Cameron Smith is also fearless. The reigning champion pulls his tee shot at the par-three 9th down a swale to the left of the green, and he’s left with a tricky chip. But he clips it crisply from 65 feet to 18 inches, and in goes the par saver. He’s an absolute magician. Meanwhile up on 18, Christo Lamprecht lashes his second over the flag to 47 feet. The new Amateur Champion will have a long look at eagle for an opening round of 66. On Sky Sports, the former PGA champ Rich Beem says he’ll be surprised if Lamprecht doesn’t turn professional very soon, and parlay his talent into spending money.

Christo Lamprecht is fearless. He smashes his tee shot at 18 down the right-hand side of the fairway, worried not a jot about the out-of-bounds line mere yards away. Ah the certainties of youth. He’s now got the ideal line into the green. Birdie here for 66 wouldn’t match the lowest first round by an amateur in the Open – that’s 65 by Tom Lewis at Sandwich in 2011 – but it would beat the second-lowest on record, a 67 shot by Jordan Niebrugge at St Andrews in 2015.

Patrick Reed, having dropped a stroke at 17, pars the last and signs for an opening round of 70. He walks off in a slightly disappointed fashion, his last putt having stopped half-a-dimple short of dropping. Cameron Smith meanwhile backs up his birdie at 7 with another at 8, the reward for knocking his approach pin high to six feet. The defending champion moves back into red figures.

The leader Christo Lamprecht pays the price for that wayward drive down 16. Bogey, but it doesn’t rattle him too much, and he finds the centre of the green at the terrifying short par-three 17th. That’s all you can ask, all anyone wants. Two putts to remain one clear of the 2009 champ. He nearly drains the 30-footer he’s left with, but the ball stops stubbornly on the lip, and must be tapped in for the par.

-4: Lamprecht -a- (17)
-3: Cink (15)
-2: Jordan (F), Pieters (17), Kim (6), Hojgaard (5), Siem (4), Bland (4)

Tommy Fleetwood is going along nicely. Birdies at 5 and 7 sandwich bogey at 6, and he’s -1. Cameron Smith is also in Entertainment Mode, following up bogey at 6 by rolling in a confident 20-footer at 7. The bounce-back birdie brings the defending champ back to level par. But on 8, it’s a first bogey of the week for world number one Scottie Scheffler, who coquettishly hitches up a leg of the old metaphorical trousers to reveal that very real Achilles heel: a short putt pulled left. That exactly the problem that put paid to his Scottish Open bid. He’s -1.

Jordan Spieth moves back into the red after playing 11 pretty much perfectly. A drive crashed down the right-hand side of the fairway, and an iron screwed to six feet. In goes the birdie putt, and he’s -1 again. Meanwhile it’s back-to-back birdies for 2017 Players champion Kim Si-woo, at 4 and now 5, and he joins the group at -2. But that doesn’t give him a share of second, because Stewart Cink birdies 15, and is now just two behind the leader at -3.

Time to turn another page of the fairytale. Christo Lamprecht finds greenside rough at the par-five 15th in two, then gently wedges to four feet. He nearly misses the short birdie putt, but it drops, and the big amateur reclaims sole ownership of the lead. But he sends his tee shot at 16 into a spot of bother down the right, and with Thomas Pieters further up the hole making double bogey – the result of being forced to chip out sideways from a fairway bunker – it would appear that we’re now reading this fairytale at flick-book speed. Look at this!

-5: Lamprecht -a- (15)
-2: Jordan (F), Reed (16), Pieters (16), Cink (14), Straka (11), Scheffler (7), Kim (5), Siem (4), Bland (3)

Thomas Pieters joins Christo Lamprecht in the lead! He drains a 30-footer across the par-five 15th for eagle. The 31-year old Belgian has never delivered at the Open, but he’s got high finishes at the Masters and the PGA on his CV, albeit back in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Time to build on that early-career promise? Pieters, by the way, is six feet and five inches tall, which means the combined height of the leading duo (Lamprecht is 6ft 8in) crashes through the 13-feet barrier by a whole inch. An Open record? It can’t be far off, can it?

