Charley Hoffman holes out from the rough to claim an eagle in his first round of The Open at Royal Birkdale.

Image source, Benjie Coleman

That's the spirit...

There are a few Brits lurking around the top 10, and Martin Laird has just edged his way into the mix.

The Scot dropped a shot on his opening hole, but five birdies today have catapulted him into contention at three under par.

Three of those have come along the back nine, making it down the par-five 17th with a stroke to spare to go tied-fourth on the leaderboard.

Image source, Reuters

Contrasting fortunes on the seventh, a par three. Phil Mickelson cannot get up and down from the bunker to save par. He tries to find all the magic we know he has but it's just not there.

Marc Leishman alongside him sends one from around 40ft and it crashes into the cup, that ball ran a few laps of the hole before giving in to gravity.

Does Paul Casey like that tee shot at the 14th? Yes he does. On the green

Adam Scott nails the good stuff too, and that looks like the Australian might have a good chance to get down in two...

Image source, FC Borriol

Did you know that Sergio Garcia is chairman and president of a football club?

The 37-year-old holds the positions at FC Borriol, his home-town club.

Borriol are in the third tier of Spanish football but the rumour mill has it that Sergio is using his trip to Birkdale to secure loan deals for Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Duncan Ferguson and Danny Cadamateri.

Barcelona, watch out!

Not a birdie out there for Sergio Garcia yet today, just a couple of dropped shots.It's just not happening for him. The Masters champion has found just 30% of fairways and with 25 putts through 14 holes, he's already had three more than Jordan Spieth took in 18.

Matt Kuchar is looking good out there as another drive splits the fairway. Dustin Johnson, playing with Rory McIlroy, has over 40ft for birdie on eight. A right-to-left breaker and that's a fine touch, tap in par.

Phil Mickelson, wearing a Gilet today, is on a par three now and his ball is in the bunker after that effort.

To McIlroy, a huge par save drops. How he has escaped that hole without dropping is beyond me.

Oh Jon Rahm. Moments after clawing a shot back on the sixth he's down again at the seventh.

The Spaniard found himself in the sand and couldn't recover to make par.

It's a costly hole for Lee Westwood too. He's bogeyed to go one over for the day.

Golf Digest writer Brian Wacker hits the nail on the head....

Rory McIlroy has to chip out of rough on the eighth and he isn't even in the fairway after two strokes on the par four.

On the sixth, Phil Mickelson drops his first shot of the day, a six footer drops for bogey.

McIlroy wedges up from the rough to leave 15ft for par.

Now I'm in no place to critique Matt Kuchar on his putting, but when the American sets up to strike the ball he's hunched over like an OAP gripping a walking stick.

It certainly works. A birdie chance on the 12th is oh-so-close from some 15 feet, but it flirts with the cup and decides to stay put.

Rickie Fowler has struggled since the turn with two bogeys in his last three holes.

The American was two under heading into the 10th, but he's back to level par despite a smattering of early red on his card.

He's out with Paul Casey and Adam Scott. The Englishman settles his nerves after that bogey with a par to stay at two under, while Scott follows suit at one under par.

Inspired by Justin Thomas, John Daly and Jason Day, we are asking you to send us images of controversial golf gear. Dom Carrick and his gang of mates have a lot to answer for. A lot...

Tweet #bbcgolf.

Image source, Getty Images

England's Alfie Plant is currently the top placed amateur after a one-over 71 today.

The 25-year-old from Bexleyheath told BBC Radio 5 live: "I loved every minute out there. I didn't even know I had hit it on the first tee, I was just hoping it had gone forward. The first tee was a brand new experience, I'd love to have a lot more like that.

"The reality of being here is so much better than my dreams. You try and dream about it, do putts on putitng green at home to win The Open, but when you get here and see all the stands and crowds, it's even better."

Jay Townsend
BBC Radio 5 live golf expert

He looks uncomfortable with his swing.

He is out of his normal pre-shot routine, he is getting clubs out of his bag early and making practice swings. His body language is not looking great, he is not confident or comfortable.

Rory needs tournament rounds, he needs to play to get tournament sharp.

He has missed three out of four cuts, so that is missing out on 50% of tournament rounds which he needs to get back to his best, but because of injury he has nothing going for him.

The worst thing he can do is withdraw, if he is healthy he needs to play every round he can play at a tournament, there is no way he can get better without playing.

Image source, Getty Images

How does Jon Rahm approach a round? Well, he has a clear musical influence.

"I listen to a lot of Eminem," he told media this week. "He has a lot of songs that can very inspirational.

"Especially with the language that is spoken in those songs, I don't really want to say anything bad. But there's two of them that I like to listen to before every round. Not Afraid and 'Til I Collapse. Both of them by Eminem.

"I go putt first. For the first 10 minutes, I have it on just because I kind of relaxes me, I get a little bit in the zone. Then I hit some putts and get the ball rolling.

"Then I do it 10, 15 minutes before I go to the tee box. Same reason, to get in the zone and not get too many technical thoughts."

Jon Rahm, with his snapback cap and square jaw, almost resembles a Lego figurine when he's standing over his ball. I reckon when he pops that cap off he clicks back in a plastic crop of hair.

There's nothing plastic about his golf though, a deft approach on the sixth gets warm applause and that's enough to tell the Spaniard it's settled well on the green.

There's work to do, but Rahm confidently steps up and curls in a birdie putt from long-range.

No sign of a smile, just a nod to the crowd for their appreciation. Ice cold.

Ged Scott
BBC Sport at Royal Birkdale

Image source, .

Sheffield's Joe Dean is one of a clutch of little-known English golfers who have qualified for the 146th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale this week.

And, with his long-standing girlfriend, Emily Lyle, caddieing for him, he is sure to stand out more than most.

Emily is a decent golfer in her own right, having played for Yorkshire at county level. And, with a name like Lyle, that's maybe no surprise.

Actually, she is no relation to former Open champion Sandy Lyle. But it was enough to cause confusion within the walls of the R&A.

When asked her surname when she was applying for accreditation as Joe's caddie, she told the official "Lyle, L-Y-L-E, as in Sandy Lyle".

When the name badge came back it read 'EMILY LYLE, Guest of Sandy Lyle'!

Hopefully,the great Sandy, up here playing in his 42nd Open, will be formally introduced to his 'guest' at some point this week.

Dean is in the clubhouse at two over, Sandy is still battling out there at seven over.

Paul Casey overcooks a long-range putt for birdie on the 11th and watches it fizz past the cup. He might have a bit of a job on to save par now...

He fires it in with just as much force on the return, but it's not got the line. That's the first blemish on the Englishman's card today.

Adam Scott is attacking it from the opposite side, but suffers the same fate - a dropped shot. That's his first of the day, too.

Image source, Get

If Dustin Johnson can keep it straight off the tee this week he may well take some stopping.

This season, his 312 yard average is second on the PGA Tour and from the fairway he hits the green 72% of the time, that's the most accurate on Tour. That's some combination then.

The problem he has is keeping those big drives straight. Wait for it... in finding the fairway just 57% off the tee, he's 160th on Tour.

The rest of the stats are solid, so if he can keep that ball under control off the tee peg, watch DJ fly up that leaderboard.