The Open

Rory McIlroy birdies the fifth and seventh holes to move to two under par at The Open.

Andy Gray
BBC Sport NI Journalist at Royal Portrush

Image source, Getty Images

World number one Scottie Scheffler says some players have shown support for his pre-Open comments questioning why he plays golf.

On Tuesday, before the championship got under way at Royal Portrush, the three-time major winner said professional golf was "not a fulfilling life" and questioned "the point" of pursuing victories with such zeal.

Playing alongside fellow major winners Shane Lowry and Xander Schauffele, Scheffler shot a three-under-par 68 in his opening round on Thursday as he seeks a first Claret Jug.

"It's just a matter of perspective, and I've had some players come up to me and say that they feel and think the same things," the American said.

"If anybody has disagreed with me, they haven't said it to my face yet, so I don't know what the reaction would be."

In a meaningful answer, which came at the end of is pre-tournament news conference, Scheffler said he would quit the sport if it started to impact his relationship with his wife, Meredith, and his 14-month old son, Bennett.

He said he should maybe "be a little less honest" in his responses in news conferences, but he tries to be as truthful as possible.

"I think I try to be as honest as I can with you, with the stuff that I'm willing to kind of say," the 29-year-old said.

"At times I feel like maybe I should be a little less honest. Maybe I shouldn't have said the stuff I said because now I'm going to get asked about it more."

He added the winning feeling in golf is not the "be all and end all", and on Thursday he reiterated his motivation to win remains as high as ever despite the comments regarding fulfilment.

Scheffler carded a strong opening round in Northern Ireland and is one shot off clubhouse leaders Matthew Fitzpatrick, Jacob Skov Olesen of Denmark and China's Haotong Li.

"This week I'm trying to play good enough to win the golf tournament," he said.

"I think I've made that pretty clear over the course of my career.

"I'm just glad to be out playing golf and competing again."

World number one Scottie Scheffler birdies the 16th and 17th holes to help him finish with a first-round 68 at The Open.

Jonathan Bradley
BBC Sport NI Senior Journalist at Royal Portrush

Image source, Getty Images

Shane Lowry felt he "managed to handle" himself well during his first round of the 153rd Open Championship at Portrush on Thursday.

The Irishman, who lifted the Claret Jug when the championship was last staged at Portrush in 2019, said he had "mentally fought with this round of golf" for a number of weeks.

Three birdies and two bogeys saw him finish one under in a round played through the worst of Thursday's rain.

"Everything is great, I'm happy," said the world number 18.

"I've fought with this round of golf in my head for a few weeks now. I knew it wasn't going to be easy.

"Any time you shoot one-under-par around Portrush in those conditions, I think is decent."

Lowry likened his nerves on the first tee to those experienced at the Ryder Cup.

"The first tee shot wasn't that easy. I wasn't feeling very comfortable there.

"It's going to be all right for the rest of the week. I just wanted to get my tournament under way.

"Obviously I want so much to do well in this tournament. I want so much to give myself a chance on Sunday."

Lowry concluded his round during Rory McIlroy's opening holes but the 38-year-old was still afforded a rousing reception as he finished up with a par.

"I wasn't expecting 18 to be full with Rory out on the course," he added.

"It was pretty cool. The crowd have been amazing all week.

"I won the last time here, and I'm trying to use it to my advantage."

Matt Fitzpatrick chips off the flag to bag himself a brilliant birdie at the 16th hole on day one at the Open.

Andy Gray
BBC Sport NI Journalist at Royal Portrush

Image source, Getty Images

Darren Clarke has joked that you would not think he was a member at Royal Portrush after an opening round of 75 at the Open.

The 2011 Open winner struggled with one birdie and six bogeys in his opening 16 holes.

However, the 56-year chipped in from the rough on the 17th to collect a shot back and his aim is to make the cut for the weekend.

"Four over par wasn't what I was hoping for," Clarke told BBC Sport NI.

"In my practice I was hitting the ball nicely, putting nicely and doing everything well.

"But that's golf, today it didn't quite happen."

Clarke admits his performance on the front nine was littered with "stupid mistakes" that left him questioning 'what am I doing?'.

"On the front nine I hit shots that wouldn't make you think I was a member here," he added.

"But the chip in on 17 was a huge bonus and it was nice to do something good and positive for the day. I just need to play well tomorrow."

Australian golfer Ryan Peake, who caught up with BBC Sport NI's Matt Gault earlier this week, has been reflecting on his first major appearance at The Open and playing alongside Phil Mickelson.

The 31-year-old carded a six-over-par 77 on his opening round and admitted to being slightly in awe of his six-time major champion playing partner.