-4: Pieters (15), Lamprecht -a- (14)

Lucas Herbert isn’t the only one loudly crashing down the standings. Jordan Spieth sends his tee shot at 8 into a Native Area, with predictable consequences. He runs up a double-bogey six, and like Herbert before him, finds himself back at level par.

Lucas Herbert takes two to get out of the bunker on 17. Two more putts and that’s a triple-bogey six. Whatever you think about its brazenly punitive design, this hole is going to make for appointment viewing on Sunday. Herbert slips to level par, and now Christo Lamprecht stands alone in the lead … which is now two strokes, because he bumps in a delicate wedge from 50 yards for birdie at 14! What a story this is turning into.

-4: Lamprecht -a- (13)
-2: Jordan (F), Reed (14), Pieters (14), Cink (13), Scheffler (5)

Big bother for the co-leader Lucas Herbert at the controversial new par-three 17th. The hole is only playing at 126 yards today, but the green is a proper upturned saucer. Miss the flat portion at your peril. That’s what Herbert does, pulling his tee shot to the left, then whistling a clumsy chip up and across the green, down a swale on the other side, and into a deep bunker. He’s got an awkward lie, and he’ll do well not to run up a big number here. He could become the week’s first big casualty of this hellishly tricky hole; if he does, he won’t be the last.

The local hero Matthew Jordan creams a perfect drive down the left-hand side of the 18th fairway – there’s out of bounds to the right – but sends his second into thick rough. No matter: he wedges wisely into the heart of the green, and settles for a two-putt par. The crowd erupts as he signs for a magnificent opening round of 69.

Stewart Cink may be nicely placed at -2, but a few other veteran former winners are struggling. While the 50-year-old trucks on, the following trail in his wake: Darren Clarke and Ernie Els are +2 through 13 and 9 respectively; Louis Oosthuizen, who had gone out in 34, doubled 10 before dropping further strokes at 11 and 12 to slip to +3; Henrik Stenson is also +3, through 11; and Padraig Harrington, who still harbours hopes of playing his way into Europe’s Ryder Cup team, drops four strokes in three holes between 4 and 6, and plummets to +4.

Much better news to report for those reading down under: Lucas Herbert eagles 15 to bring a little professionalism to the top of the leaderboard! The 27-year-old Aussie, who finished in a tie for 15th at St Andrews last year, joins Christo Lamprecht at -3. Meanwhile an ominous rumble from behind, as the tee-to-green maestro Scottie Scheffler makes his second birdie of the day, at 4. If he gets his occasionally misbehaving putter going this week, the rest of the field may as well pack up and go home. He’s first in pretty much every metric, bar the flat stick: the world number one is only ranked 130th on tour! Strange game, golf.

-3: Herbert (15), Lamprecht -a- (12)
-2: Jordan (17), Reed (13), Cink (11), Spieth (7), Scheffler (4)

Cameron Smith looked confident when opening his defence with that birdie. But since then he’s been a tad wayward. A tee shot wide right at 2. He makes par. But he goes wide left with his tee shot at 3, and this time it costs him. His second disappears down a swale to the left of the green, then a heavy-handed chip trundles off the other side. He nearly drains a putt up the bank for an outrageous save, but the ball shaves the lip and he drops back to level par.

Christo Lamprecht will be used to dizzy heights: he stands at 6ft 8ins after all. But there are dizzy heights, and dizzy heights, and leading the Open is something else. He makes his first mis-step of the day, dropping a stroke at 11. He remains one clear, but there’s now a pack on his shoulder, with local boy Matthew Jordan and 2018 Masters winner Patrick Reed joining Stewart Cink in second after birdies at 16 and 12 respectively.

-3: Lamprecht -a- (11)
-2: Jordan (16), Reed (12), Cink (10)

You’ll have spotted the 2015 nearly man Jason Day sneaking onto our leaderboard. He’s just carded back-to-back birdies at 4 and 5. He’s going round with Jordan Spieth, and the par-five 5th has ignited the 2017 champ’s round; birdie moves him into red figures after a steady start. No mean feat, either: of the 62 players currently out on the course, only 16 are under par.

