The examination, as ever, was a tough one. Nothing came easy for those who set out in their quest to lift the Claret Jug at this 153rd Open on the Dunluce links and the questions that were asked, with wind ever-present and rain that came and went and came again in further complicating the task posed, left many perplexed and frustrated.
This was a day to survive, which is what Rory McIlroy managed to do without anything approach his A-game: he ranked 154th of 156 players in driving accuracy, finding two of 14 fairways, which indicated the waywardness off the tee that caused most difficulty for the Masters champion who, somehow, found a way to sign for a 70, one under par.
Only two players managed to navigate a route from one to 18 without incurring a bogey. One of them was Haotong Li, the other Justin Rose.
Li, though, was the one who managed to share the lead as the Chinese player’s four-under-par 67 enabled him to join Jacob Skov Olesen, Matt Fitzpatrick, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Harris English in a five-way tie of the first-round lead.
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Scottie Scheffler, the world number one, was almost as poor as McIlroy off the tee – finding just three fairways – but ominously shot a 68 to leave those ahead looking over their shoulders.
“Wind is something that obviously makes links golf challenging, but the rain adds a whole new element to it, especially when you’re hitting the tee balls. You get a little moisture between the club face and the ball, especially with the longer clubs and the woods, and it can be pretty challenging,” said Scheffler of the main challenge that faced players on a day where rounds took six hours to complete.
The pace of play was painfully slow, with long waits on tee boxes – especially the par 5s – while forecaddies were kept busy in searching for and finding balls in the rough. Bryson DeChambeau, who didn’t manage a birdie in his round, was among those who paid a heavy price. His power game was insufficient to overcome the links, and he cut a sorry figure in trooping off the 18th green to sign for a 78.
As Tyrrell Hatton observed of one of the consequences of the pace, “it was very slow, and it kind of felt like you couldn’t eat enough, to be honest.” Marc Leishman remarked that it felt he’d been out on the course for 12 hours.
And frustration was to be found everywhere. McIlroy’s puffing of cheeks after another drive that went left on 17. Scheffler’s club drop on the tee on 14. Jon Rahm’s anger when distracted by someone whistling as he played his tee shot on 11.
“If I were to paint a picture, you have the hardest tee shot on the course, raining, into the wind off the left, it’s enough. I know they’re not doing it on purpose. It just seemed like somebody trying to get a hold of someone for whatever it is. It was bad timing. I think I just used the moment to let out any tension I had in me,” said Rahm, who opened with a 70.
Back in 2019, McIlroy’s fate was effectively sealed in opening with a 79 when he missed the halfway cut and this homecoming brought huge galleries and, with it, expectations, not least his own.
“I feel the support of an entire country out there, which is a wonderful position to be in, but at the same time, you don’t want to let them down. So, there’s that little bit of added pressure. I felt like I dealt with it really well today. Certainly dealt with it better than I did six years ago,” said McIlroy.
And, to his credit, he grinded. He stuck to the task, even with a disobedient driver, and this time avoided disaster to remain within touching distance.
McIlroy’s round started with a three-putt bogey on the first but he managed to reach three under with birdies on the second, fifth and seventh to turn in 34, and he made another birdie on the 10th. Then, as the rain returned and combined with the wind to make for challenging conditions, the Northern Irishman suffered back-to-back bogeys on the 11th (which ranked as the most difficult hole) and 12th, and another on the 14th.
An important par save came on the 15th, though. He didn’t see a fairway, finding the rough off the tee again and semi-rough with his approach, but then chipping to 12 feet and sinking the putt: “It was a big putt, especially having bogeyed three of the last four at that point. That was important. It was a huge putt to keep whatever momentum I had.”
McIlroy returned to under-par on the 17th, where that drive left into heavy rough was followed by a superb approach from 148 yards – his strength an asset – that used the contours off the green for the ball to roll on to 12 feet. McIlroy rolled in the putt, his feat of escapology rewarded.
“It was a tough enough day, especially either chopping out of the rough or out of the fairway bunkers most of the time. So, to shoot under par was a good effort,” said McIlroy.
