Dan Brown leads The Open in the first round
Dan Brown leads The Open in the first round

The Open Championship First Round: LIVE leaderboard and updates from Royal Troon

Welcome to live golf scores, updates and commentary from the first round of The Open Championship at Royal Troon.

LIVE: THE OPEN LIVE SECOND ROUND SCORES AND UPDATES FROM ROYAL TROON

The opening day of the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon belongs to qualifier Dan Brown. 

Brown, 29, fired a flawless first-round 65 on his Open Championship debut at the Ayrshire Links to open up a one-shot lead on 2019 Open champion Shane Lowry. 

The Englishman came through Final Qualifying at West Lancs earlier this month in the same tournament where Sergio Garcia missed out. 

Brown, who won the ISPS Handa World Invitational last season on the DP World Tour, birdied the 3rd, 5th, 10th, 11th, 16th and 18th in a bogey-free 65 to hit the front in his first-ever major start at the 152nd Open Championship.

"It did get dark out there and got a little bit tricky but the wind dropped as well," said Brown. 

"You've got those bright yellow scoreboards out there so it's hard to miss, but I felt comfortable with my game out there.

"I'm very excited, but you've got to keep your feet on the ground, so I'm just going to go out and do the best I can [tomorrow]."

Brown is now seeking to become the first player since Keegan Bradley at the 2011 US PGA to win in their major debut. 

Shane Lowry
Shane Lowry

Former Open champion and links specialist Lowry, 37, also carded a bogey-free round 

Lowry went round in a 5-under 66 and also finished his round like Brown with a birdie-three on the tough par-4 18th.

Justin Thomas finds himself in solo third on 3-under par. 

The two-time US PGA champion had a mixed bag featuring seven birdies, two bogeys and a double on the 12th.

US PGA champion Xander Schauffele is also off to a solid start following a 2-under 69. 

Scottie Scheffler
Scottie Scheffler

World No.1 Scottie Scheffler is another big name firmly in the mix as he goes in search of a third career major title and first Claret Jug. 

Scheffler birdied the last, tapping home from a foot, to card a respectable 1-under 70.

That sees him lie T11 after day one. 

Elsewhere, it was a day to forget for two legends in the game, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods.

Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy

McIlroy slumped to a dismal round of 7-over 78.

It's now coming up to a full 10 years since McIlroy last won his fourth major title at the 2014 US PGA. 

The World No.2 made just one birdie on the round at the 3rd.

He bogeyed the 1st, 10th, 15th and 18th, and made two doubles on the 8th and 11th.

Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods

Woods also struggled to find any form, finishing the day on 8-over par. 

Having not played much competitive golf in the lead-up to today, expectations were low, but by his own high standards, it was a very disappointing day for the 15-time major champion. 

The halfway cut is expected to fall around the 5 or 6-over par mark on Friday evening, so the likes of Woods and McIlroy will need to put their foot down in the second round if they are to be around for the weekend.

Another player to struggle in the first round was US Open Bryson DeChambeau, who despite making eagle on the 16th went round in a 5-over 76. 

Despite its short length, Troon's famous Postage Stamp 8th hole dished out some serious scorecard damage today. 

McIlroy, Clark, and Morikawa all walked off with a double bogey, proving that par-3 holes don't have to be long to be tough. 

The Open Championship First Round Leaderboard

D.Brown

-6

S.Lowry

-5

J. Thomas

-3

A. Noren

-2

N. Hojgaard

-2

J. Rose

-2

VIEW FULL OPEN LEADERBOARD

18 Jul 2024
16:06
Lowry moves under par

Lowry -1 (4)

A birdie on the 4th hole moves the Irishman to one under.

The 2019 Open Champion will be very used to these tough conditions, and he's made an excellent start to his first round. 

15:39
How did Jon Rahm feel about his round?

Rahm is in the clubhouse with a two-over 73. 

He says: "There's not an easy golf course out there. I think I played okay. 

