“It was right in the center of the hole with a foot to go, ” Mickelson told Sands.
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Texan Reed, 25, signalled his intent when he holed his approach shot for an eagle two at the par-four third. But in a procession of golf’s Fab Four, he made the best of the ideal conditions along the Irish Sea.
But Reed has yet to live up to his boasting, leaving him clearly on the outside of a Fab Four that includes Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy. An up-and-down later, Monty was walking off with a double-bogey 6 from possibly the easiest hole at Troon. He had a 73.
Earlier this week, he explained why he turned down an invitation to play golf in the Olympics, and mentioned that he got into golf to win, not to grow the game.
“I didn’t take on a lot of trouble today and was able to get hot with the putter”, said the left-hander.
“It was good. I think if I would’ve stepped on the first tee and someone would have given me a 69, I probably would have taken it”, McIlroy said after his round. “But if somebody had given me that score on the 10th, I probably would have”.
The real test could be Friday with rain in the forecast. McIlroy, even with his roots in Northern Ireland, is not regarded as a player who thrives in bad weather. His hope is that it clears out by the time he tees off in the afternoon.
“I don’t think we’re going to see the course like this for the rest of the week”, he said. It was a attractive day, and I took advantage of it. But two under par, something in the 60s, it’s a solid start.
“So, again, that’s what I want to do the next two days”.
It was Montgomerie who once famously said about the start at Royal Troon that if a player is not under par at the turn, he might as well walk over to the clubhouse at adjacent Prestwick and have lunch.
He called it “one of the best rounds” he’s ever played.
“I’ve heard that stat as well, but honestly with how competition is these days, it doesn’t really matter where you’re from or anything like that”, Reed said. It’s such a rare opportunity to do something historic like that and. if I had just hit a weak flail-off and never had a chance and left it short, so be it. At 14 I had a look at Lee Westwood’s putt right before me.
Lefty shot an 8-under 63 in the opening round of the British Open on Thursday, but he’ll long remember the lipped-out putt at the 18th hole that cost him a chance at history. He missed them both, a sign of what was to come.
Oosthuizen finished level par for the day after shooting a 71. I think my opinion is shared by a few people, but some people may think it’s wrong.
However, high scoring on the inward nine has proved a theme at Troon, and the American suggested overconfidence from a strong start could be an issue.
A second bogey of the day followed on the next hole and saw him relinquish the outright lead for a second time.
NOTEWORTHY: Fifty players broke par in the opening round.
“Well, it was obvious right there, there’s a curse because that ball should have been in”, he laughed.
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That’s true at any major.
