English Tommy Fleetwood, South African Christo Lamprecht and Argentine Emiliano Grillo shared the head of the British Open golf, with 5 strokes under par, at the end this Thursday of the first day in the English field of Hoylake.
Grillo, 30, thus signs a great start in a competition in which his best results were twelfth places in the 2016 and 2021 editions.
Fleetwood, local to this tournament as he is originally from Southport (48 kilometers from the Hoylake course), stood out above all with a streak of three consecutive birdies, between holes 14 and 16. In the event of a final victory, he would be the first Englishman to win the tournament since Nick Faldo in 1992.
Lamprecht, the big surprise of the first day
For his part, Lamprecht, in his first participation in a major at the age of 22, was invited by surprise to the party this Thursday with a card of 66 strokes, having earned his place by winning the amateur championship at the neighboring Hillside course last month.
Among the favourites, the Americans Scottie Scheffler (world number one) and Brooks Koepka, a five-time Grand Slam winner, are one stroke under par from the field and therefore four behind the leading trio.
Northern Irish star Rory McIlroy, who is seeking his first major title in nine years, finished the first day on par on the course.
The defending champion, the Australian Cameron Smith, was satisfied with a card of 72 strokes (+1). The champion of the Augusta Masters, the Spanish Jon Rahm, had a difficult first day, with a card of 74 shots (+3), leaving him eight shots from the top of the standings.
In this edition of the British Open there is no Colombian player.
The standings after day one at The 151st Open.
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 20, 2023
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with AFP
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