"I grabbed his putter off him a few times and had a little feel of it! That's the OG - the one from the Masters," Peake said.

"His caddy was giving out golf balls as he walked off the tee and I yelled, 'What about me?!' He had a laugh and thought I was being sarcastic, but he said was I serious and I said, 'deadly serious' and said could he sign a glove as well!"

Jonathan Bradley
BBC Sport NI Senior Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Six-time major winner Phil Mickelson believes winning the Open Championship in 2013 is the "greatest accomplishment" of his career.

The American lifted the Claret Jug at Muirfield in 2013 and, 12 years later, made a strong start to the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush on Thursday with a one-under-par 70.

Although feeling his group had a "pretty good break" when the heavier rain arrived only towards the end of their opening round, the 55-year-old enjoyed his latest opportunity to transfer his skills to links golf.

"I had to learn a style of golf that I didn't grow up playing," he said.

"It's kind of the greatest source of pride for me as a player to overcome those obstacles. Now I've come to really love it, enjoy it, and I seem to play well in some of the adverse conditions too.

"I think it's a sign of a complete player, to be able to win in all the conditions of the majors that they provide."

While Mickelson said he was "lucky" to chip in from the bunker and save par on the third, he was pleased with his short game throughout his round.

"When you get conditions like this, you start to fall back on realizing that 60, 80 feet in the proper spot is a good spot, and you start to realize that you can make 20 or 30-footers out here. You don't have to hit it [to] six feet to make birdie.

"You can hit it to 20, 30 feet because the greens don't break a lot, you can hit them aggressively.

"I didn't make a ton of long ones, but I made a lot of short ones and a lot of good up-and-downs and lag putting. You find that going back on past experience, you don't have to press it. You don't have to force it."

Andy Gray
BBC Sport NI Journalist at Royal Portrush

Image source, Getty Images

Tom McKibbin joked that Rory McIlroy has made the opening tee shot at Royal Portush "scary" and it was all he "thought about for the past three days".

Northern Ireland's McKibbin carded a one-over-par 72 as he teed off in the opening group at The Open with Padraig Harrington and Nicolai Hojgaard.

McKibbin said his nerves were not too bad on the first tee but he was thinking of McIlroy's opening effort in 2019, which flew out of bounds.

"I think Rory has made that first shot a lot scarier. That's all I could think about for the past three days," McKibbin said after his first round.

"I wasn't too nervous, I just didn't want to hit that bad a shot and I was very happy to get under way".

The 22-year-old, who comes from the same Holywood Golf Club as five-time major winner McIlroy, added it was "pretty cool" to be out in the opening group of his home Open.

"It's amazing getting clapped onto every tee and green. It's my first experience of that kind.

"They are wanting you to do the best you can and it's great to have that support."

McKibbin had briefly moved into the joint-lead by the turn of his opening round, but a double bogey on the 11th derailed his momentum in what he called "an up and down day".

After an early start time of 06:35 BST, McKibbin said he would rest up for the rest of the day.

He says he plans to follow McIlroy's round when he gets under way at 15:10 BST - but sleep was the first thing on his agenda.

"I got up at 3.30am this morning so I'll probably go and lie in bed for a little bit.

"Hopefully I'll have woken up by the time he tees off."

Peter Scrivener
BBC Sport senior journalist at Royal Portrush

Image source, Getty Images

The United States Golf Association has refused to comment on reports that Wyndham Clark has been banned by Oakmont Country Club after a century-old locker he was using was damaged during this year's US Open.

The American, 31, won the US Open at Los Angeles Country Club in 2023 but missed the cut at this year's event.

Photos then emerged of damage reportedly caused by Clark at the course in Pittsburgh.

Golf Digest says it has obtained a letter sent by Oakmont to its members in which it wrote: "Following multiple discussions with the USGA and the OCC board, a decision has been made that Mr Clark will no longer be permitted on OCC property.

"Reinstatement would be contingent upon Mr Clark fulfilling a number of specific conditions, including full repayment for damages, a meaningful contribution to a charity of the board's choosing, and the successful completion of counselling and/or anger management sessions."

The USGA told BBC Sport it is not commenting on the matter.

At last week's Scottish Open, Clark, ranked 28th in the world, said: "I made a mistake in a moment of rage with, you know, a bad year and everything coming together.

"And it was more than anything a good wake-up call for me to say, 'Hey, you know what, let's get back on track and things aren't that bad'."

The 2023 US Ryder Cup player had apologised the week after the incident in June, saying: "I'm very sorry for what happened.

