Tiger’s not lost it! He whips a super-ballsy lob up onto the green, flirting with the Coffin bunker on the other side, but stopping just short, using the shoulder of that trap to bring his ball back into the centre of the green. He can’t make the 20-foot putt he’s left with, but bogey was a result from where he was, the fault was all with the tee shot. Nevertheless, despite that textbook example of damage limitation, he stomps off in a mood. He’s +4, and his mood is probably not helped by the antics of his playing partners: Patrick Cantlay holes out from one of the bunkers to move back to level par, while Xander Schauffele, having been the only member of the three-ball to find the green from the tee, calmly rolls in his birdie putt. He’s -2 and looking in control of his game.

Ugh, real bother for Tiger on the Postage Stamp. He sends his tee shot so far wide right it misses the deep bunker and settles in extremely thick rough. To say he’s shortsided is to seriously underplay the situation. If he can hold the green from where he finds himself, it’ll be one of the shots of the day.

A clearly disappointed Rory McIlroy speaks to Sky. “It felt OK … I’d come in here playing really well … it was more the conditions got the better of me … those cross-winds … once we turned those left-to-right winds … I was struggling to hold the ball … it was definitely tricky … it was difficult … you try to come up with a strategy but when the wind is like that, other options present themselves and you start to second-guess yourself … I’ll just come out and try to be better, to be here for the weekend … I’ll have to do a better job in those conditions … try to shoot something under par … at least be here for the weekend … if not try to put myself up the leaderboard a bit more and feel like I have half a chance.”

Another careless three-putt bogey for Tiger. This one at 7, and the great man is +3. Hopes of a fourth Open to go alongside his victories in 2000, 2005 and 2006 already looking the slim side of unlikely. A shiny brass penny for the thoughts of Monty, who was taken down in style during a press conference earlier in the week, but may have had the semblance of an argument.

Jordan Spieth follows up his short missed putt on 4 by finding a deep bunker to the right of 5. His ball plugs. He can’t get it out first time, and though he splashes out close with his second attempt, that’s a shot gone. Minutes ago, the 2017 champion was hoping to rise to -2. Now he’s back to level par.

Sepp Straka takes a step backwards at 11. He’s always out of position after flaying his tee shot into thick nonsense, and in fact does well to limit the damage by nailing a ten-footer for bogey. He’s -1. Meanwhile Jordan Spieth lets a glorious birdie chance slip by on 4, misreading a seven-foot putt after getting his hopes up with a lovely wedge in.

Four birdies in a row for Brooks Koepka! The latest at 7, and this is some roll he’s on Despite his stellar resumé – hey, you can’t argue with three PGAs and a couple of US Opens – you get the feeling that Koepka will never be truly satisfied until he claims the Claret Jug. Easy to forget that he put the hard yards in on the European Tour as a young man. Like Arnie all those years ago, he knows how important an Open is to a golfer’s legacy. He’s after one. He looks so calm as well. He’s -2.

Some things are worth waiting for. In the antepenultimate match to go out today, the 19-year-old Spanish amateur and debutant Jaime Montojo holes out from 132 yards! Three gentle bounces and in. An eagle, and that’s a simply outrageous way to start one’s Open Championship career. The young man raises both arms in celebration, leaps into the air, high-fives his caddie, then gives him a quick hug. Grinning and laughing all the time. Pretty restrained under the circumstances, to be fair. I’d be doing laps of the entire property.

-3: Thomas (F)
-2: Noren (F), N Hojgaard (F), Rose (F), Henley (F), Straka (10), Montojo -a- (1)

Birdie for the 2019 champion Shane Lowry at 4. Coming behind, the 2017 champ Jordan Spieth, who birdies 3. Meanwhile on 2, Emiliano Grillo and Mackenzie Hughes both make birdie to join what is now a 16-strong contingent under par.

-3: Thomas (F)
-2: Noren (F), N Hojgaard (F), Rose (F), Henley (F), Straka (10)
-1: A Scott (F), Wallace (F), Kirk (F), Jordan (7), Koepka (6), Schauffele (5), Lowry (4), Spieth (3), Grillo (2), Hughes (2)

Xander Schauffele tied for second at Carnoustie in 2018. He’s not done too much at the Open since, but having broken his major duck in the PGA earlier this year, and finished in the top ten at the other two majors, this could be his time. Birdie at 5 moves him into the red. Meanwhile it’s three birdies in row for Brooks Koepka, the latest thanks to a 30-foot rake at 6, and he’s turned things around in the shortest of order. He’s -1.

Scottie Scheffler makes good his mistake on 1 with a simple birdie at 3. Tee shot down the middle, wedge to six feet, pop in the putt. He’s back to level par. Meanwhile Sepp Straka gets himself out of that pickle down the side of 10, lashing his second into the heart of the green and taking two careful putts for par. He remains at -2.

