Oosthuizen, Spieth lead way as normalcy returns to Open
SANDWICH, UNITED KINGDOM: The majors finally had a degree of normalcy Thursday at Royal St. George’s. Louis Oosthuizen and Jordan Spieth leading the way at the British Open felt pretty familiar, too.
Cheered on by the biggest golf crowd since the coronavirus outbreak, Oosthuizen saved par from a fairway bunker on the final hole for a 6-under 64 to take the early lead. Spieth was only one stroke back by making putts like it was 2017 all over again. “It feels inside the ropes, from the first tee forward, the most normal of any tournament we have played thus far relative to that same tournament in previous years, PRE-COVID,” said Spieth, whose run of four straight birdies in his round of 65 reminded him of his play at Royal Birkdale when he lifted the claret jug four years ago.
Oosthuizen is coming off two straight runner-up finishes at majors — the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open — and is contending again after tying the lowest opening round at Royal St. George’s. Christy O’connor Jr. had a 64 in 1981.
That didn’t look as though it would be the case after the South African opened with seven straight pars. He followed with six birdies in his next nine holes. “I’ve learnt over the years playing major championships that patience is the key thing,” said Oosthuizen, who hasn’t won one of them since the British Open in 2010. There have been six runner-up finishes in the majors since then.
Patience already might be wearing thin for U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm, who slapped his thigh in frustration after making a double-bogey at No. 9 after taking two shots to get out of a pot bunker in the fairway. He shot 71. Bryson
Dechambeau had the same score after spending much of his first round up to his knees in deep grass and unable to use his power to overwhelm Royal St. George’s.
Shane Lowry, the defending champion from 2019, also shot 71 in front of a crowd that has a daily capacity of 32,000 this week. Not since Royal Portrush has a major seen so many spectators through the gates. There was plenty of good scoring on a course where soft fairways and greens negated the impact of its storied undulations.