Rory McIlroy

American Cameron Young led the way amid predicted low scoring on the first day of the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews but favourite Rory McIlroy was ...

“I’ve been getting around the clock treatment but it just doesn’t feel ready to compete in this prestigious championship.” Poulter’s round had begun inauspiciously as he almost missed the widest fairway in golf, pulling his mid-iron well left across the 18th fairway before his ball finished just a couple of yards short of the out of bounds line which borders The Links road on the fringe of the course. Ever the showman Poulter milked the applause, standing with his hand up to his forehead peering into the distance in the direction of where his ball had disappeared into the hole.

Rory McIlroy hit a perfect tee shot Thursday that came to halt after clanking off a stone. Here's why it was in the middle of the fairway.

If you’re standing on the side of the ‘G’, you’re standing on the side of the original golf course. Even though it zapped his drive some yardage, he found the fairway and was able to get up and down up by the 5th green for a birdie. Local caddies will tell you about a practice round of Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell and Henrik Stenson during the 2010 Open, in which all three players hit the stone in the 5th fairway on consecutive swings. It clanked off a dark green thing in the middle of the fairway. They marked the edge of the original property of the course. The green thing is merely a plastic lid covered in the type of artificial turf that you see on indoor putting greens and practice ranges.

Thomas Bjorn says the man from Northern Ireland inspires the field as he goes for glory at St Andrew's.

In the professional game, we tend to think of it just for The Open. That’s what we should remember at the 150th Open.” Just take it in and realise how privileged you are to be in this position. It allowed me to become the player I did and so many others, too. As a kid, the R&A were behind so many things. Bjorn is here working for TV and said: “As a player, you determine your favourite events. You shouldn’t be running around thinking: Oh this is St Andrews and losing your focus, but you can have your moments. “Even the other players get excited and we don’t really get excited about much! You couldn’t say what the exact reason is why he has that magnetism and generates those feelings, but he does.” The Dane believes even McIlroy’s rivals are inspired when he’s on it as he brings a vibrancy and spark. Bjorn said: “I think he understands that an Open championship at St Andrews is just unique. Bjorn believes Rory can be the story with time running out for the Northern Irishman to achieve the Holy Grail of lifting a Claret Jug at St Andrews.

Rory McIlroy may well be counting his blessings during his opening round at The Open after escaping an unfortunate situation from his tee shot on the ...

Fortunately for McIlroy, his ball only ricocheted off the top of the ancient stone and still ended up in the fairway. Hole five is the first of the par fives on the Old Course and avoiding trouble off the tee presents a good scoring opportunity. McIlroy got his Open Championship underway in the morning, playing alongside defending champion Collin Morikawa and the in-form Xander Schauffele.

American Cameron Young is seven under on the opening day of the 150th Open.

With little wind and a dry, fast-running course organisers the R&A did their best to hide pins on the greens in order to provide some protection to the 7,313-yard Old Course. He then reeled off three successive birdies from the fifth, where he picked up a shot despite his drive losing some yardage after hitting a stone marker in the middle of the fairway which designates the original boundary of the course. But McIlroy was hot on his heels with a birdie attempt to also turn in 31 just sliding by, although he would have been more than satisfied with his four-under outward half.

Rory McIlroy has begun his Open Championship Challenge on the front foot as the County Down man finished on six-under-par 66 in his first round at St ...

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Rory McIlroy is just two shots off the clubhouse lead following his first round at the Open Championship at St Andrews following a sensational round of 66.

“So when we came out to hit our first tee shots with the R&A building right there, there were a bunch of R&A members presumably watching. That’s really my first memory of here.” I think that’s something you have to do, if I remember correctly. “I came with my parents in 2010 so I would have been 13,” Young said. We played here, the New, the Old. We played Kingsbarns, Carnoustie, Gullane, Crail; I’m probably missing one or two. “Started off tremendously with a bonus on the first, birdied the par five (fifth), a couple of the short par fours and then on the back nine you pick off a couple on the 14th and 18th.

The Holywood native is just two adrift of leader Cameron Young at St Andrews, while Shane Lowry is on level par after an opening round of 72. Seamus Power ...

