10 hours ago 1

The Open round one - Mickelson and Westwood among early leaders

Summary

Full coverage of the 153rd Open from Royal Portrush
Listen to BBC Radio 5 Live commentary from 10:00
Leaders: N Hojgaard -2 (13) JS Olesen -2 (10), Mickelson -2 (9),
Li -2 (7), Westwood -2 (6), Fitzpatrick -2 (2)
Full leaderboard
Two-time winner Padraig Harrington (Ire) hits first tee shot
Defending champion Xander Schauffele (US) out with Jon Rahm (Sp) and JJ Spaun (US)
World number one Scottie Scheffler (US) alongside Shane Lowry (Ire) and Collin Morikawa (US)
Rory McIlroy (NI) plays with Tommy Fleetwood (Eng) and Justin Thomas (US) at 15:10
All times BST

Live Reporting

Paul Higham, Phil Cartwright and Joe Bradshaw

Just a parpublished at 10:24 British Summer Time
Lowry E, Morikawa +1, Scheffler E (1)

Oh that's a shame for Shane Lowry who flicked in a lovely iron approach but then hit his birdie putt just a tad too hard as it caught the lip and took a 90 degree turn to stay up.
Still, it's an easy par and more importantly he looks to be full of confidence - unlike Collin Morikawa who had a nervy stab at his par save that never had a chance as he drops a shot on the first.
Media caption,
Hughie's: The first hole at Royal Portrush is a 420-yard par four.
Postpublished at 10:22 British Summer Time
Griffin +2 (2)

Ben Griffin has been a regular feature near the top of leaderboards in 2025, winning twice on the PGA Tour and boasting a couple of top-10s at the majors.
Unfortunately for the American, his Open started in an inauspicious fashion - he sent his opening shot on the first way left and had to reload from the tee, eventually writing a double-bogey six on his card.
Clark returns to major actionpublished at 10:20 British Summer Time
Clark (10:20 BST)

Image source, Getty Images
At the last major, 2023 US Open champion Wyndham Clark made the headlines for the wrong reasons when he smashed up a century-old locker at Oakmont Country Club.
Reports emerged on Wednesday that he has now been 'banned' from returning unless he meets certain conditions.
When asked by BBC Sport, the USGA refused to comment on the story.
It will be interesting to see what version of Clark tees off here at Portrush in a few moments.
Read the full story
'Interesting game plan from these three players'published at 10:17 British Summer Time
Lowry, Morikawa, Scheffler
Graeme Storm
Two-time European Tour winner on BBC Radio 5 Live

What’s really interesting is the game plan from these three players.
Every one of them have hit driver.
Everybody else that we’ve seen has hit an iron into the fairway – just trying to find the fairway.
Hojgaard back in share of leadpublished at 10:17 British Summer Time
Harrington +3, Hojgaard -2, McKibbin E (13)

The 13th is a delicious par-three down the hill to a green that is ringed by bunkers and slopes from front to back so holding your ball on the putting surface is crucial.
Both Tom McKibbin and Padraig Harrington end up long. The former can't get up and down for par, but the latter does.
Take a bow Nicolai Hojgaard though - a green finder off the tee and a 17-footer holed for a birdie that takes him back to the top of the pops.
US Open champion Spaun starts with parpublished at 10:15 British Summer Time
Rahm E, Schauffele E, Spaun E (1)

It's not often that someone making their Open debut is a reigning major champion, but that's the case for JJ Spaun this week.
The American won last month's US Open in some style with a monster putt on the last...
Media caption,
Spaun seals US Open victory with longest putt of the week
He gets a chance to repeat that feat from similar distance in his very next hole at a major, but this one comes to rest about seven feet from the hole.
The par putt drops, and in fact it's pars all round for this group to start.
'What's the point?'published at 10:14 British Summer Time
Lowry, Morikawa, Scheffler

Media caption,
"This is not the most important thing in my life" - Scottie Scheffer
I've often wondered what the point of playing golf was with some of the rubbish I've served up on the course, but those same sentiments coming from the world number one was quite a shock.
Of course, there's a deeper meaning to it from Scottie Scheffler and being able to distance his life off the course to his success on it has really helped him to achieve such greatness.
So I wouldn't worry about him giving it all up just yet - and having been in the mix in three of his four Opens he could be just about to click into gear in links golf.
He'll certainly be loving life after the atmosphere on that first tee playing with Shane Lowry.
Great start for Shanepublished at 10:11 British Summer Time
Lowry, Morikawa, Scheffler

Image source, PA Media
Brilliant reception for Shane Lowry as you'd expect on the first tee box, and he responds by swiping away a ripper of a low draw that bounds miles down there in the fairway.
That's why he's got a mural - great start Shane!
Collin Morikawa threatens the OB left but just stops short while Scottie Scheffler also finds the left rough.
An eagle has landed!published at 10:09 British Summer Time
Fitzpatrick -2, Fox +1, Matsuyama E (2)

