Signature Scroll: British Open delivers surprise; who will rise, fade after Round 1

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U.K. summers are something. We just played golf for 15 hours. Let's break it down ...

McIlroy’s misery

SOUTHPORT, England – Rory McIlroy's pleading reverberated through the dunes, at least far enough that I could hear it.

I had sprung out of the media center when I saw McIlroy drive the par-4 ninth green, figuring that if he was about to make eagle and turn the tide of his day, I wanted to get a taste of the atmosphere. By the time I got there, he was standing over the 50-foot putt and rolled it within 3 feet, a tap-in birdie under most circumstances.

McIlroy was not as convinced. He hung around the putt and, to my eye, lingered over it for a few seconds longer than normal. He had already missed a 4-footer at the seventh for par and a 4-footer for birdie at the eighth. He couldn’t afford another short miss.

McIlroy rolled it in for his first birdie of the day, but that moment of indecision was enough to keep me with the group for another hole.

It proved prescient. That’s when I heard McIlroy’s pleas.

Now just left of the 10th green, McIlroy putted up and over a slope and watched as his ball missed the hole and kept rolling.

“Sit, sit, sit,” he called, each command feeling more desperate than the last.

The ball settled 4 feet from the hole. The comeback was devastating. Another miss. Another bogey. McIlroy looked at the hole in stunned amazement for a good 15 seconds before dropping his head and heading off.

“I missed a couple early on that looked like they were going to break one way, and they actually went another way, and then when you get the next one, you're over it, and it's just very hard to trust that the ball is going to do what you think it's going to do,” McIlroy said. “Then you maybe don't make quite as committed of a stroke.

“It seems like when it gets like that on a day like today, you just keep leaving yourself 4-footers,” he added. “It's tough to get out of that and stay committed to what you're trying to do on the greens.”

The first round of The Open Championship largely followed expectations.

The firm, fast conditions created intriguing optionality and limited scoring even with only a breath of wind all morning. Scottie Scheffler played well. Other top stars like Cameron Young and Collin Morikawa did, too. The Open, synonymous with funky first-day leaderboards, followed through with the likes of Jackson Suber, Dan Brown and Francesco Molinari.

The one surprise: McIlroy and his putter didn’t show.

He ranked 148th in the field, losing nearly three strokes on the greens and shot 2-over to sit in a tie for eighth.

In his early years, McIlroy’s putter often held him back. Those days are mostly gone. Particularly in majors, McIlroy has found his rhythm. It may not be the primary reason he has won, but it certainly hasn’t hurt him. He has gained strokes putting in 15 of his last 18 major championship starts. Two of the three poor putting weeks led to his only missed cuts in that timeframe (he won the other one – 2025 Masters – funnily enough).

McIlroy is at risk of a short week here at Royal Birkdale. It was the biggest shock of Day 1.

Playing through

🌊 Water found its level. Scottie Scheffler is back in contention again after his first missed cut in four years ...

🤠 Looking forward to the world learning more about Dan Brown. Read about his round and watch the video at the top if you enjoy good content ...

🥱 Did you sleep in? Or couldn’t pay attention while at work? We provided live updates all day long. A great way to relive the action ...

Who's sticking around?

We tend to get a bit reactionary after the first 18 holes of a major championship, overanalyzing Thursday as if it counts for more than 25% of the tournament. You can chalk it up to the anticipation of one of the biggest events of the year, as we look to confirm or disprove the biases we brought into the tournament.

This is one way to take a deep breath.

As we wonder who might maintain their spot on the leaderboard and who is a candidate for regression (positive or negative), there’s a notable clue to look for: The difference in how they putted versus how they struck the ball.

Putting has proven far more variable and inconsistent day to day. Some days, the putts just don’t fall. It’s much more difficult to turn around your ball-striking mid-tournament. You usually have it, or you don’t.

So when looking at who may rise down the board, look for those who struck the ball best and putted poorly. Using Data Golf’s strokes gained statistics, those candidates quickly emerged.

• Scottie Scheffler (2-under): 82nd in putting, eighth tee-to-green
• Rory McIlroy (2-over): 148th in putting, 23rd tee-to-green
• Ryan Gerard (3-under): 61st in putting, fifth tee-to-green
• Ben Griffin (1-under): 149th in putting, second tee-to-green
• Chris Gotterup (even par): 144th in putting, sixth tee-to-green
• Bryson DeChambeau (3-under): 119th in putting, first tee-to-green
• Jon Rahm (1-under): 128th in putting, fourth tee-to-green

The opposite is true, too. Who could be vulnerable to fall down the board? Look at who was bailed out by their putter.

• Jackson Suber (5-under): third in putting, 109th off the tee
• Alex Smalley (3-under): first in putting, 133rd off the tee
• Bud Cauley (2-under): second in putting, 138th off the tee
• Pierceson Coody (3-under): ninth in putting, 90th in approach, 77th off the tee

Parting shots

• 🌍 Jackson Suber had never played links golf. He had never been to Europe. Heck, he had never led after the first round of a major championship. Well, this trip across the pond is creating some firsts. With little experience of the region, the style of golf, or the stage, Suber put together a phenomenal 5-under round to take the early lead. What has him wowed by England and the Open? “The golf is really cool, and just the towns, how the train system works,” Suber said. Same, Jackson, same. We could use a dose of all three back home.
• 🤕 Justin Rose is dealing with a neck injury, according to Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis. Per the report, Rose took an extended break from swinging between the Travelers Championship and this week. Rose shot 5-over 75 on Thursday.
• 🤔 Remember Alex Smalley? The American was on his way to winning the PGA Championship before some late blunders on Sunday. As I watched him play Thursday, I was reminded of a similar arc by J.J. Spaun last year. He faded and lost THE PLAYERS Championship late, only to use that experience and win the U.S. Open. Not saying Smalley will win, but I’m less willing to count him out than I might have previously.
• 🤯 We may have already witnessed the shot of the tournament. If you watch one highlight, make it this one from Hideki Matsuyama.
• 📻 Open radio remains the best thing about this event. Would implore everyone to listen while watching. Easily accessible on The Open app or website.
• 🐢 Pace is an issue out there, particularly on the back nine. I went to follow Collin Morikawa’s group, and it took about an hour to see three holes.