Some thoughts and observations from the first day at The Open Championship, where the course was soft, the conditions were mild, and the scoring was good. I've also posted a breakdown of the golfers selected in our British Open Pick 6 game.
Your leader, Adam Scott, smoked Royal Lytham on Thursday. It was a 64 that seemed lower (and could have threatened the major-championship record low round of 63). He only had one bad tee shot and it cost him a bogey. Other than that, he was nearly flawless. I lamented on Twitter Wednesday night that I should've considered Scott more and that I liked him this week, but he just hasn't played enough this year to put much faith in him. He's been very solid at The Open throughout his career and has two top-15 finishes here. I'm not sold that he'll hold it together for 72 holes, but we'll know more after tomorrow. He could be a guy that reels off multiple majors in a short period of time if he ever gets over that initial hurdle.
Tiger is right where he needs to be. He seemed to be getting frustrated after what appeared to be pretty good shots, but overall his game looked solid and he's tied for sixth. He singed the cup most of the back nine -- his round easily could have been two or three shots lower. We're aren't going to go too far on Tiger until after 54 holes, however. Let's see how he deals with what should be tougher conditions Friday afternoon first, although I like his chances the more the lead moves toward even par.
Lefty is back to his struggling ways in The Open. Nothing to see here, really… although he made a couple of great bogeys and pars hacking his way around a docile Lytham on Thursday. Unfortunately that kind of scrambling makes it tough to climb the leaderboard. He only hit six fairways.
Paul Lawrie turned in a stellar round. He had six birdies, three on each side, paired with a lone bogey. The beneficiary of Jean van de Velde's 72nd-hole meltdown at Carnoustie in 1999, Lawrie struggled for several years after his Open triumph but has been playing great golf the last year. He's a legitimate threat this weekend and has publicly stated for several months that he aims to make the European Ryder Cup squad.
Nic Colstaerts is having a big year on the European Tour and had a nice day on Thursday. He hits the ball farther than anyone in the field, but he has a nice all-around game to back it up. He's going to be a player on the big stage for years to come, but it's unclear if his game is ready to hold up in a major. He's in a great position and bought himself one poor round with his 65; a 71 or 72 wouldn't crush his chances.
Other notes:
- Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson carried over their solid play from the John Deere Classic. Stricker has been a solid Open player with three top-12's since 2007, so his performance isn't shocking. Johnson hasn't missed an Open cut since 2006 and has two top-20's since, and if the wind picks up his ball flight is suited for the links. He's also been playing great golf the last three months.
- Brandt Snedeker is in the mix with a 66, which could've been a 65 if his birdie putt on No. 18 didn't horseshoe on him. He's another guy with a boring balling flight who should contend more often in The Open. He's also highly motivated, as a Ryder Cup spot is within reach.
- Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy are both -3, t6. Rory's game was a little shaky at times, but he got better as the round went on. I'm convinced GMac will be there at the end on Sunday, especially if the conditions get tougher.
- Welcome back, Charl Schwartzel. A one-under 69 was a nice result after several weeks off recovering from an abdominal injury. He needs to keep it in the short grass -- that rough is knarly and probably not the best way to get completely over an injury like that.
- Sergio struggled with a 72 (+2). When paired with Tiger in a major (as he was today), he's only beaten him once. Not a great sign for Friday, and I wish the Golf Channel had flashed that stat to me on Monday or Tuesday.
- There are 53 players at even par or better. Today was the day to get Lytham, so players like Lee Westwood (+3), Ian Poulter (+1), Rickie Fowler (+1), Dustin Johnson (+3) and Justin Rose (+4) need to shoot under par tomorrow and hope the conditions worsen for their competitors. With so many top players near the lead, however, it's going to be a real struggle for these guys to climb back into it.
Here's a breakdown of the golfers selected by the 108 teams in our British Open Pick 6 game:
- Tiger Woods (on 69.4% of teams)
- Westwood (57.4%)
- Harrington (38.9%)
- Donald (35.2%)
- McDowell (29.6%)
- Rose (28.7%)
- McIlroy (26.9%)
- Garcia (24.1%)
- Els (21.3%)
- Fowler (19.4%)
- Mickelson (17.6%)
- Molinari (13.9%)
- Dufner (12.9%)
- Kuchar (10.2%)
- Z. Johnson (10.2%)
- D. Johnson (9.3%)
- A. Scott (8.3%)
- Poulter (7.4%)
- Oosthuizen (6.5%)
B. Watson (6.5%) - Mahan (5.5%)
Furyk (5.5%) - Bjorn (4.6%)
Kaymer (4.6%) - Stricker (3.7%)
- Schwartzel (2.8%)
Choi (2.8%) - Lawrie (1.9%)
Carbrera-Bello (1.9%)
Clarke (1.9%)
Fisher (1.9%)
Curtis (1.9%)
K. Bradley (1.9%)
Senden (1.9%)
Goosen (1.9%)
Jacquelin (1.9%)
Jimenez (1.9%)
Jacobson (1.9%)
Colsaerts (1.9%)
P. Hanson (1.9%)
R. Rock (1.9%) - Campbell (0.9%)
Noren (0.9%)
Immelman (0.9%)
Dyson (0.9%)
B. Grace (0.9%)
T. Watson (0.9%)
P. Casey (0.9%)
Cabrera (0.9%)
T. Clark (0.9%)