The 22-year-old South African amateur Christo Lamprecht keeps on keepin’ on! He birdies 10 to move to -4 and increase his lead to two shots! Seeing you ask, because we’re all thinking about it, the lowest opening round by an amateur at the Open was the 65 shot by Tom Lewis at Sandwich in 2011. And while we’re at it, two of the three amateurs to win the Open have done so at Hoylake: the aforementioned Bobby Jones in 1930, and Harold Hilton in 1897. Frank Stranahan came second here in 1947, too. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Give it another hour at least.

-4: Lamprecht -a- (10)
-2: Cink (9), Day (5)

Rickie Fowler pays the price for his errant opening drive. He sends his second into a pot bunker to the right of the green, takes two to get out, and ends up with an opening bogey. Magnificent birdie for his partner Shane Lowry, though, as the 2019 winner strokes in a gentle right-to-left curler from 15 feet. Par for Bob MacIntyre.

A couple of big birdies to report. The defending champion Cameron Smith parlays his fine opening tee shot into a fuss-free birdie, arrowing his approach to ten feet and rolling in the putt. Meanwhile a crowd-teaser up on 2, where the world number one Scottie Scheffler tickles a 25-footer towards the hole. The ball stops momentarily on the lip before toppling in. Two of the tournament favourites waste no time in moving into red figures.

You know you’re popular when you get a louder cheer than Rickie Fowler. Everyone loves Rickie, and he receives a huge ovation before sending his opening drive into the rough down the right. But then Robert MacIntyre steps up. Scotland hasn’t produced a Champion Golfer of the Year since Paul Lawrie broke Jean van de Velde’s heart at Carnoustie in 1999, and the 26-year-old from Oban is the old country’s best bet for a long while. The roar he’s given is deafening, fuelled by sympathy for that near miss at the Scottish Open last weekend, no doubt. What a 3-wood into 18 he hit … but all for nowt. But it’ll have given him confidence, and he splits the fairway with a booming drive. An excitable crescendo follows the ball down the track. The 2019 champion Shane Lowry isn’t short of fans either, and he finds the fairway too. Could you get a more fan-friendly three-ball?

Scottie Scheffler powers his second into 1 to set up a birdie chance from 12 feet. But he seriously underhits the putt and looks disappointed as he tidies up for par. Tommy Fleetwood is much happier with his four, after flying his approach over the back, from where he gets up and down. Adam Scott makes it three pars out of three from the group. “These are the days us golf nerds live for,” begins Steve Pye, speaking for us all. “There’s something special about the first day of the Open – and the second, third and fourth days – although I’m not sure my wife shares my enthusiasm. As I watched the first tee shot at 6.35am she looked at me and said: ‘Why is there golf on our television at this time of day?’ My tip is Rickie Fowler, which means everyone else should avoid him. The last time I backed a winner was Harrington in 2007, ironically picked by my wife. After I collected the winnings we went for a curry, and I said to her that I had no idea she had heard of Padraig Harrington. ‘It all sinks in eventually,’ she sighed.”

Cameron Smith begins his defence of the title. He’s not messing around, either. Looking as calm as you’d expect, the easy-going Aussie creams his opening drive down the middle. He’s followed there by partners Xander Schauffele and the new US Open champion Wyndham Clark. What’s been the problem, everyone? Meanwhile the 2009 dreamwrecker champion Stewart Cink birdies 5 and 7 to move into second spot on this early leaderboard.

-3: Lamprecht -a- (8)
-2: Cink (7)
-1: Jordan (13), Herbert (12), Pieters (9), Oosthuizen (8), Burns (4), Cantlay (1)

Neither Brooks Kopeka nor Patrick Cantlay can find the 1st green from their positions wide left of the fairway. The former sends his second to the right, short-siding himself behind a bunker, and ends up with an opening bogey; the latter however makes an outrageous birdie, having sent his second down a swale to the right, before whistling an undulating putt up, down and up onto the green, then in. Had it not been bang on line, it would still have been travelling today. And people say he’s slow. He’s -1.

A huge roar at the 1st as another local lad, Tommy Fleetwood, takes to the tee. But before he can hit, the world number one Scottie Scheffler has a crack. He receives a warm ovation as well, the Open gallery recognising game as it always does. Scheffler becomes the latest to tug his opening shot into the rough down the left … then Fleetwood and the third member of a stellar group, Adam Scott, follow him in. Nobody wants to find either of the bunkers down the right of the fairway, that much is clear. The 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel earlier illustrated exactly why: he found one of them and ended up with a double-bogey six.