“I started off tremendously with a bonus at the first, a little bit of an adrenaline rush with that second shot and hit it a bit far. “And then on the back nine, even though it’s downwind, it go so trickt that you pick off a couple. American Young had earlier stormed into the lead with an eight-under-par 64.

McIlroy is two shots off the lead after carding a 6-under par 66 on day one.

“So when we came out to hit our first tee shots with the R&A building right there, there were a bunch of R&A members presumably watching. That’s really my first memory of here.” I think that’s something you have to do, if I remember correctly. “I came with my parents in 2010 so I would have been 13,” Young said. “On the 4th hole yesterday during my practice round, I made a swing with my driver and started to feel pain in my lower back,” Rose wrote on Twitter. We played here, the New, the Old. We played Kingsbarns, Carnoustie, Gullane, Crail; I’m probably missing one or two.

Rory McIlroy and first rounds at majors are usually his Achilles' heel. Not this year, though. He is well in contention at The Open.

Heading into the second round, he is well set and well placed. I birdied the holes I needed to, today, and only made one mistake." The 18th can be reached with a solid tee shot, and a big chance to finish with a birdie. McIlroy rattled the flag-stick with his long eagle putt, but the ball only finished a couple of feet away and it left a simple birdie putt that was dropped. McIlroy did just that, driving to the left fringe and putting to within two feet away. After carding for that -6 round - two shots back from Cam Young - McIlroy told Sky Sports:

In the first round of the 2010 Open Championship at the Old Course at St. Andrews, McIlroy shot 9-under 63, matching the lowest score ever in a single round at ...

Now, he has a chance to let his game do the rest of the talking. McIlroy was the defending Open champion the last time the tournament was played at St. Andrews in 2015. He was eighth at the PGA Championship at Southern Hills after shooting 65 in the first round; he shot 67 in the opening round and tied for fifth at the U.S. Open. It's one of the highest achievements that you can have in golf." At the U.S. Open in June, McIlroy said he was taking a hard line against LIV Golf because "it's the right thing to do." "I don't know if a golfer's career isn't complete if you don't, but I think it's the holy grail of our sport," McIlroy said. He has been able to block out the noise when it mattered most. He finished second at the Masters and shot 8-under 64 in the final round. "I believe that my best days are still ahead of me, and I think theirs are too," McIlroy said before the U.S. Open. "So that's where it feels like you're taking the easy way out. McIlroy, 33, has won twice on tour -- the CJ Cup at Summit in October and the RBC Canadian Open in June -- to climb to No. 2 in the world. While McIlroy seemed to understand why aging players, including his friends and former Ryder Cup teammates Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell and Lee Westwood, left the tour to accept multimillion-dollar signing bonuses from LIV Golf, he has been more critical of younger players who have jumped. McIlroy shot 8-over 80 in windy conditions the next day and ultimately tied for third, but those remarkable opening 18 holes were the beginning of his stardom.

Rory McIlroy continued to eradicate his first-round hoodoo in majors after making a strong start to his bid for a fifth major title at The 150th Open.

"I think we worked our way around the golf course really well," Young said. That's really all I can control." It might change how I feel on the first tee a little bit tomorrow, but I'll forget about it very quickly. Tomorrow's an important run, just to go out and back up what I've done today." "I was maybe trying to be a little bit too cute with the second shot on 13, but apart from that, missed it in the right areas, areas where you can get it up-and-down from. "I think that's important to do.

For the third consecutive major this summer, the Ulsterman opened with a low round. But so far at St. Andrews, plenty of players are attacking par.

With just one round in the books, McIlroy will need to continue his good play with scoring extremely low. With one win in 2022 at the RBC Canadian Open, his record has been impressive since finishing second at the Masters after a final-round 64. “I only had 85 yards to the front of the green on 17, and I knew 4 was going to be a good score,” McIlroy said. “I came in here playing well, and I've played this golf course well over the years,” McIlroy said. “I birdied the holes that are birdie-able,” McIlroy said. “And I made pars at the holes where you're sort of looking to make a par and move to the next tee.