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The 5th hole par-5 pin is more attached than Tom Daley during his more difficult dive at an Olympics. Jon Rahm sensibly ignores going close to the thing, breaking his second on the right edge of the green before hitting a decent decent putt a mile away.
Rahm definitely had the grumps yesterday, but a birdie-birdie start has improved his mood and if he makes his second putt at 5, that will bring the 2021 U.S. Open champion to -2. And it does! Official status: on the lookout.
Speaking of Spaniards, Sergio plays the other par 5 on the field, on the 14th, and makes -7 for his round! Garcia has climbed 108 places on the board this morning and, with 4 below the overall, is just four behind the pace.
Updated at 11.38 BST
The question now is whether will Cameron Young continue to lead when he starts coming out at 1:26?
The chase pack is growing and Scheffler drops a 15-foot bird test into the hole at 11 to extend the group from 6 to five (Kim, Johnson, Scheffler, Hatton and McIlroy). They go two behind the leader, who comes out in exactly two hours.
The best score right now is from Sergio Garcia. The winner of the 2017 Masters used to be one of the top 10 at this event (10 of them from 2001 to 2016), but it has basically been useless to the majors since he finally won his first at Augusta five years ago.
But watch him go today: four birds and an eagle in his first 12 holes. A pair of 13 keeps him 6 down for the day and -3 overall after a bad initial round (75). Does it hurt to say it’s someone else who signed up for LIV?
Updated at 11.27 BST
11.16 am BST classification board
Thanks Matt. It seems that right now there are birds flying everywhere. Only in the final moments have Scottie Scheffler and Adam Scott picked up shots at 10 and 11, respectively. It’s time to update the rankings.
-8: Jove (-) -7: Gooch (14) -6: SW Kim (15), D Johnson (11), Hatton (10), McIlroy (-) -5: Scott (11), Scheffler (10) , Dinwiddie (-), Smith (-)
Scottie Scheffler on day 6. Photo: Gerald Herbert / APAdam Scott on day 5. Photo: Alastair Grant / AP
Updated at 11.18 BST
Tyrrell Hatton’s spell continues. Birdie on the 10th is a fourth five-hole torque breaker and throws it six below during the week. He is tied third. With that, I’m going for a walk and I’ll leave you in Dave’s safe hands.
High polish for Adrian Meronk. The story of the first Pole to play in the Open became a bit of a topic yesterday, but it was hard for him to get out on the field. A big difference today, though. He has made 13 pairs and three birds to give himself every opportunity to make the cut. He is evenly matched during the week and tied for 60th in the standings. Par-birdie should wear it on the weekend.
Bogey for Tiger. A short pair putt is missing in the 4th and returns to the level pair for the round. It really needs a spark. Meanwhile, teammate Matt Fitzpatrick goes to two less during the day and week. Yesterday he was strangely grumpy and could do nothing. This morning seems more focused.
Tyrrell Hatton joins the party. A burst of three birds in the last four holes of the nine strikers brings him five below during the week. He has the pedigree of Old Course as the two-time winner of the Dunhill Links Championship, and has also been twice among the top six in the Open.
DJ spinning them close. Dustin Johnson played the new striker on a bass, his birdie on the ninth allowed him to join the chase group on five bass during the week. And now he turns his approach to the 10th green and the turn drags him near the pin. He was the leader of 18 and 36 holes at the Old Course in 2015 before a pair of 75s shattered his hopes.
Birdie for Tiger! It converts from about 25 feet to the 3rd. You have five more for the week, so you probably need a 66 (minimum) to make the weekend. A long way to go, in other words.
There isn’t much response time for Jordan Spieth between rounds. His first lap, a 71 (both ways), ended almost in the dark last night and he returned to the course shortly before eight. He left a bird putt on the 1st absurdly short, but saved the parity and has added a bird to the 2nd. He has two less for the week.
10.39 h BST classification
Learn more about the Harrington movement. He carded a bird in the 1st and then again in the 2nd. He has five less for the week. -8: Jove (-) -6: Gooch (12), McIlroy (-) -5: Kim (13), Harrington (3), Dinwiddie (-), Smith (-)
Padraig Harrington birdies the 2nd. Photography: Richard Sellers / PA
Updated at 10.43 BST
A farewell to St. Andrew by Mark Calcavecchia. The 1989 champion rises to 18th for the last time after getting a special exemption to play this year. It almost becomes a special opportunity to land facing the Swilcan Bridge, but it almost stays upright after a short trip and seems a bit emotional as it greets the galleries.
