The British Open Championship is considered to be the toughest major in golf and it proved it once again on Thursday as the tournament got started up in Scotland at Muirfield Golf Links, as a number of players struggled on the day, including Rory McIlroy, who finished eight over, while Tiger Woods played solid.
Phil Mickelson played with McIlroy and he got off to a solid start behind leader Zach Johnson, shooting a 69 to remain in contention after one day. Zach Johnson took the early lead in the tournament with a five under and he was followed by Rafael Cabrera Bello, Mark O'Meara and Shiv Kapur at four under, while names like Mickelson, Angel Cabrera and Bubba Watson are also in striking distance. Adam Scott came in with a one under 70, while Woods was at one under through 15 holes on the day.
Mickelson said the course and the conditions were tough and that playing early definitely helped put in a solid performance on the first day. 19-year-old Jordan Spieth is coming off his first PGA win and he had a very solid day, coming in with a two under 69 after winning the John Deere Classic last week and he had three birdies and a bogey on the day.
Mickelson felt good on the course heading into Friday, as did Johnson, as he now has the lead early heading into the second round. Muirfield is hosting its 16th Open Championship and now the players will be able to get a full look at the course and along with Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Brandt Snedeker had good days with scores of 68.
Leaderboard
POS START CTRY PLAYER TO PAR TODAY THRU R1 R2 R3 R4 TOT
1 1 Zach Johnson -5 -5 F 66 - - - 66
T2 1 Rafael Cabrera Bello -4 -4 F 67 - - - 67
T2 1 Mark O'Meara -4 -4 F 67 - - - 67
T2 1 Shiv Kapur -4 -4 11 - - - - -
T5 1 Miguel Jimenez -3 -3 F 68 - - - 68
T5 1 Dustin Johnson -3 -3 F 68 - - - 68
T5 1 Brandt Snedeker -3 -3 F 68 - - - 68
T5 1 Tom Lehman -3 -3 F 68 - - - 68
T9 1 Todd Hamilton -2 -2 F 69 - - - 69
T9 1 Phil Mickelson -2 -2 F 69 - - - 69
T9 1 Angel Cabrera -2 -2 F 69 - - - 69
T9 1 Jordan Spieth -2 -2 F 69 - - - 69
T13 1 Oliver Fisher -1 -1 F 70 - - - 70
T13 1 Bubba Watson -1 -1 F 70 - - - 70
T13 1 Gonzalo Fdez-Castano -1 -1 F 70 - - - 70
T13 1 Ken Duke -1 -1 F 70 - - - 70
T13 1 Martin Laird -1 -1 F 70 - - - 70
T13 1 Henrik Stenson -1 -1 F 70 - - - 70
T13 1 Adam Scott -1 -1 17 - - - - -
T13 1 Tiger Woods -1 -1 15 - - - - -