Sam Burns was five over after six holes on the opening day of the recent US Open. He ended the week at Pinehurst just six shots shy of Bryson DeChambeau. A very costly slow start. But he looks determined not to make the same mistake twice. Having opened this afternoon with two bogeys, he’s set about repairing things quickly by raking home a 25-footer across 4 to return to +1. That US Open finish was his first top-ten at a major; the 27-year-old from Louisiana could be trending in the right direction, just in time.

Trouble for Tiger at the par-three 5th. He’s up against the face of a pot bunker, and can only pitch out backwards. Double bogey upcoming. He topples backwards and nearly falls over, that core strength not what it was during the glory days. He’s +2. Speaking of which … “Is Henley really a surprise? It may not look like it out there, but it is July and he is one of the boys of summer.” Antony T there, taking a crowbar to the side of that Cadillac with the Deadhead sticker. But hey, any excuse to spin the classics.

Sepp Straka had bounced back with birdie on the Postage Stamp. A lovely tee shot to three feet. Par at the 9th meant he turned in 34 strokes, but he’s just hoicked his tee shot at 10 into trouble down the right. The back nine has given much of the field all manner of gyp; could last year’s joint runner-up be the latest to feel the hurt?

Patrick Cantlay has had an interesting start. Staunch par-saving putts on 1 and 2. A tiddler missed at 3. A long birdie effort drained on 4. He’s level par. A clumsy three-putt bogey for his playing partner Tiger, though. He’s level as well.

An absolute nightmare start for the 2022 champion Cameron Smith. Having bogeyed the opening hole, he sends his tee shot at 2 into an unplayable position down the right. The resulting drop leads to a triple bogey. In the blink of an eye, he’s +4. Plenty of time to put things right, at least, as demonstrated by Brooks Koepka, who follows back-to-back bogeys at 2 and 3 – and he had to work to save his par on 1 – with birdie at 4. The five-time major winner is +1 … and he’ll be back to level par very soon, because he’s just sent a gentle draw into the par-three 5th to kick-in distance. A few more joules of energy and that would have been an ace.

The world number one Scottie Scheffler has already won six times this season. The only player to have notched such a number before July in the last 65 years is Arnold Palmer, who did it twice, in 1960 and 1962. Arnie finished as runner-up at the 1960 Open; he went on to win in ‘62. Promising omens for Scheffler, but he hasn’t had the ideal start, finding rough then a deep bunker at 1 to open with bogey. His tunic-style waterproof jacket is lovely, though, the sort of thing you could picture a Beatle or Byrd wearing in 1966.

McIlroy shoots 78

One of the biggest roars of the day so far as Tiger takes putter from just off the side of 3 and steers in a huge right-to-left swinger. A modest punch of the air by the quietly determined living legend. He’s now one of just 13 players under par.

-3: Thomas (F)
-2: Noren (F), N Hojgaard (F), Rose (F), Henley (F), Straka (8)
-1: A Scott (F), Wallace (F), Kirk (F), McNealy (16), Todd (8), Cole (6), Woods (3)

The defending champion Brian Harman nearly birdies the last, but his 20-footer shaves the high side of the cup. Bogeys at 15 and 17 won’t enhance his mood, exactly, but once it all comes down, he’ll be happy enough with an opening round of 73. No disgrace in this defence, and he wears a smile as he departs, a mixture of contentment and relief no doubt.

A par-par start for Tiger Woods. A street-fighting up and down from a deep bunker to the side of 17 by Rory McIlroy, who remains at +6. Bogey for Sepp Straka at 6, the result of finding a deep greenside bunker; he’s -1. Meanwhile a jet leaving Prestwick rips through the sky overhead, departing in the same direction as so many of the field’s hopes and dreams.

DeChambeau’s disappointing 76

Here’s an idea of how much the wind is beginning to affect play. Collin Morikawa, who knows a thing or two about links golf having won this title at Sandwich in 2021, is hitting into 1 from 154 yards. The wind-adjusted distance is calculated at 191 yards. Morikawa still comes up 20 yards short, the wind also taking his ball off to the left. It’s expected to pick up as well. This could be fun. In the clubhouse, Justin Thomas has the metaphorical feet up and cigar on, rolling a ball of brandy around a large tumbler.

A strong finish worth noting by Min Woo Lee. Minjee’s younger brother birdied 15, 16 and 18 to sign for a level-par 71; stage one in the quest for a third major in the family, to go alongside his sister’s 2021 Evian and 2022 US Open titles, is complete.