Padraig Harrington is making a move. The two-time Open champion won the U.S. Senior Open last week and was very good when asked last week if he could win another Claret Jug. He said:
100%. Phil did. Tom Watson proved that it is possible and that it is even more of an opportunity in the links and in St Andrews. I don’t have a 50 year old barrier. Going down the stretch in a major, everyone else will feel just like me.
Updated at 10.36 BST
Yorkshire fan Sam Bairstow is down during the week until the 14th. He overcame the defeat in the Amateur Championship final at Royal Lytham last month to advance to the final qualifier at St Anne’s Links. He is a left-hander who impresses the staff of England Golf with his integral qualities, including a level head and a competitive instinct, rather than a great particular strength. It is believed that there is no relationship with Jonny.
Adam Scott is doing very well this morning. He’s been in Fife since early last week, enjoying courses like Kingsbarns and Crail in addition to the Old Course. His father reported that he was in great shape, which made his son’s decision to change teams on Sunday a bit quirky. But maybe Scott knew something? Yesterday he surpassed all three until the eighth, but now he has two less for the tournament when he walks to the ninth tee.
Tiger in the first update: the approach did not find the burn, the far bird putt did not reach the hole, the longer putt than he would have liked-had been found the bottom of the cup. Ugh.
Tiger Woods comes out on day 1. Photography: Paul Childs / Reuters
Updated at 10.14 BST
I’ll take Dave’s early statistics baton and give you the “Total 3 putts over 25 feet” rating on this year’s PGA Tour. A niche category, no doubt, but avoiding these mistakes is key to the Old Course. It’s also a ranking up: higher is bad. Here are the top five (i.e., lower) and their first round score: Keith Mitchell 76, KH Lee 69, Sebastian Munoz 73, Luke List 76, Tom Hoge 74. And the bottom five (i.e. superiors): Tyrrell Hatton 70, Lucas Herbert 70, Webb Simpson 71, Danny Willett 69, Cameron Smith 67. Perhaps persuasively silent?
Thanks Dave. For the first time this week, the auld gray toun lives up to its name. In the sky above, at least. Tiger’s first hole set the tone for the day yesterday, so fingers crossed for the next 10 minutes – a good start and then over the wave. That is the hope.
With Tiger about to play, I’ll give the baton to Matt, live from St Andrews!
Just a pair for Scottie Scheffler at 5, so he stays at -3. But a play by Si Woo Kim, who joins his birdie at 1 with a second of the day at 10 and the South Korean is at the dizzying height of the fourth tie.
A little further down and Paul Casey is cheering things up with birdies at 2, 5 and 6 to jump 28 places to -4 and tie seventh.
There is still no spark of Scottie Scheffler. Since that initial bogey brought him back to -3, he’s made three pars, though the Masters champion will like a first red number of the day in the fifth par-5. Scheffler just boomed on the street to increase the chances of that.
Marcus Armitage adds a pair to 10 to stay tied sixth. The Huddersfield professional is nicknamed “The Bullet,” but for less glamorous reasons than you might think. This nickname is due to the fact that he ordered an American golf glove that had to say “The Bulldog.” Something was lost in the translation and his glove came with ‘The Bullet’ embroidered. Still, it all adds to their cult status.
Updated at 09.43 BST
Unlike Paul McGinley, Nick Faldo believes today’s needles are “a yard closer” than yesterday.
I just accumulated the numbers and today the field is 15 more. Then it’s not that easy!
You’ll do well to find a lot of yesterday’s player stats, but there are smart people who record them.
Datagolf has all the R1 Strokes Gained numbers, so what were the strengths (or weaknesses) of Rory McIlroy’s game in his 6-under 66 yesterday?
This is how it was classified [in a field of 156] in the different statistical categories:
Off the Tee: 7th Approach: 65th Around the Green: 29th Tee To Green: 8thPutting: 6th
Strong in most areas, but perhaps these approximate figures are a slight concern. Rory may need to strengthen his iron game a bit.
Updated at 09.31 BST
Englishman Marcus Armitage continues to climb the rankings and a birdie at 9 pulls him out at 3 under 33. Now -4, he is tied sixth, a jump of 29 places a day. Is it the 2022 incarnation of 1995 Steven Bottomley?
Dustin Johnson balances the books with a bird at 3 that removes his initial bogey. He is also at -4, four behind Cameron Young.
Dustin Johnson plays off the foul. Photography: Alastair Grant / AP
Updated at 09.38 BST
Will softer conditions lead to the crazy-low score that was predicted earlier this week?
Former European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley thinks so.
Oh boy, what the old course didn’t need: light rain at night and early in the morning, with needles now slightly …