The Open: Familiar territory for Rory

BY STEVE KEIPERT AT ROYAL LIVERPOOL

Rory McIlroy continued one habit but hopes to break another as he leapt to the top of the leaderboard at the 143rd Open Championship with a bogey-free 66 at Royal Liverpool.

The two-time major champion, who would be a Green Jacket shy of a career Grand Slam at age 25 with a win this week, did what he does best by shooting low early. His next task is trickier.

Rory McIlroy fires his second shot into the 5th green. PHOTO: Getty Images

McIlroy knows it as 'Freaky Friday', a curious curse of imploding on the second day after starting with a strong round. It happened at Augusta National, again at Quail Hollow, once more the next week at The Players and again at The Memorial. Switching continents didn't help as even at last week's Scottish Open, McIlroy's opening 64 was undone by a second-round 78. And at The Open four years ago he shot 63 in the first round at St Andrews and 80 straight afterwards.

"Whenever I go out and play on Thursdays there's not really many expectations. You're going out there and you're trying to find a rhythm and you're just trying to play your way into the round," he said of the mental vortex between rounds. "When you go back out on Friday after a good score, you know what you can do on the golf course. So you're going out with some expectations compared to Thursday when you're going out with not many.

"I've just got to approach it like that and start off trying to hit solid shots the first few holes and play my way into the round, just like I did today."

Adam Scott likes where he is placed after opening round of the championship. PHOTO: Getty Images.

Whether McIlroy's Friday malaise materialises in the second round remains to be seen. Today, however, he was clinical. He carded only one five – at the par-5 18th – as minimising mistakes plus making full use of the modest par-5s became the cornerstones of his round.

World No.1 Adam Scott is poised to strike tomorrow after his impressive 68 headlined the afternoon groups to sit just two strokes behind. His round sparked early with a birdie at the 4th and a long eagle putt dropping at the par-5 5th. A further birdie at the short 9th moved the world's top-ranked golfer to four-under before he marked time on the back nine. His tidy performance has him ideally positioned to take advantage of a morning start in round two.

"I positioned it off the tee really nicely today. I can't say it could have been better but it could have been..." Scott said. "There were a couple of short putts and a couple of par-5s I didn't take advantage of from good position, but to keep pace with an early lead of Rory is important.

"Overall everything's feeling pretty good. But the weather's going to be the thing that separates this field – it's pretty bunched at the moment. A full day of wind will certainly sort the field out. I'll just be grinding the next two days but if I keep swinging well I think I'll give myself enough chances to be there [on Sunday]."

Scott outlined why this championship became his focal point for 2014. "This has been a big focus for everyone in my crew this year. We've had our minds set obviously on the other majors but we've been close the past couple of years and obviously to win a Claret Jug is such a huge thing. Our minds have been firmly set on Hoylake and doing well here."

Also in hot pursuit of McIlroy are three – yes, three – Italians. The national day in Italy falls on June 2 but July 17 could run a clear second if either Matteo Manassero, Francesco Molinari or his brother Edoardo triumphs this week. Manassero shot 67 to sit in outright second, while the Molinaris couldn't be separated and shot two of the day's seven 68s. All three took advantage of perfect benign morning conditions, with warm temperatures and only a moderate breeze filtering across the course.

"It's fantastic," Manassero said of the Italian influx. "We got off to a fast start, all of us. And when you've got three ... there is more chance they're going to stay up [on the leaderboard] until Sunday. And it's going to be fun if there is."

Tiger Woods broke 70 in a major for the first time since the corresponding round a year ago at Muirfield, overcoming bogeys at the first two holes to muster six birdies in a three-under 69. He appeared to grow in comfort as the round unfolded, especially in making three straight birdies from the 11th. Pinpoint irons and deft putts were reminiscent of his calculated dismantling of the Hoylake course eight years ago. The three-time Open champion took plenty of positives from his start as he continues his comeback from back surgery.

Tiger Woods says he's feeling stronger with each round in his comeback from back surgery. PHOTO: Getty Images

"It was so important for me to play Congressional," Woods said of the Quicken Loans National on the US PGA Tour a fortnight ago, his first tournament since March. "The fact that I was able to recover every day, and the fact that I was stronger, more explosive the more days I played. I'm only going to get better from that point. And I'm getting stronger, I'm getting faster, I'm getting more explosive. The ball is starting to travel again."

Not everyone enjoyed a day out. Two-time champion Ernie Els combined miscues with carelessness in making a clumsy triple-bogey at the 1st hole. The South African missed a short bogey putt then attempted to backhand the return only to miss and take a seven that kicked off an ugly 79.

Marc Leishman extricates his ball from the thick Royal Liverpool rough. PHOTO: Getty Images

The rest of the eight-strong Australian contingent experienced mixed opening rounds. Marc Leishman played chanceless golf in the still morning conditions while John Senden toiled quietly and effectively in the afternoon breezes. They shot 69 and 71, respectively. Sadly, Bryden Macpherson shot 90, the worst round of the day by eight shots.

