Open first round wrap-up: McIlroy magnificence
A British player hasn't won the Open Championship since Jean Van de Velde capitulated to Paul Lawrie at Carnoustie in 1999, but if Rory McIlroy can maintain the form he displayed on this opening day, the Northern Irishman will surely succeed Lawrie this week.
Still just 21 years of age, McIlroy was one of the favourites going into this week's competition - but surely even his biggest backers couldn't have expected to see McIlroy get around the Old Course in frankly impudent manner.
McIlroy started his round uneventfully, with just one birdie in the first eight holes - but an eagle on the ninth followed by six birdies on the back nine contributed to a nine-under-par 63 finish, the lowest first-round score ever shot in the 150 year history of the Open. McIlroy is also only the eighth player to post that score in any major.
South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen finished two strokes behind McIlroy, having cut the Ulsterman's lead to just one stroke before a bogey on the 17th saw Oosthuizen finish on seven-under. John Daly enjoyed some early headlines before McIlroy completed his stunning round, Daly finishing a creditable six-under-par 66 which sees him in a tie for 13th place.
In the run up to this tournament, much was made of the chances of a number of big name Englishmen to; but at the end of the first day, it's the little known Steven Tiley - currently ranked 258th on the European Tour, and yet to nab his first victory - who's the highest-placed Englishman, joining Daly on six-under, while the other players tied for third place were Brits too, Scotland's Andrew Coltart joined by Wales' Bradley Dredge.
So what of the bigger names? Tiger Woods looked quietly effective, coming home five-under-par at a course where he has already won this tournament twice before. If the world No. 1 can find some consistency over the next few days, he looks a real danger to McIlroy. Not that Woods is the only threat; last year's PGA Championship winner YE Yang ended on the same score, with a flawless round of five birdies.
And Lee Westwood racked up the same score. Having hit five birdies in a row between the 5th and the 9th, the Englishman went quiet again for the remainder of the round, with only one more birdie coming on the 14th - that one making up for the bogey the world No. 3 had picked up on the previous hole.
South Africa's Ernie Els was three-under, as was England's Paul Casey, while the much fancied Justin Rose finished two-under. Ian Poulter had to be disappointed with a one-under, but perhaps more surprising, given his status as No. 2 in the world, was the anonymous showing from Phil Mickelson.
The Californian is known for wearing a near-permanent smile, but the most spectators were treated to this afternoon was a rueful grin, as several putts for birdie refused to drop. A double bogey on the 13th added to Mickelson's troubles, the 40-year-old finishing the day on one-over-par 73 after finding his first birdie on the 18th. Without significant improvement tomorrow, Mickelson's Open won't last into the weekend.
Steady old Steve Stricker was as unremarkable here as he was enervating at last week's John Deere Classic, the American shooting two birdies all day, one of which he managed to wipe out with a bogey on the 14th. Stricker finished one-under-par 71 - at least that was better than Mick.
Spain's Sergio Garcia was looking to shake off his recent gloomy record by taking some inspiration from his nation's football team's win at the World Cup, but in the end Garcia's game inspired the blowing of raspberries rather than vuvuzelas - he finished, like Stricker, on one-under-par with four birdies and three bogeys.
Graeme McDowell is fresh from his success at the US Open last month, but the Northern Irish player looks unlikely to make it two majors in a row, after an opener that saw him finish one-under, eight strokes behind his countryman McIlroy. G-Mac's combo of two bogeys and three birdies would suggest that these days, the man prefers his golf Californian-style to Caledonian. Padraig Harrington, Tom Watson and Luke Donald each had disappointing rounds too, finishing one-over-par.
Still, the day belonged to McIlroy. The only note of caution is that the conditions that helped make his low score possible today is unlikely to recur through the rest of the tournament; indeed, as today's round progressed, the wind became noticeably more intrusive, which perhaps explains why some of the bigger names failed to impress this afternoon.
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