Fox, Kobori the best NZers in tricky start to British Open

Ryan Fox and Kazuma Kobori coped best with challenging conditions to sit in a share of 42nd place after New Zealand’s four golfers completed their first round at the British Open.

Fox carded a two-over 73 early in the day during blustery conditions at Scotland’s Royal Troon course, while Kobori matched that scorecard later, when the winds had eased.

The pair were eight strokes behind English leader Daniel Brown, whose 65 placed him a shot clear of Ireland’s Shane Lowry.

New Zealand’s Michael Hendry is a stroke behind his two compatriots following a three-over 74 and in a share of 69th while Daniel Hillier’s 76 had him in a grouping sharing 96th place – the latter not helped by triple-bogeys on the par-three eighth hole and the par-four 12th.

Photo: AFP

Top-ranked Kiwi Fox was more stable, failing to shoot a birdie but only bogeying twice – on the sixth and ninth holes.

Kobori, playing in his second Major tournament, mixed two birdies with four bogeys.

Brown finishes strongly

English journeyman Brown, a one-time European Tour winner who came through qualifying to earn his place in the field, took advantage of benign late conditions.

He sank an eight-foot birdie putt at the last to move top of the leaderboard with a bogey-free round.

“It did get dark out there and got a little bit tricky but the wind dropped as well,” Brown told reporters.

“You’ve got those bright yellow scoreboards out there so it’s hard to miss, but I felt comfortable with my game.”

Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Lowry, the 2019 Open champion, birdied the last hole to complete a flawless five-under-par 66 and move two shots clear of American Justin Thomas, who took the early clubhouse lead at the 152nd Open with a 68.

“Actually, I holed a putt out there today and I thought that’s the first time I’ve led the Open for five years,” Lowry told Sky Sports.

“I love this tournament and I’d dearly love to give myself a chance to win it again. If I can keep holing putts I can be dangerous.”

American Xander Schauffele, Swede Alex Noren, England’s Justin Rose and Joe Dean, American Russell Henley, Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard and Canadian Mackenzie Hughes finished on two-under with world number one Scottie Scheffler among a group a further shot back.

Several big names struggled, however, in testing conditions on the Ayrshire coast, not least US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau who was six over after 11 holes before making eagle on the 16th to finish at five over.

Poor start

World number two Rory McIlroy also endured a poor start to his bid for a fifth major title after carding a miserable 78.

Thomas, who has never had a top-10 finish at the Open and missed the cut last year, birdied the second, fourth and seventh as well as the Postage Stamp par-three eighth.

Rory McIlroy.
Photo: Photosport

A double-bogey six at the 12th and a bogey at 13 stalled his progress but he holed a 17-foot par putt at the 15th and birdied the last two holes.

“I played so well today but gave a couple back at the beginning of the back nine,” former world number one Thomas said.

“I’m playing really well and feeling confident about my game. It’s nice to get off to a good start in a major.”

Northern Ireland’s McIlroy bogeyed the first and dropped two shots at the Postage Stamp as his bunker escape rolled back into the cavernous sand trap.

Things got worse when he bogeyed the 10th and he emerged with a double bogey at the 11th after hitting his tee shot out of bounds over the railway track skirting the course.

Defending champion Brian Harman uncharacteristically endured an up-and-down front nine with two birdies and three bogeys before finishing on two over par.

Large galleries headed for home favourite Robert MacIntyre who was joined by Spain’s Jon Rahm and England’s Tommy Fleetwood.

Last week’s Scottish Open winner MacIntyre started solidly but undid an early birdie with a missed par putt at the fifth and finished on one over, one shot ahead of Rahm, as Fleetwood struggled to a round of 76.

Tiger’s struggles

Tiger Woods had little good to say about his disastrous eight-over-par first round as the course took a toll on the three-times winner.

The American recorded six bogeys, two double bogeys and a two birdies in a round of 79 and admitted his lack of playing time may have impacted his performance.

“As the year has gone on, I have gotten better. I just wish I could have played a little bit more, but I’ve been saving it for the majors,” said Woods, who has kept a limited schedule after a 2021 car crash.

“Hopefully, next year will be a little bit better than this year.”

Tiger Woods.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Woods made a good start as he drained a long birdie putt on the par-four third to wild cheers from the crowd.

The round quickly unravelled, however, as the 15-times major champion bogeyed the par-five fourth and landed in the bunker en route to a double bogey at the fifth before two more bogeys on the front nine.

A single birdie on the back nine did little to help as Woods landed in the bushes to double bogey the sixth and bogeyed the 12th before finishing with two more bogeys.

“I didn’t do a whole lot of things right today. I made that putt on the third hole, and then I think I had, what, three 3-putts today. I didn’t hit my irons very close, and I didn’t give myself a whole lot of looks today,” Woods told reporters.

“I need to shoot something in the mid-60s tomorrow to get something going on the weekend.”

The 48-year-old said this week he would continue playing for as long as he believes he is able to win.

“I thought I could play a little bit more earlier in the year. I was a little bit too optimistic. I need to do a lot more work in the gym and keep progressing like we have,” he said.

– RNZ / Reuters