McIlroy fiddles, Woods falters
The Old Course was never faster. The pace of play was never slower.
The celebrated start of the 150th British Open gave way to Cameron Young making his debut with an eight-under 64 for a twoshot lead over Rory McIlroy, and Tiger Woods making what could be his last competitive appearance at St Andrews a short one.
His score would indicate as much. Woods began his round by hitting out of a divot into the Swilcan Burn for a double bogey. He ended it by taking three putts through the Valley of Sin for a par and a 78, his secondworst score in his Open career.
Woods will try to avoid leaving early from St Andrews for the second straight time.
Young and McIlroy didn’t have to contend with as much wind in the morning, though St Andrews has seen far stronger gusts over its centuries of golf. Throw in the humps and mounds and difficult pin positions, and the Old Course held its own.
‘‘It’s the fiddliest Open that I’ve played. It’s the only way I can really describe it,’’ McIlroy said. ‘‘OK, the 18th at Carnoustie was like a runway, that fairway. But around the greens here and just all the slopes and undulations and everything, as the tournament progresses, you’re going to get some funny bounces and it’s going to test your patience at times.’’
Nothing tested the patience like the constant waiting. By late afternoon, the rounds were taking just over six hours. They waited on the tee and in the fairway, and it didn’t help with so many players looking for the best angles to tight pins and playing to the left into other fairways.
‘‘It’s the way the golf course is set up. It’s how firm it is,’’ US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick said after his 72. ‘‘The way the golf course is designed . . . to get better angles and better lines, you’ve got to hit across all the fairways. There’s nothing you can do unfortunately about it. It’s just sad more than anything. It’s just ridiculous.’’
Good scores were available, and 54 players broke par, 26 of them with rounds in the 60s.
Young was a surprise leader only because it’s his first time competing on an Open links. He has had one of the better rookie seasons on the PGA Tour, and the 25-year-old New Yorker is not the least bit daunted by the stage. Just two months ago, he contended into the final hour of the PGA Championship until finishing one shot out of a playoff.
Young played smartly and took advantage of the birdie chances. He reached sevenunder through 12 holes with the wind helping on the inward nine. He missed two good chances, finished with a birdie and most importantly kept bogeys off his card.
‘‘I don’t think that I played a perfect round of golf,’’ Young said. ‘‘I scored really well. And I think we thought our way around the way you have to out there.’’
Young figures he knows only a fraction of the secrets to Old Course – no-one ever really figures it all out – and there was one occasion on the par-five fifth when he looked at his note in the yardage book: ‘‘Hard left is better than right.’’ He went left and made birdie.
‘‘We did stuff like that a few times today,’’ Young said.
Woods had pointed to this week even as his shattered right leg from a February 2021 car crash kept him from playing. The Open probably won’t return to St Andrews for another five years, and the 46-year-old Woods can’t help but wonder if he’ll be playing at a high level by then.
‘‘This was always on the calendar to hopefully be well enough to play it. And I am,’’ he said. ‘‘Just didn’t do a very good job of it.’’
■ Ryan Fox is off the pace but in contention for a top-20 finish after his steady opening round. The 35-year-old from Auckland was tied 35th after shooting a one-under-par 71.
Fox’s compatriot, Ben Campbell, was tied 101st after his opening round 74 at his first major. The 30-year-old from Wairarapa qualified after finishing second at the Victoria Open in February.