PORTRUSH, UK: World number one Scottie Scheffler made a fine start to the British Open with a three-under par round at a rain-swept Royal Portrush on Thursday before home favorite Rory McIlroy began his tournament in front of huge crowds.
Former US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, China’s Li Haotong and Dane Jacob Skov Olesen hold the clubhouse lead at four under par after enjoying the better of the weather conditions in early tee-off times.
Scheffler, though, is well-placed to launch his challenge for a fourth major and a first Claret Jug despite a series of wayward tee shots.
The American hit just three fairways but still produced one of the best rounds of the day thanks to his brilliant approach play.
“When it’s raining sideways, it’s actually, believe it or not, not that easy to get the ball in the fairway. Thank you guys all for pointing that out,” he told reporters.
Scheffler raised eyebrows with his pre-tournament comments that his is “not a fulfilling life” due to his relentless quest for more success.
He battled his way through the first 15 holes at one under thanks to birdies at the third, seventh and 10th before finding his touch with another birdie at the “Calamity Corner” 16th and nearly holing an approach for eagle at the 17th.
Scheffler is aiming to become only the second player to win the British Open when ranked the world number one after Tiger Woods, who achieved that feat on three occasions.
Shane Lowry, champion when the British Open returned to Portrush for the first time in 68 years in 2019, and two-time major champion Jon Rahm finished at one under.
Defending champion Xander Schauffele is one further back at even par as he seeks to refind his top form after a frustrating 2025 so far.
McIlroy’s attempt to win a second Open Championship on his return to Northern Ireland takes center stage in the afternoon action.
The world number two is determined to make amends for his disastrous start at Portrush six years ago when a quadruple bogey at the opening hole, on his way to a first-round 79, saw him miss the cut.
McIlroy is the star attraction for the close to 280,000 spectators set to attend the four days of play at the final major of the year and showed signs of nerves as a wayward tee shot at the first led to an opening hole bogey.
But he bounced back immediately to pick up a shot at the par-five second before birdies at the fifth, seventh and 10th took the Masters champion to three under with eight holes to play.
McIlroy’s charge, though, could be disrupted by warnings of thunderstorms set to strike the north Irish coast.
Earlier, Lee Westwood rolled back the years with an impressive 69 that promised even more until two bogeys on the final five holes.
The 52-year-old, widely regarded as one of the best players never to win a major, came through qualifying to make his first Open Championship appearance since 2022.
“I love the Open Championship and I love Portrush,” said the Englishman. “That’s part of the reason why I tried to qualify.”
Two-time champion Padraig Harrington of Ireland was handed the honor of getting the tournament underway with the opening tee shot at 6:35 am local time.
“The grandstand was full, the first fairway was full, the first green was full,” said Harrington. “Those crowds were spectacular at that hour of the morning. It was really great.”
