The Open Championship: Takeaways from Day 1 at Royal Troon

The Open Championship’s first day is officially over, and as Daniel Brown sits in the lead after firing a -6 65, there are plenty of things to take away from the first 18 holes.

Royal Troon’s links setup, combined with tough course conditions and challenging weather, made today’s round one of the most difficult of the year. There were plenty of big names who simply could not solve the puzzle that Royal Troon had to offer, and there will undoubtedly be more adversity confronting the players as they try to make the cut, which will be well over even par.

Royal Troon played as the fourth-highest scoring average for the first round at The Open since 2000 with an average of 74.35. Only Royal St. George’s (2003, 76.45), Royal Birkdale (2008, 75.88), and Muirfield (2013, 74.60) offered higher first-round scoring averages than today’s at Royal Troon.

Big Names and Favorites Struggle

Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau both entered The Open as top five favorites to take home the Claret Jug. However, they have dropped out of contention after day one, and will need something truly spectacular to even make the cut.

McIlroy, DeChambeau Among Rough Starts at The Open Championship

McIlroy struggled with a +7 78, never truly getting anything spectacular going and failing to score more than one birdie on Thursday.

DeChambeau essentially did the same thing, firing a +5 76, with his only scoring coming on 16, where he eagled the Par 5.

Links golf is truly special because it takes creativity and a massive tool belt of tricks and shots to navigate around the course. When weather is dicey and scoring opportunities are rare, your best bet is to stay as close to even par as possible. McIlroy and DeChambeau simply did not have anything for Royal Troon today.

The Postage Stamp Delivered

Roughly sixty players ended up in the pot bunker to the right of the green on the notorious Par 3 8th hole at Royal Troon, known as the Postage Stamp.

Players that managed to avoid it on their tee shots sometimes found it on their second shot, like Collin Morikawa, for example:

"Oh dear" 😬

Nightmare moment for Collin Morikawa on the eighth hole 👀 pic.twitter.com/ARB8clkZDn

— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) July 18, 2024

The 120-yard hole saw just 32 birdies from 156 players. Thirty-three bogies and twenty doubles or worse were recorded at the hole, giving it a scoring average of 3.28, making it the fifth hardest hole on the course.

Notable players to double the hole were Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark, Cam Davis, and Ludvig Åberg. Henrik Stenson, who won the last Open Championship to be played at Royal Troon, took a triple bogey on the hole.

Tiger Continues to Struggle 

Tiger Woods has not played a round under par in a Major Championship in 13 consecutive attempts. After calls for the 15-time Major winner and 3-time Open Champion to stop playing competitive golf came from Colin Montgomerie late last week, people have to help but wonder when Woods will return to form, if he ever does.

Woods did find himself near the top of the leaderboard through three holes after a huge birdie putt early:

Tiger Woods HOLES IT for birdie from off the 3rd green! 🔥

📺: @USANetwork | #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/KaqdvY9nkn

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) July 18, 2024

However, he finds himself tied for 139th at +8, and will need something spectacular to make the weekend.

Cover Image via Citizen Tribune