A local lad, a skyscraper of a South African amateur and an adamant Argentinian share the lead after the first round of the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool. Christo Lamprecht of Georgia Tech was the first to card a 5-under 66 in Hoylake England, becoming the first amateur since Tom Lewis in 2011 to lead after the first 18 of an Open. The 6-foot-8 All-American was joined moments later by Tommy Fleetwood, a man all too familiar with the major stage whose native land resides just 30 minutes outside Liverpool.
Those two looked to be alone at the top until Emiliano Grillo hopped in the fast lane and played his final 14 holes in 7 under to join them at 5 under, one shot clear of the field.
While Lamprecht makes for a fantastic story and Grillo could provide intrigue should he persist heading into the weekend, all eyes are rightfully falling on Fleetwood. With the wind of a nation in his sails, the Englishman looks to carry the momentum from his final-round 63 at the U.S. Open and his prior close calls in major championships to immortality.
"It was very cool, and you can't ask for more from the fans and the support," said Fleetwood. They were so great to me today … from the first tee onwards throughout the round, the way they were down the last hole there, the reception I got. Such a special opportunity to play so close to home, but have that support and play an Open, glad I gave them some good golf to watch. ... So, so cool for me to step out on the golf course and getting that kind of support."
Fleetwood will have to wait until the afternoon hours Friday -- the later tee times proved one stroke more difficult Thursday -- to either build upon or regain his edge. However, for Fleetwood, one of the hardest parts is over.
A player to flash brilliance over the weekend of major championships but rarely from a non-threatening position, he is now in the driver's seat for the Claret Jug. He's previously contended at a pair of U.S. Opens and the 2019 Open only to fall short all three times. If he is able to remain on the first page of the leaderboard entering the weekend, the next step may be as simple as marrying his past weekend heroics with his past shortcomings. It will be no easy task as a litany of major champions lurk a handful behind, but Fleetwood looks right at home and more comfortable than ever.
2023 Open Championship leaderboard, Round 1
T1. Tommy Fleetwood, Christo Lamprecht, Emiliano Grillo (-5): Fleetwood is the name of the trio at the top, but it is actually Grillo who is the lone PGA Tour winner of the bunch. A victor at Colonial a couple months ago, the two-time PGA Tour champion is not short on confidence or ball-striking prowess. One of the most underrated flushers in professional golf, Grillo will need the putter to continue to cooperate as he gained more than a stroke with the flat stick on Thursday. "The four majors are the things that we want the most," said Grillo. "Everybody is here with the same goal. Everybody is here to do the same, play the best and lift the Claret Jug on Sunday. That's kind of the goal."
T4. Brian Harman, Antoine Rozner, Adrian Otaegui (-4)
T7. Wyndham Clark, Max Homa, Alex Noren, Stewart Cink, Shubhankar Sharma (-3): The U.S. Open champion kicked off The Open with nine straight pars before a couple birdies to begin his back half. Despite a total of four second-nine birdies, it was a bogey save on the par-4 14th that kept Clark's momentum rolling. After hitting a volunteer's iPad and finding a bad lie, Clark did well to only drop one. On the road for six straight weeks, Clark would love nothing more than to return to the United States with another major in tow and Player of the Year honors locked up along with exclusive membership in company of those who have won the U.S. Open and Open in the same year.
"I don't have any fear in that," Clark said of contending at a major again. "I welcome that. But this is just Day 1. Got three more days. I think the minute I start thinking ahead. That stuff might happen. I'm just going to focus on each day and focus on my goals and process and let the scores take care of themselves."
T12. Jordan Spieth, Si Woo Kim, Alexander Bjork, Matthew Jordan, Guido Migliozzi, Michael Stewart (-2): Spieth, the 2017 champion, entered the week having missed three of four cuts including two in a row in national opens. Two early birdies were immediately put to waste when he hit one off the hosel on No. 8 resulting in a lost ball and a double bogey. He did well to play his back nine in 2 under, but it could have been even better as he arrived to the tee on the par-5 finisher at 3 under before dropping a shot.
"I felt like I've played a lot of fairway-green," said Spieth. "This course reminds me of Birkdale in that a lot of it is from the air on approach shots. There's more table tops here making it even more challenging, but there's not a lot of old school links or I don't know what to call it but where you can run the ball up. You can't do that a ton here."
T18. Scottie Scheffler, Brooks Koepka, Viktor Hovland, Patrick Cantlay, Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Reed, Xander Schauffele and seven others (-1): There are a bevy of heavy hitters here, and the scary part is none of them had their best stuff in Round 1. Koepka looked like he had just rolled out of bed and was 2 over through 10 before playing his final eight holes in 3 under to get into red figures. Meanwhile, the world No. 1 sandwiched a poor middle portion of his round with a strong start and quality finish. Cantlay finally appears to be in the mix at a major championship, and both Matsuyama and Reed have proven capable on this stage. Hovland caught fire late, but he didn't take advantage of a par 5 all day. One, if not more, will emerge from the pack as they are only four strokes back and right in the thick of this championship.
"Just sloppy on the front," said Koepka. "First nine holes didn't feel like I hit any good shots, but it's one of those things you've just got to find it as you go. Not really [happy with the score]. I mean, 1 under is, what, four back right now with afternoon scores still to go? Good ways back, but nothing I can do."
T32. Rory McIlroy, Tyrrell Hatton, Min Woo Lee and 12 others (E): The good news for McIlroy is he did not shoot himself out of this championship as 50 out of the last 52 winners were within five after Round 1. He didn't have his best stuff, and despite an early birdie, saw himself plummet to 2 over through his first 12 holes. Back-to-back birdies across the 14th and 15th got him back to even par before a moment which mirrored his final hole in the first round of the U.S. Open. Leaving his third at his feet after his ball settled against the edge of the greenside pot bunker, McIlroy blasted his fourth to 10 feet. He converted, remained at even par and gave an emphatic fist pump as the Hoylake faithful cheered on. He must parlay this momentum into a fast start early Friday if he is to threaten for major No. 5.
T47. Cameron Smith, Matt Fitzpatrick, Jason Day, Adam Scott and 14 others (+1): An opening birdie gave notice to the field that the reigning Champion Golfer of the Year would not go quietly into the night. Smith turned in 1 under before three back-nine bogeys were caused by his inaccuracy off the tee. The Australian will need to be better with the driver in hand, but if he is, the rest of the game looks strong enough to make a run. He remains the best putter on the planet, and had it not been for that club on Thursday, Smith would be out of this tournament.
"I don't think it's going to be quite as much of a birdie fest as last year, which is probably a good thing for me and the other guys that are just absolutely over par," said Smith. "Just a couple of good rounds should be right back in it. I don't feel like I'm out of the tournament."
T62. Collin Morikawa, Tony Finau, Sam Burns and 21 others (+2)
T89. Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Justin Rose, Tom Kim and 16 others (+3)
Rick Gehman is joined by Kyle Porter to discuss the opening round of the 151st Open Championship. It's storylines, scorecards and betting favorites. Follow & listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
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July 21, 2023 at 03:07AM
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2023 British Open leaderboard breakdown: Tommy Fleetwood goes low, amateur Christo Lamprecht shocks in Round 1 - CBS Sports
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