Last Major The Open First Day Tied 138th
2 Birdies, 6 Bogeys, 2 Double Bogeys
Tee Shots and Iron Shots Struggle 'Worst Slump'
Brown Leads, Scheffler 11th, Song Younghan 18th
Colin Montgomery (Scotland) targeted 'Golf Emperor' Tiger Woods (USA) ahead of this year's The Open. He is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Montgomery is also a legend of European golf with 7 PGA Tour wins and 31 DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) wins (4th all-time). Montgomery showed a negative reaction to Woods' comeback. "I want people to remember Tiger as a player full of charisma and passion. He doesn't have that now. He didn't seem to enjoy his shots at last month's US Open. What on earth is he doing? It will be similar at The Open."
Tiger Woods is making a chip shot from the rough at the 12th hole on the first day of the 152nd The Open. [Tron (Scotland) = AP·Yonhap News]
On the 18th (local time), Woods collapsed with an 8-over-par 79 in the first round of the 152nd Open Championship (total prize money $17 million), held at Royal Troon Golf Club (par 71, 7,385 yards) in South Ayrshire, Scotland, UK. He made 2 birdies, 6 bogeys, and 2 double bogeys. He is tied for 138th place (8-over-par 79). His start was decent, recording 1-under-par through the first 3 holes, but his tee shots and iron shots faltered. There was also a lack of precision around the greens.
After losing 4 strokes in the front nine, the 11th hole (par 4) did not help Woods either. While Wyndham Clark (USA), who was in the group ahead, was receiving a ruling on a rules application on the fairway, Woods waited for a full 15 minutes. Standing in the cold weather was the worst. Woods' tee shot on this hole went into the bushes, resulting in his second double bogey of the round. Losing another stroke on the final 18th hole (par 4), he found himself worrying about making the cut. European golf fans flocked like clouds to see the 'living legend' who has won 82 times in total, including 15 major titles, but they left disappointed by his poor performance.
Song Young-han is teeing off at the 14th hole on the first day of the 152nd The Open. [Tron (Scotland) = AP·Yonhap News]
The first day of The Open saw the favorites struggle. Bryson DeChambeau tied for 96th place (5-over-par 76), Clark and Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) tied for 129th place (7-over-par 78). From Korea, Song Young-han posted the best score, tied for 18th place (even par 71). Wang Jeong-hoon and Kim Min-kyu tied for 42nd place (2-over-par 73), An Byeong-hun tied for 82nd place (4-over-par 75), last year's joint runner-up Kim Joo-hyung, Im Sung-jae, and Kim Si-woo tied for 96th place, and Ko Gun-taek finished 152nd (10-over-par 81).
Daniel Brown (England) took the top of the leaderboard with a 6-under-par 65. Shane Lowry (Ireland) was second (5-under-par 66), Justin Thomas third (3-under-par 68), and Xander Schauffele (both USA) tied for fourth (2-under-par 69). World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (USA) finished the first round tied for 11th place (1-under-par 70). Brooks Koepka tied for 11th, defending champion Brian Harman (USA) and Jon Rahm (Spain) tied for 42nd.
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