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ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – The Grand Old Lady is taking a beating.
With little wind offering little to no resistance in the opening stages of the 150th Open Championship, and with the rumpled ground mimicking concrete to produce a layout playing much shorter than the 7,313 yards on the scorecard, the Old Course at St. Andrews was defenseless against the best players from around the world in Thursday’s first round.
Red numbers dominated the famous yellow leaderboards as 40 of the first 100 players to take to the ancient links were under par.
Leading the birdie barrage was Cameron Young, who is looking for his first PGA Tour title. Young contended in the PGA Championship (he tied for third) and is in contention for a major title again following an 8-under-par 64 that gave him the clubhouse lead. He is three shots clear of Cameron Smith, the Players champ.
150th Open Championship: Tee times | Leaderboard
A blast from the past – Ernie Els, 52, who won the Open in 2002 and 2012 – was 5 under through 13 holes. Four-time major winner and 2014 Open champion Rory McIlroy was 4 under through 12. Fourteen players were in the 60s, including Bryson DeChambeau, who was at 69.
About 45 players still have to tee off, including Tiger Woods.
“It’s nice to get off to a hot start any week, really,” Smith said. “But these majors, I think the tougher the course gets, especially around here, how it’s going to get really firm and really fast, it’s almost going to be like holding on I think on the weekend. Nice to get out there and shoot a number and get myself well under par.”
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