"But I'd also like to move on, not only for myself but for Oakmont, for the USGA and kind of focus on the rest of this year and things that come up."

The US Open will next be staged at Oakmont in 2033, at which point Clark would still have an exemption in to the field through his 2023 victory.

Clark will be in action at the Open Championship at Royal Portrush this week, teeing off at 10:20 BST on Thursday alongside Tom Hoge and Corey Connors.

Image source, Getty Images

Two-time champion Padraig Harrington has said he will be "very nervous" to hit the opening tee shot at the 153rd Open Championship on Thursday but that he does not want to be viewed as a "ceremonial golfer".

Irishman Harrington, who won the US Senior Open last month, will begin the championship at Royal Portrush at 06:35 BST.

"Look, my goal is to hit the first shot and the last shot this week. So, in my head, that's what I'm trying to do," said Harrington, who lifted the Claret Jug in 2007 and 2008 and also won the 2008 US PGA Championship.

"That's what I'm thinking. I'm sure the bookmakers will tell you that's not a reality, but I have to prepare.

"If I get there on Sunday and get myself in contention, I have to prepare to be ready for that moment and see how that goes."

Harrington said the first hole at Royal Portrush is "not a comfortable tee shot for anybody" in the field.

"I'll be definitely very nervous about that and I'll be very comfortable with anything in play," said the 53-year-old.

"I'll be doing a bit of posing after I hit. No matter how bad the shot is, I'll be holding my finish and pretending it's a good one."

When the championship was last held at Portrush in 2019, it was Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke who hit the opening shot.

Harrington, however, said he would not be taking advice from the 2011 Open champion.

"[Clarke] says, 'I was going to hit the little three iron down there' and he got so nervous, he took out the driver and bunted it down there because it was a bigger head," Harrington added.

"I'm saying, 'Darren, this isn't helping me'.

"I don't know what the conditions is going to be, but I really don't fancy hitting a driver off the first tee. Hopefully it will be the three iron."

Bryson DeChambeau enthusiastically played up to his persona as one of golf's greatest showmen during his practice round on Wednesday evening.

On the 18th green, DeChambeau urged the spectators in the grandstand to cheer him on as he made his final on-course preparations at Royal Portrush.

The two-time US Open champion begins his bid for a first Open title at 14:48 BST on Thursday.

After finishing up, the American LIV Golf star signed autographs for his vast legion of fans.

Peter Scrivener
BBC Sport senior journalist at Royal Portrush

Image source, Callaway

Open champion Xander Schauffele popped into a local Portrush bar on Monday after a "rough" nine holes on the links. It was all pre-planned for a promotional event, of course, but that didn't stop the American sampling a pint.

"It was a rough day at work, hence the beer," he smiled as he let his guard down a little.

We learned Xander "used to wait for the rain to come in San Diego to go out and practice in it" because it rarely rained when he was growing up in the Californian city.

He's "happy" to have his Olympic gold medal but is a "traditionalist" and didn't think golf should have been in the Games.

He also revealed: "Every year my friends would bet on me for the majors, to win. I'm like, why… winning is tough. The PGA at Valhalla (which was his first major title, in 2024) was the first time the entire group stopped betting on me.

"They had been betting on me for six years straight years and that's when they stopped. I told them, you guys are never allowed to bet on me again."

Image source, Getty Images

JJ Spaun said he is learning to "embrace" his elevated status in golf as he prepares for the Open Championship at Royal Portrush.

The 34-year-old won the US Open at Oakmont last month and is now ranked number 10 in the world having previously only won once on the PGA Tour.

Thirteen years after turning professional, the American's first major victory, as well as losing a play-off to Rory McIlroy at The Players Championship in March, have hugely lifted his profile and he has been paired in a group alongside two-time major champions Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele at Portrush.

"I never thought I would win a major - a few years ago I was just trying to get in them," he said.

"It's a big difference, having the spotlight on me now and the expectations, but all I can do is just rely on the experiences I've had - coming down the stretch at the US Open, getting myself in the play-off at The Players Championship.

"I've had way bigger challenges - whether it's life or golf or losing my card - than just being more in the spotlight, so I'm learning to embrace it."

The 153rd Open will be Spaun's debut at the championship, and he missed the cut at the Scottish Open last weekend as he becomes accustomed to the different "challenge" of links golf.

"You kind of want to play everything airborne in America," he added.

"Pick your number, try to fly it there, and hopefully it spins and stops near the hole.

"But links golf requires a lot more creativity, imagination, so learning to flight shots better and trying to guess bounces correctly is going to be sort of the challenge this week. Also, the elements."