup was dropped and dented, but I can’t imagine the fate of the claret jug if Joel and his caddie Geno Bonnalie get a hold of it.
5:37 a.m.: Spieth is on the board, getting to even with a 30-footer sidewinding birdie at the fifth. Ahead, Paul Casey’s birdie attempt at the 10th stays out, but things stay steady for the vet at two under for the round.
5:30 a.m.: Justin Rose begins his day with a 20-foot birdie. Rose has had a rough 2021 but a good week/finish could solidify a Ryder Cup captain’s spot for the Englishman.
5:21 a.m.: Koepka makes birdie at the ninth to move to -1, because of course he did.
5:17 a.m.: Spieth hits his approach at the fourth through the green, leaving a testy up-and-down ahead. Also, Harman is on 59 watch after starting with three straight birdies.
5:13 a.m.: Harman, two under through two. Our premonition may be coming true.
5:10 a.m.: Spieth tugs a five-footer at the third for par, dropping to one over. Brooks does the same with a birdie putt at the eighth to remain at even. At the first Rahm has a sensible lag for his par. Bryson again can’t find the fairway, this time going left and into the rough at the fourth.
5:01 a.m.: Jon Rahm begins his day with a bomb at the first, with playing partner and defending Open champ Shane Lowry finding the gorse right.
4:52 a.m.: Koepka’s birdie attempt falls just to the right to stay at even. M.W. Lee, who captured the Scottish Open last week, is off to a strong start at -1, with Brian Harman rolling in a 20 footer at the first for a birdie. True story: I hit my alarm this morning, and in my Hypnopompic state I muttered, “Harman doesn’t tee off for another 40 minutes” and hit the snooze button. Maybe an omen?
4:44 a.m.: DeChambeau makes a mess of the first for a bogey then puts his drive in the 2nd in the heather. An inauspicious start for the 2020 U.S. Open champ.
Ahead at the seventh, Brooks Koepka—who tends to play well in these sort of championships—puts a wedge into the wind within 15 feet at the par-5 seventh, giving himself a look to get into red figures for the day.
4:30 a.m.: Jordan Spieth and Bryson DeChambeau are off. Both find the fairway at the first, Bryson doing so with an iron off the tee. While both will garner attention today (and hopefully the next four days) it will be particularly interesting to see how DeChambeau handles the vagaries of links golf, a beast that has thrown him for a loop in the past.
4:25 a.m.: Your early leaders are Paul Casey and Andy Sullivan at two under. Begging the question: IS IT COMIN' HOME?!? (Too soon, England? ... Too soon.)
4:20 a.m.: Good morning from Royal St. George's! Actually, we're coming to you live from America, but we'll be keeping you up-to-date with all the proceedings from Sandwich over the next four days.
MORE BRITISH OPEN 2021 STORIES FROM GOLF DIGEST:
"open" - Google News
July 15, 2021 at 05:18PM
https://ift.tt/3yVon6O
British Open 2021 live updates: Jordan Spieth, Brian Harman rolling early on Day 1 - Golf Digest
"open" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3bYShMr
https://ift.tt/3d2SYUY
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "British Open 2021 live updates: Jordan Spieth, Brian Harman rolling early on Day 1 - Golf Digest"
Post a Comment