If you didn’t see a 2-under 69 with an out-of-bounds shanked double bogey and a tilt-a-whirl bogey at the final coming from the guy with four missed cuts in his last six starts, well — when that guy is also Jordan Spieth — you have nobody but yourself to blame.
Spieth was made for The Open Championship, and The Open Championship was made for Spieth.
That anyone refused to accept this was going to happen even with a decade of evidence staring us in the face means we are clearly still have plenty to learn about this game.
It’s just a law of sports. Kevin Durant is going to get 30 every night. The Maple Leafs are not going to win the Stanley Cup. Rafael Nadal is going to win in Paris. Spieth is going to destroy at Open Championships.
The best and most hilarious part of his first round came on the par-4 8th hole when he hit his second shot from the fescue off the hosel and out of bounds. Spieth had to drop and went on to make double bogey. His explanation perhaps made even less sense than the shot itself.
“I just had my face wide open, ball above my feet on a really bad lie, trying to flop cut an 8-iron,” said Spieth.
Excuse me, but … a flop cut 8-iron?!
“I feel like I’m as good as anybody at that shot, and I guess the hosel got there first. I’m not really sure. That shakes you up a little bit. I’ve never hit one before, so it took me a couple holes to feel like I got my feet back under me.”
Spieth did just that playing the next nine holes in 3 under before making a mess of the last to settle at 2 under for the round.
It is unclear what we should expect the rest of the week from Spieth. He’s done a bit of everything at Opens in the past. The circus at Royal Birkdale that somehow ended with a Claret Jug. Taking his first attempt at claiming the jug to the 215th hole of major championship season in 2015 at St. Andrews. Rolling with Collin Morikawa in 2021 at Royal St. George’s. Along the way, he’s played amazing golf, but he’s also played totally insane golf.
That’s sort of the point, I suppose. This tournament draws what’s inside you out like no other event in the world.
What’s inside Spieth is clearly brilliance bordering on genius, talent bordering on phenomenon and just a touch of absurd bordering on unhinged. We get glimpses of this week in and week out with him. It’s rarity, though, to receive the entire show.
Feels like Fleetwood
It’s already beginning to feel like magic for Tommy Lad. Tiger Woods shot 67 in the first round of the 2006 Open before going on to win. Rory McIlroy shot 66 in 2014 before doing the same at Royal Liverpool. Tommy Fleetwood matched Rory today with another 66 to tie at the top with Emiliano Grillo and amateur Christo Lamprecht.
It is Fleetwood’s first lead or co-lead after the opening 18 holes of a major, and the crowd has already fallen hard for what could be the major championship storyline of the year. It seems as if playing the next three rounds is going to be the easy part. Trying not to think about playing the next three rounds will prove much more difficult.
The first moon landing happened more recently than an Englishman winning an Open in England. That would be Tony Jacklin’s victory in 1969 at Royal Lytham and St. Anne’s. Nick Faldo took St. Andrews and Muirfield (twice), most recently in 1992. It would be a massive deal if Fleetwood was able to keep the Claret Jug in his home country.
“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 [also] have that support and play an Open. Glad I gave them some good golf to watch.”
The unlikely amateur
Lamprecht is almost certainly not going to win The Open. However, he also could win The Open. In 2015, amateur Paul Dunne co-led at St. Andrews after 54 holes, which had not happened in this event since 1927. We’re still two long rounds away from that kind of history, but Lamprecht — 6-foot-8 with easier speed than Usain Bolt — said after his round that he’s here to win. If nothing else, you gotta respect that moxie.
“I mean, as an amateur, yes, it is [surprising that I’m leading],” he said. “But in my own head, no, it’s not. I’m very hard on myself, and I earned my spot to be here. The way I played today, I earned to be on the top of the leaderboard, as of now. It’s not a cocky thing to say. … I believe in myself, and I guess stepping on to the first tee box, if you’re a professional or a competitor, you should be believing that you should be the best standing there.”
Need to be within five
The last 23 Open winners have been within five of the lead after Round 1, according to Justin Ray. That means the following stars are still in the mix inside what I’m calling the Koepka Zone. These are the guys that Fleetwood should be circling as he considers who he’s going to have to battle over the next 54 holes.
- Wyndham Clark (-3)
- Max Homa (-3)
- Jordan Spieth (-2)
- Patrick Cantlay (-1)
- Patrick Reed (-1)
- Brooks Koepka (-1)
- Hideki Matsuyama (-1)
- Scottie Scheffler (-1)
- Xander Schauffele (-1)
- Viktor Hovland (-1)
- Rory McIlroy (E)
Scheffler, McIlroy and Koepka in particular appear to be problematic; other than Koepka off the tee, they all hit the ball quite well. This leaderboard looks funky right now and will be hilarious to look revisit in a few years, but come Sunday, it will be flushers only that have a shot to win.
Rory’s big save
McIlroy came out of the gate tight and hit on the front nine some of the loosest shots we’ve seen from him in the last two months. As his tournament teetered a bit (remember the stat above), he buckled down and got it back to even par coming home. It could have been one better as he missed a 3-foot putt at the 8th hole. It also could have been worse after this miracle save at the last.
That was a big-boy “when you absolutely have to have it early in the week” five from McIlroy that could matter come Sunday. He’ll likely feel his way into the tournament over the next two days, and with only one horse way out in front, it’s not inconceivable that he could be at or near the lead Saturday night. Thursday was not what he wanted nor what I expected, but he kept his tournament alive by playing the last five in 2 under when it could have gone the other way.
One to watch (literally)
Sepp Straka hit perhaps the best shot you will ever see in your life. Imagine even attempting this!
Justin Thomas beat one golfer
After shooting 82 on Thursday, Thomas now has more rounds in the 80s (two) than he does made cuts (one) at majors this year. He beat one golfer in his first round. He lost to John Daly by five. He lost to somebody who finished T44 at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate less than a year ago by 16. He made a 9 on No. 18.
Thomas is — this should be obvious — lost.
That’s the beautiful thing about golf, though. If you never got as lost as J.T. find himself now, winning would never mean as much as it does. Everyone has been there — and before you say, “except Tiger!” remember that Tiger shot 85 in the third round of the Memorial in 2015 and 80 in the first round of the U.S. Open that same year.
J.T. will emerge at some point a better player and probably a better person. It’s golf’s gift to us that you cannot athleticism it to the ground. You cannot outrun or out-jump its tentacles. It comes for everyone, and it has J.T. unrelentingly wrapped up right now. That’s fascinating for a two-time major winner and 15-time PGA Tour champion in the middle of his career, and it will provide more depth and better context for him as an historical figure whenever he returns from the wilderness.
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.