Bogey for Tommy Fleetwood at the last, and it’s a disappointing opening round of 76 for the 2019 runner-up. He’s +5. A par for his playing partner Jon Rahm, and that’s a 73 that could have been worse given some of his wholly uncharacteristic hacking around. But the third member of the group, Bob MacIntyre, clips his second to five feet, and tidies up for a closing birdie that gives the new Scottish Open champion a very acceptable first round of 72. He’s +1, four off the lead set by Justin Thomas, one that’s unlikely to be superseded by much, if at all, given the cold, wet and windy conditions this afternoon.

“Get away with it!” That was Russell Henley screaming at his ball after a mishit from the centre of the 18th fairway. The ball obeyed the order and bumbled its way into the heart of the green, to the point that Henley was disappointed upon missing a 15-foot birdie chance. He’ll be more than pleased with his 69, though. His playing partner Tony Finau signs for a level-par 71.

Also raking them in: Sepp Straka. The Austrian follows up birdie on 4 by draining a Texas Wedge from 60 feet at the par-three 5th. Straka tied for second at Hoylake last year, six back from Brian Harman. One place better this time? He’s started in the manner required.

-3: Thomas (F)
-2: Noren (F), N Hojgaard (F), Rose (F), Henley (F), Straka (5)

Say what you like about Bryson DeChambeau, the guy’s a showman. He’s had a miserable day today, and stands over a monster putt on 16 at +7 for his round. Is he giving up? You know the answer to that, don’t you. He rakes a 55-foot left-to-right swinger into the cup, one of those that looks in from the second it leaves the bat, and fist-pumps the air with a huge smile as the crowd go ballistic. What an entertainer! Gotta love Bryson. He’s +5.

Rickie Fowler – joint runner-up at Hoylake in 2014 behind Rory McIlroy – would be an awfully popular winner. He’s not shaping up to please the masses, though. Wild drive at 2 and 3 are super costly and result in back-to-back double bogeys. He’s +4 with the shake of a lamb’s tail. Speaking of McIlroy, he makes a horlicks of 15, sending his tee shot into more deep rough, then squirting his second into a bunker well short of the green. He splashes out well to 12 feet, but can’t make the saver, and this is turning into yet another first-round Open nightmare for McIlroy. He’s +6.

Jon Rahm zig-zags his way down the par-five 16th. From the centre of the fairway, he carves a dreadful second into deep oomska down the right; in attempting to then ease a wedge onto the green, the long grass grabs the shaft and his ball dumps into a bunker. He nearly flies the green with his fourth; two putts later and it’s a bogey that takes him down to +2. On his face, an out-of-sorts look of disbelief. On his cap, his LIV Golf team logo. Not sure what the name of his team is without checking. The Remorseful Buyers?

A one-under 70 for Chris Kirk. The 39-year-old from Tennessee’s tie for fifth at the 2022 PGA Championship is very much a career outlier; his next best finish at a major is a tie for 19th at the 2014 Open. But he’s been enjoying a late-career surge on the PGA Tour, with victories at the Honda Classic last year and the Sentry in Hawaii back in January. He was the width of a dimple away from birdie at the last today, too; he’s nicely set after the opening round.

A disappointing three-putt bogey for Tommy Fleetwood at 15. He’s +4. Hats off to the defending champ Brian Harman, though; he whips up from the awful lie over the back of 14 to six feet, and rolls in the saver to remain at level par. However he pulls his tee shot at 15 into thick rough down the right. A reminder that nobody has retained the Claret Jug since Padraig Harrington in 2008.

Trouble for Sam Hutsby at the Postage Stamp. His tee shot dies apologetically to the right and drops into the bunker. He tries to get too cute with his splash out; the ball topples back into the trap. He makes sure of getting out next time, but at the cost of sending his ball 15 feet past the flag. Two putts, and it’s a double bogey. The debutant drops to -1 and leading the Open was fun while it lasted. If it’s possible to measure out time in distance, Hutsby led the Open for 123 yards.

All of the players arrived early in the week to practice. The right idea, naturally, though the benefit has been moot. Problem is, there was no wind until today; now it’s blowing hard, the course is playing totally differently, its defences up. That will explain plenty of the misjudgements: Rory McIlroy only just making it onto the front of 13 with his approach, the defending champion Brian Harman wheeling around in disgust as he whistles his tee shot at 14 over the green and into thick filth. Jon Rahm missing yet another fairway, this time at 15. It’s a war of attrition.

Tyrrell Hatton gets up and down from a deep greenside bunker at 12. That’s a par … his 12th of the round so far. Slow and steady could well win this Open. His playing partner Rory McIlroy chips up to four feet and does indeed stop the rot, remaining at +5. Up at the top, Sam Hutsby birdies 7, and the journeyman pro, who has two Challenge Tour victories to his name – the 2014 Kazakhstan Open and last year’s Andalucia Challenge de Cadiz – is now joint leader of the Open Championship. He’s eight strokes better off than the four-time major-winning McIlroy; the unique beauty of Thursday at the Open, right here.