Asked what advice he'd give Macpherson, Adam Scott said: "Tell him to have a couple of beers. That's all he can do. I feel for him but he'll bounce back."

OPEN LEADERBOARD:

66 – Rory McIlroy (N.Ire)

67 – Matteo Manassero (Ita)

68 – Adam Scott (Qld), Edoardo Molinari (Ita), Francesco Molinari (Ita), Brooks Koepka (US), Jim Furyk (US), Sergio Garcia (Spn), Shane Lowry (Ire)

69 – Marc Leishman (Vic), Robert Karlsson (Swe), Koumei Oda (Jpn), Rickie Fowler (US), Tiger Woods (US), Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Jimmy Walker (US), Yoshinobu Tsukada (Jpn), Boo Weekley (US)

THE AUSTRALIANS' THURSDAY REPORT CARD:

Matt Jones (71, B+): Playing in the third group out, Jones rescued his round with a pitch-in eagle at the 18th to move to one-under. Earlier, he'd made double-bogeys at the 2nd and 3rd holes but a string of three straight birdies from the turn righted the ship.

Marc Leishman (69, A): In the group behind Jones, the Victorian birdied three of the four par-5s and made just one bogey to shoot a risk-free 69 that had him tied for the lead at the time he walked off the 18th. Leishman said he "hit the ball probably as well as I have all year".

Brett Rumford (75, C-): One-under after five holes, a decent round turned ugly with a double-bogey at the 14th. Rumford's lone made cut at a major was here in 2006; he'll be hard pressed to do it again.

Rhein Gibson (72, B): Overcame four straight bogeys on the front nine to finish a highly creditable even par on his major debut.

Bryden Macpherson remained upbeat after his opening round 90. "It's embarrassing ... but it's a round of golf," he said. PHOTO: Getty Images

Bryden Macpherson (90, F): The former British Amateur champion's scorecard resembled a phone number, as it included two 6s, two 7s and an 8 in a horror first round. Three mid-round double-bogeys preceded a quadruple at the 12th and a triple two holes later. Macpherson made just four pars in the first 14 holes as he shot the worst round in an Open since 1999.

Jason Day (73, B-): Never under par but never far over it, Day might have snuck back level with the card had he birdied either late par-5.

Adam Scott (68, A+): An outward 31 was the best front nine of the day. Birdies matched bogeys coming home in the wind in a controlled round. Looking for a Friday omen? Scott has the same 9:26am tee-time tomorrow that McIlroy enjoyed today.

John Senden (71, A-): Playing late in the day as the breeze strengthened, Senden – like Scott – carded one of the few sub-par afternoon rounds.

REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK

– AT 5:55am legendary Open Championship starter Ivor Robson tests his microphone ahead of the first group arriving in half an hour's time. Nearby, the head marshal for the grandstand at the 1st tee briefs his team. "Remember, no one is allowed to stand on the seats or sit on the steps," he reminds them. Two marshals are themselves soon reprimanded for leaving bags in the walkway.

– AUSTRALIAN coach Denis McDade, following his pupil Marc Leishman, half-trips while walking in the rough left of the 12th fairway. Suspecting he knew what caused the stumble, he kicks about in the long grass and digs up a long-abandoned Titleist Pro V1 and quickly pockets the ball. "It's habit from my days searching for lost balls as a kid," he explains.

Qualifier John Singleton had to get permission from his factory job to tee up this week. PHOTO: Getty Images

– JUSTIN Rose wins the prize for longest drive of the day, of sorts. A miscommunication led to his driver being mistakenly dispatched to Bedford, a three-hour drive south east of Hoylake. His missing driver was recovered and returned but not before Rose had reached the 3rd hole. Last week's Scottish Open winner shrugged off the mishap and shot an even-par 72.

– THE democratic nature of a true Open championship gives rise to some eclectic back stories. Playing alongside the stars of the game this week is John Singleton – not the colourful Australian entrepreneur but a local resin factory worker who had to ask permission from his employer to play. His boss duly granted Singleton a fortnight's leave as he readied for the biggest week of his golf life. Singleton’s boss even and bought tickets for the other staff and granted them all a day off to go and watch him play. Singleton carded eight straight pars to begin his Open campaign, but dropped six shots in six holes on the back nine to shoot a six-over 78.

– BEN Crane flew in late to England once he moved up the queue to become the first alternate for The Open. He arrived at the course early on Thursday and was on the practice putting green as the first group teed off at 6:25am. He couldn't even risk heading to the distant practice range as he'd have to be ready to tee off at minimal notice if a player withdrew.

The day tested Crane's patience as he never made it to the tee, a shame given the effort required to travel here. To get to The Open, Crane flew from Portland to Seattle, Seattle to New York, New York to London and then drove three-plus hours to Hoylake.

He found himself in an identical situation in 2012 but opted not to travel from Oregon and watched as his replacement, Michael Thompson, did gain a start. Crane was philosophical about his chances this time, planning to play a round with his caddie at nearby Wallasey Golf Club (where the Stableford scoring system was invented) if he didn't score a start at Royal Liverpool.

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