Round One

At Royal Troon, conventional wisdom tells us the first six holes are relatively gentle. But at The Open, convention goes out of the window.

As Justin Leonard walked onto the 1st tee to prepare for the first shot of the week, he would have expected the welcomed support of a downwind – so often the norm on this part of the Ayrshire coast.

But instead, he was met with a headwind that rendered all those preparations useless. You have to be ready for anything at The Open – including Mother Nature.

The wind and the rain provided challenging conditions on Thursday morning. Leonard’s opening tee shot found the fairway, but so many others drifted into the right rough.

By midday, and with just over half the field through, the 366-yard par-4 1st was a cumulative 11-over and averaging 4.134.

“It was tricky going from Tuesday, different wind, then Wednesday, different wind, then today, different wind,” said Sweden’s Alex Noren, who was in the second group.

Michael Hendry, playing in The Open a year after being diagnosed with leukaemia, added: “It took me a little while to figure out how the ball was flying in that heavy wind. It took probably six or seven holes to feel like I was in the Championship to be honest.”

Birdies were still available. Royal Troon rewards good shots, and there were plenty to be had on the first morning.

Justin Thomas, Matt Wallace and Younghan Song all reached four-under-par. But Troon also punishes the bad, and Wallace and Song both went on to record triple-bogeys, while Thomas dropped three shots in two holes.

By the time Robert MacIntyre teed off at 9:36am local time (BST), the forecasted rain also arrived and had well and truly set in, falling heavier than the drizzle predicted. The Scotsman is used to these conditions and he looked unflustered as he navigated the first third of the course in level par.

By contrast, US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau – playing in the group behind – struggled. The Texan surely doesn’t see weather like this very often and, when dealing with the full force of the elements, experience counts.

DeChambeau bogeyed three of the first six holes and double-bogeyed another, as he finished the front nine in 42 strokes – six-over-par. He was far from the only player to fall foul of the elements and a challenging course, with just the par-5 5th playing under par on the first morning.

Rory McIlroy, Brian Harman, Ludvig Aberg and Tommy Fleetwood also reached the turn over-par.

But not everyone struggled. Amateur Calum Scott did a sterling job in shooting a level-par 71. He was in the second group, alongside Noren, and admits the nerves were jangling before his round.

"I tried to get to bed around 7:30 or 8:00 because I knew it was going to be an early one,” he said.

“I tried to get comfortable and see if I could close my eyes and go like that, but it took me a while.

"I was probably up until midnight, so I didn't get much sleep. But I'm glad the first round is over so I can kind of relax now."

In changing conditions, the back nine was hardly simple, despite the benefit of a downwind.

Justin Rose played smartly. He parred every hole on the back nine and signed for a 69 to join Noren and Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard in the clubhouse, one stroke back from the USA’s Thomas.

Australia’s Adam Scott – playing in his 24th consecutive Open – used all that experience to go round in 70.

“My game is finally in some decent shape where I feel like I'm controlling the ball well,” he said. “That's what you need to do out here, especially if you're going to give yourself a lot of chances.”

Meanwhile, his compatriot Min Woo Lee signed for a level-par 71.

“It's The Open. It's supposed to be difficult,” he surmised.

On the first morning at Royal Troon, it certainly was.