Brooks Koepka and Patrick Cantlay take turns to send their opening drives over the startled heads of the spectators lining the left-hand side of the 1st fairway. Those tee shots are beyond wild, though there shouldn’t be too much danger over there, the grass already flattened by all the human traffic. Still, there haven’t been too many opening tee shots bothering the fairway this morning. The strategically placed bunkers messing with everyone’s head. Meanwhile the leader Christo Lamprecht is this close to making yet another birdie, this time at 7, but his swinging 15-foot putt stops a dimple short. He remains at -3.

… the 22-year-old South African amateur Christo Lamprecht! Playing in his first Open, as reward for winning the Amateur Championship last month, he’s birdied 3, 5 and 6 to hit the top of the famous yellow leaderboard. And here’s a funny thing: Lamprecht studies at Georgia Tech, as did the legendary Bobby Jones, one of only two other men from the Georgia Institute of Technology to win the Amateur Championship. Jones won the Amateur as part of his famous 1930 Grand Slam season … that also included winning the Open at Hoylake. Blimey. Here, what if … no, it’s not even 10am on Thursday morning, we can’t start thinking like this.

-3: Lamprecht -a- (6)
-1: Jordan (11), Herbert (10), Larrazabal (9), Reed (8), Pieters (7), Oosthuizen (6), Cink (5)

Another salvage job from the sand here. It’s made by Matthew Jordan at 11, who finds himself right up against the steep face of a greenside bunker. The situation looks almost impossible, but he opens his wedge and swings as hard as he can, launching the ball almost completely vertically to escape in one sensational swipe. He can only land 30 feet from the flag, but that’s still some result from where he was. A bogey, but that could have been so much worse. The local lad slips to -1 and out of the lead, which is now held by …

Jordan Spieth can’t make his birdie putt on 1, but an opening par will always suffice at the Open. As for his playing partners, Jason Day pars as well, but it’s a dropped shot for Matt Fitzpatrick, although walking off, he won’t be too upset, as it could have been worse: having hit a weak wedge into a bunker, he did extremely well to get up and down to limit the damage.

From one Jordan to another … here comes the ever-entertaining Mr Spieth. The 2017 champion sends his opening tee shot into the rough down the right. That’s not ideal, but then Matt Fitzpatrick trumps it by pulling over the heads of the punters lining the left-hand side of the fairway. A nervy one from the slightly out-of-sorts 2022 US Open champ. He gets a break, a relatively decent lie near a dust track, but sends his next one into rough wide right of the green, where he’ll be short-sided and with a bunker to navigate as well. Spieth however responds by guiding his second into the heart of the green, and he’ll have a look at birdie from 15 feet or so.

Jordan’s birdie at 2 was the first of the week. The first eagle of the week has been made by Pablo Larrazabal. The 40-year-old Spaniard rakes a 35-foot right-to-left curler across the par-five 5th, and that’s why you see him tucked in behind the leader at -1. Larrazabal’s best finish at the Open, and indeed any major, is a tie for 30th at Sandwich in 2011, so a sustained challenge is unlikely … but then again he’s won twice on the DP World Tour in the last four months, at the Korea Championship and the KLM Open, so you can understand why he’s currently striding the links in the confident style.

The first shot of the 151st Open was hit by Matthew Jordan. The 27-year-old from Hoylake has been a member at his local club since he was seven, so knows the place pretty well. Still, taking the first shot at the oldest major makes things a bit different, not least because the 1st is the 17th for the members in the course’s everyday configuration. He had half of Liverpool looking on from the gallery, as well, or at least that’s what it felt like. So you couldn’t blame him for tugging his tee shot nervously into the thick rough down the left. But he gathered himself, advancing his ball into a greenside bunker, from where he got up and down for par. And now, having made several big putts along the way, he’s reached the turn in 33 strokes, birdies at 2, 5 and 8 more than compensating for a single dropped stroke at 6. The local hero leads the Open! Not bad for someone who has only played in it once before, last year at St Andrews, where he missed the cut. Now look!

-2: Jordan (9)
-1: Fox (7), Larrazabal (6), Ballester Barrio -a- (5), Lamprecht -a- (4), J Smith (1)

Preamble