Cameron Young of the United States shot a first-round 64 to take the early lead in the field in Scotland at 8 under par as the 150th Open Championship got underway on Thursday at the historic St. Andrews course.
To get off to a strong start in the tournament, Young recorded eight birdies, five of which came on the front nine, and he did not make any bogeys.
After completing the round with a birdie on the 18th hole, Rory McIlroy moved into exclusive possession of the second place position. Throughout the majority of the day, McIlroy and Cameron Smith shared a tie for second place at 5 under
Smith finished with a score of 67, five strokes under par, with six birdies and one bogey. At one point earlier in the day, Ernie Els was in a three-way tie for second place with Smith and McIlroy.
However, the South African is currently in 20th place after finishing with a score of two under par after making a bogey on the 16th hole and a double bogey on the 17th. This caused him to fall down the scoreboard.
Lee Westwood is currently tied for fourth place with amateur Barclay Brown, Kurt Kitayama, Brad Kennedy, Victor Hovland, and the defending champion of the Masters, Scottie Scheffler.
All six golfers have a score of four under par. With the exception of Scheffler, all of the other members of the group finished the first round with a score of 68.
Tiger Woods is currently at 5 over par after 11 holes, with three bogeys and two double bogeys to his name. Woods started in a later group, thus his score reflects this.