Matt Fitzpatrick obviously read me talking about his so-so Open record on his phone walking down the second fairway, so he's trying to put that right here at Portrush.
It's a great start as he rolls in an eagle putt on the second to just right up into that share of the lead.
Postpublished at 10:07 British Summer Time
Lowry E, Scheffler E, Morikawa E (10:09 BST)

The graph above shows Shane Lowry's ranking on the PGA Tour for various metrics so far this season.
While he rates only behind world number one Scottie Scheffler and Norway's Viktor Hovland for approach to the green, it is when he gets to the putting surface that he has struggled.
Lowry rates 136th out of 177 with the flatstick, and if he cannot get into gear with it this week, it is highly unlikely he will threaten to regain the title he memorably won here in 2019.
Postpublished at 10:06 British Summer Time
Fitzpatrick E, Fox +1, Matsuyama E (1)

An opening bogey for Ryan Fox, who many feel could go well here this week, with pars for Hideki Matsuyama and Matt Fitzpatrick.
The Englishman is a strange case here as he finished as low amateur on his Open debut in 2013 but has just one top 20 finish to his name, when his game would suggest he'd be a big challenger on the links.
I'm not sure he's always really relished playing links golf though.
Par for Westwoodpublished at 10:06 British Summer Time
Westwood -2 (6)

Oh look, Lee Westwood's got ANOTHER birdie putt.
This one is from a bit further back mind at the sixth, fully 35 feet.
It doesn't drop but a par keeps him at the top.
Postpublished at 10:04 British Summer Time
Rahm, Schauffele, Spaun (09:58 BST)
Andy Gray
BBC Sport NI at Royal Portrush

This star-studded group are met by warm applause as they take to the first tee.
The stand behind the tee box has been rammed from the start of play, and there are rows deep of crowds the entire way along the fairway as the fans pile into Royal Portrush.
Jon Rahm is leading the charge down the fairway, followed by the two Americans. He looks like a man on a mission.
Three potential winners are under way, and the crowds aren't going anywhere with Shane Lowry, Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa next up.
Postpublished at 10:04 British Summer Time

Can you tell the big names are heading out?
This is the queue to get into the stand at the first.
Not sure many of them will make it in time to see Scottie Scheffler and Shane Lowry tee off in five minutes...
Great start for Koepkapublished at 10:03 British Summer Time
Burns E, Koepka -1, Potgieter +1 (1)

Brooks Koepka makes a superb start on the first - his approach from the fairway is just to the right of the flag and his ball rolls perfectly down the small slope towards the hole, leaving a putt of less than two feet for an opening birdie.
Birdie hat-trickpublished at 10:02 British Summer Time
Harrington +3, Hojgaard -1, McKibbin -1 (12)

The early birds are on the long 12th with Tom McKibbin and Nicolai Hojgaard looking to atone for those doubles on the 11th.
Tom McKibbin takes advantage of the following wind to find the green in two and two putts from there for a welcome birdie.
Hojgaard is also in for a four. He found a fairway bunker, laid up and then fired a wedge in to 10 feet.
And Padraig Harrington makes it a hat-trick with a two-putt birdie.
Defending champion Schauffele under waypublished at 10:01 British Summer Time
Rahm, Schauffele, Spaun (09:58 BST)

Image source, PA Media
A sensational final-round 65 earned Xander Schauffele the Claret Jug this time last year at Troon.
That was the second of two majors for the American in 2024, but the defending champion has struggled a bit with his game and injury since then - albeit that ridiculous streak of more than three years since he last missed a cut remains intact.
Big applause for Schauffele from the crowd on the first tee and he finds the fairway, although it looks as though his ball might have come to rest in a small divot. How's your luck?
Alongside him in this opening round are the reigning US Open champion JJ Spaun and two-time major winner Jon Rahm, who is always a big favourite with the watching crowds.
Li joins the leaderspublished at 09:58 British Summer Time
Li -2 (7)

Li Haotong matches Phil Mickelson's birdie on the seventh to join the American and Lee Westwood in the Open Championship lead.
Postpublished at 09:57 British Summer Time
Smith -1 (7), Jordan -1 (5)

Tidy starts for English pair Jordan Smith and Matthew Jordan, who are both on -1 early in their rounds.
Smith almost joined the leaders with three straight birdies but came up short at seven to stay at one under par.
Postpublished at 09:56 British Summer Time
Bhatia E, Griffin +2, Lowry E (1)

Not sure 23-year-old American Akshay Bhatia has ever been to Northern Ireland before but he's got an immaculate read on the greens there, saving par from 21 feet.
He's joined on four by Sepp Straka of Austria. It's an ugly double bogey for Ben Griffin though.