Here is a live link to the Open Championship scoreboard http://scores.theopen.com/en/Leaderboard.aspx
The 142nd edition of this great championship got underway in the darkness of my office at 3am this morning (est) however it was a bright, breezy start just outside Gullane at Muirfield GC on Scotland's SE coast.
Miguel Angel Jimenez was the early story with 3 straight birdies, out in 31, slipped a little coming in finished with -3 68.
The leader in the clubhouse is Zack Johnson with a steady -5 66, under what should be pretty good scoring conditions. The big factor keeping the scores so low is that the course is playing extremely fast, in fact David Duval says the fairways may be faster than the greens.
Tiger hit a wild hook with his 3wood off the first, then hit his provisional worse..took an unplayable, made bogey as he is an hour into his round at +1
Rory never got into a rhythm, made bogey bogey double at 10-12 and ended up at +8 79...what's the story Rory??
More stories from the first where Scotland's Lloyd Saltman hit 2 out of bounds, 5 off the tee and he ended up with an 8 !! Then Thomas Bjorn pulled his tee shot into the left rough and hit the camera lens on the ABC crane and smashed it...Cost $80,000..
****updating
It's clear the early morning flight, including Zack Johnson had a huge advantage, playing on pristine greens that have now browned out and along with the lightning fast fairways are making Muirfield "beyond difficult" as Phil Mickelson said post round..
Here are some quotes re the state of the course from the press room..
Dustin Johnson: It's nice to be able to hit 3-irons 290 yards off these tees, because you're trying to keep it out of the bunkers, and obviously links golf is all about placing your tee shot in a certain spot," Johnson said. "So my 3-iron, I would think, is a lot easier to hit to where I want it to than somebody hitting 3-wood or driver. So that's definitely an advantage. I can hit more drivers, but I just choose not to."
Phil Mickelson: "I got very lucky to play early today because as the day wore on and we got to the back nine, about a third of every green started to die and became brown. And the pins were very edgy, on the slopes and whatnot, that the guys that played early had a huge, huge break."
I love the fact that I shot under par, because it's a very challenging course out there," he said. "I don't expect anybody to beat the lead from the morning wave, I just don't think it's possible."
Stewart Cink If you miss the fairways, you've got a lot of work to do because of the guessing that has to happen with all the roll you're getting, especially from the rough with a flier," he said. "You almost have no idea how far you're going to hit it. And the greens were picking up speed."
I was walking up the 17th hole thinking, I don't know if I've ever had this much fun playing a course in a tournament that meant so much," he said. "It's so much fun out there. Every shot is like a chess match. It's exactly what links ought to be, really
Withdrawals......... Louis Oosthuizen, who won The Open Championship in 2010, and Peter Hanson have withdrawn wuring their first rounds on Thursday.
Oosthuizen had played eight holes, making one birdie, three bogeys and a double bogey. This is the third time he's had to withdraw this year.
Hanson said earlier in the week he was 50-50 in terms of playing after withdrawing from The Greenbrier Classic with a back injury. He had completed five holes, making a double bogey at No. 1, a bogey at the second and a birdie at No. 5.
1220.....New leader.....31 year old Shiv Kapur of New Delhi, India has birdied 6 of his first 7 holes to take the lead from Zack Johnson at -6 He is at 500-1 with the bookies..Ranked 210 in the world he shoots 30 for his front nine
110pm Charl Schwartzel had made 4 bogey's in 5 holes on the back nine, when on the 15th from the deep rough he half shanked a six iron and in a moment we can all relate to, he gave in to his temper, tossed his club, snapping it in half, then walked up to his ball with what was left of it in his hand...
Then as punishment from the golfing gods, he hit a nice 60 yard pitch onto the green and watched in horror as it kept rolling and rolling and rolling past the pin... off the green and into the back bunker..
242pm Woods with a 4 footer for -2 69 ... Never used the driver which is a big advantage for him cos that's what gets him in trouble...started at 945 finished at 245..
245pm With Kapur at -3 imagine this Zack Johnson's -5 early hours this morning stands up as the leader after round 1...
BryanAngus
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