Home favorite Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods on Thursday endured dreadful starts to the British Open, while American JB Holmes claimed the lead as the championship returned to Royal Portrush for the first time since 1951.
Spectators were left stunned by McIlroy’s immediate collapse.
He briefly battled back after a bogey at the par-three third hole, but missed a tiny putt to double-bogey the 16th, tripled-bogeyed the last and eventually carded a disastrous eight-over 79.
Photo: Reuters
“I guess when you play your first and last holes in a combined seven over par you are starting on the back foot,” McIlroy said.
The four-time major champion, who fired a course-record 61 at Portrush at the age of 16 in 2005, was given a huge reception on the first tee as the crowds huddled around the opening hole for a sight of the local hero, but he quadrupled-bogeyed the first after hitting his tee shot out of bounds.
Woods saw his bid for a 16th major title all but come to a premature end as he stuttered to a miserable seven-over 78, including six bogeys and a double bogey at the par-three sixth.
His sole birdie of the day came at the par-four 15th, which he celebrated with an ironic raise of his arms, but he fittingly finished his round with one last bogey.
Woods and McIlroy now face daunting tasks to make the cut.
“Wasn’t hitting it solid. Everything was off the heel. Just trying to scrape it around. Best I could do was seven-over,” Woods said, adding that he was feeling “sore.”
Meanwhile, Holmes birdied the 18th to post an excellent five-under 66 and move one shot clear of previous leader Shane Lowry.
Holmes’ previous best major finish was third at the 2016 Open and he has missed eight cuts in his past 13 events, and withdrew from one of the others.
“I’ve been practicing the last couple of weeks. I’ve been playing great, so actually felt great coming in,” Holmes said.
Ireland’s Lowry held the lead for much of the day before being toppled by Holmes, having to settle for second place heading into yesterday.
The world No. 33, who made five birdies in his 67, said that he struggled to keep his nerves in check on the first tee, with the crowds lending strong support to all six players from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
“It’s the British Open, it’s in Ireland. I feel like I’m hitting it well. Of course I feel uneasy,” he said.
There is a group of 13 players in the clubhouse just two strokes off the lead on three-under, including world No. 1 Brooks Koepka and Spaniard Jon Rahm.
American Koepka made his only bogey of the day on the penultimate green, but felt he could have done much better.
“Didn’t really make any putts. Didn’t take advantage of anything to really go low,” said Koepka, who has finished in the top two of all three majors this year and is looking to add the Claret Jug to his two US Opens and two PGA Championship titles.
Rahm held the lead on his own on various occasions, but dropped back with bogeys at the 15th and 18th holes.
English pair Tommy Fleetwood and Lee Westwood are also among those on three-under, with the latter still looking for his maiden major title in his 25th consecutive British Open appearance.
Ryan Fox of New Zealand had a record-breaking day with the lowest back nine in Open history, as he came home in 29 to get to join the pack of players who signed for 68s.
Reigning champion Francesco Molinari saw his hopes of becoming the first man to defend the title since Padraig Harrington in 2008 take a blow, only managing a three-over 74.
Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo got the crowds excited with the first hole-in-one at the championship since 2016 on the par-three 13th.
C.T. Pan of Taiwan carded a six-over 77 to settle alongside Woods in a share of 136th.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
Francesco Bagnaia yesterday profited from a mistake by rookie Pedro Acosta to win the Japan MotoGP sprint and close the gap on overall championship leader, Jorge Martin. Spaniard Acosta crashed with four laps to go while leading the field at Motegi, allowing defending world champion Bagnaia to take first ahead of Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez. Spain’s Martin finished fourth and saw his overall lead over Italian Bagnaia in the championship standings cut to 15 points. “I am very happy because with these conditions, it’s not very easy to win and gain points,” Bagnaia said after a sprint race that took place under
RSS