-3: Thomas (F), Hutsby (7)
-2: Noren (F), N Hojgaard (F), Rose (F), Henley (F), McNealy (11)

A nerve-settling scramble for Jon Rahm on the par-three 14th. His tee shot topples over the back of the green, but he does well to get up and down, avoiding the fate of back-to-back bogeys. Whether Rory McIlroy can stop the rot is a different subject altogether: he pulls his approach at 12 wide left of the green, and now wears the look of a man who wishes he could be anywhere^† but here.

_{† Except Pinehurst}

… but let’s not get too negative. Here’s a reminder of the top of the leaderboard, with both Russell Henley and Maverick McNealy making fine par scrambles at 14 and 10 respectively. A hat-tip to Portsmouth’s Sam Hutsby, as well, making his Open debut at the age of 35 having qualified at Dundonald a couple of weeks ago.

-3: Thomas (F)
-2: Noren (F), N Hojgaard (F), Rose (F), Henley (14), McNealy (10), Hutsby (6)
-1: A Scott (F), Wallace (F), Kirk (16), Lawrence (8), M Kim (7), Kawamura (6), Ferguson (5)

Golf is hard. Here are some selected strugglers, big names in danger of playing themselves out of the conversation from the get-go.

+3: Fleetwood (13), Åberg (12), T Kim (12), Hovland (11)
+4: Homa (11), Zalatoris (10)
+5: Im (F), McIlroy (11)
+6: DeChambeau (12)
+7: Theegala (12)

A par for Matt Wallace on 18. That’s a one-under round of 70 that featured a hole out from 85 yards for eagle on 4 and a triple bogey at 9. Again, plenty of the strugglers would grab that with both hands. Speaking of which, Jon Rahm’s wild tee shot at 13 costs him a bogey that drops him to +1; Rory McIlroy ends up with double at 11, his second in four holes, after sending his tee shot OB. He did pretty well to limit the damage as well, having sent his approach over the back of the green, then chipping back up to three feet. But he’s +5.

The clubhouse leader Justin Thomas (-3) speaks to Sky. “I felt like I played so well today … birdies at 17 and 18 at any level is nice … I don’t like tweaking stuff but if it’s not working I will … I’m a golfer, there’s always room for improvement! … I’m playing really well, feel really confident … I’m getting better throughout the year … it’s nice to get off to a good start in a major … I love links golf.”

Justin Rose, having just carded the seventh sub-70 opening round at the Open of his career, speaks to Sky. “A bit disappointed … I could have done with a slightly warmer putter … a couple of breaks that could have gone the other way … so all in all, pretty happy.” No cartwheels from the 2013 US Open champion, then, even though he could sell that 69 for cash money to plenty of other big names struggling out there.

Yep, it’s all going south for McIlroy quicksmart. Or more specifically east. His tee shot at 11 curves towards the railway line and over the wall. That’s out of bounds. A look of resignation plays across his face. See also: Jon Rahm, who carves a wild tee shot at 13 into a gorse bush down the right. He’ll be forced to take a drop from there.

Thanks David. Now then, Rory McIlroy’s putting woes are well documented, there’s nothing to be gained by raking over old coals. However, here he is, having just missed the 10th green to the left, drawing a Texas Wedge and leaving it eight feet short. He can’t make the tester he’s left himself, and cocks his head back in despair as he drops to +3. With most of the hardest holes still in front of him, that ten-year drought is in danger of turning into 11, just like that.

Leaderboard update

A quick look ahead to some of the key afternoon tee-times…

2.26pm Koepka, Clark, Matsuyama
2.37pm Woods, Schauffele, Cantlay
2.48pm Morikawa, Burns, Kim
2.59pm Lowry, Smith, Fitzpatrick
3.10pm Scheffler, Spieth, Young

Justin Thomas sets new clubhouse lead

Justin Rose ties clubhouse lead

Henrik Stenson, the last winner here at Troon in 2016, starts his round in a bobble hat. Very Alfred Dunhill Links. The Swede shot a remarkable 20-under eight years ago when beating Phil Mickelson in a thrilling duel. Mickelson was 11 clear of third place!

Just 12 players under par so far with the air heavy and conditions challenging. Jon Rahm’s round has threatened to derail a couple of times but the Spaniard, who sometimes appears to be acting out a morality play after suffering a big dip in form since taking the LIV money, is hanging in there well and sits at even par after 11. In the majors this year, Rahm was 45th when defending his Masters crown, missed the cut in the US PGA and he pulled out of the US Open with a foot injury. McIlroy overcomes a loose tee shot at 9 with some good recovery play and that completes an outward half of +2, his scorecard spoiled by the double at 8.