"What I was able to do was make a lot of good par putts that kept the round going, but I didn't put myself in position enough to maybe make a couple of birdies and shoot somewhere even-par or even 1-under, which would have been a fantastic round."

Jon Rahm
Jon Rahm
15:31
Does Cameron Smith want to go home early?

C. Smith +4 (2)

Not an ideal start for the 2022 champion. 

A bogey, followed by a triple bogey... 

15:27
Has Rory McIlroy already played himself out of The Open?

R. McIlroy +7 (78)

It's just not been his day. 

His approach into the final green was decent after he was forced to chip out sideways from the bunker. 

But once again, he pulls his par putt left. 

He is a picture of frustration. 

After a decent performance at the Scottish Open last week, he has got it all to do on Friday...

15:25
Scheffler starts with a dropped shot

S. Scheffler +1 (1)

The world number one gets off to an ugly start with a bogey. 

15:22
Birdie for Tiger

Woods -1 (3)

Huge roars for Tiger who sinks a right-to-left curler on the third green. 

Woods was off the green and putting down the hill. 

It was, quite simply, the perfect pace. 

And there's a little fist pump too!

He's currently one of only 14 players under par. 

15:19
Brooks Koepka, anyone?

W. Clark E, B. Koepka +2, H. Matsuyama E (3)

Koepka misses left on the third hole and can't scramble to save his par. 

15:16
"Oh my god"

Not my words, but those of Rory McIlroy after his tee shot at 18. 

It was left straight off the face and he's in the fairway bunker. 

That'll be a chip out. 

15:15
Leaderboard latest
The Open leaderboard

J. Thomas

-3

A. Noren

-2

N. Hojgaard

-2

J. Rose

-2

R. Henley

-2

A. Scott

-1

M. Wallace

-1

M. McNealy

-1

T. Lawrence

-1

M. Kawamurea

-1

15:14
Reaction from Tommy Fleetwood

Tommy Fleetwood is not happy. 

A five-over 76 is not what he wanted, particularly when the course was more gettable early doors. 

"Disappointed," he tells reporters.  

"Got off to a bad start. Missed every sort of important putt, if you like. 

"Yeah, drove it pretty poor. Overall it wasn't the best day."

15:10
Woods digs deep for another par

Woods E, Cantlay E, Schauffele E

Three pars on the second hole for this group. 

Woods is somewhat fortunate to miss the bunker with his approach. 

He left himself with a monstrous putt across the green, but lags it close and taps in from inside three feet. 

Safe pars for his playing partners. 

Woods splits the fairway on the third. 

"Perfect, that's just where you want to be," Sky Sports commentator Wayne Riley tells the broadcast. 

15:08

Hatton +2, Homa +5, McIlroy +6 (16)

McIlroy is in more trouble at the par-three 17th. 

He's in the bunker but produces some magic and should be able to save par... 

15:06
A forgettable day for DeChambeau

The 2024 US Open champion is in the clubhouse after a tough day on the Ayrshire links. 

He went out in six-over 42 and battled hard on the back nine. 

DeChambeau made five pars in a row from the 10th before making an eagle out of nowhere on the 16th. 

Can he finish with a birdie to claw another one back? Not quite. 

That's a 76 for DeChambeau... 

15:03
How is Phil Mickelson getting on?

Mickelson +2 (3)

Lefty won the 2013 Open when it was staged at Muirfield. 

He's playing alongside his LIV peer Dustin Johnson and Joost Luiten.

Mickelson has got off to a poor start, making bogey in two out of the first three holes. 

Johnson is level par and Luiten is one-over. 

14:57
How windy is it?

Well, Collin Morikawa has just teed off and the American has 154 yards to the pin on the first hole. 

The shot is playing at around 190 yards, though, given the conditions... 

No surprise he's short.  

14:56
Here's Tiger Woods' tee shot on the first...
14:55
Pars all round in Woods' group

Woods E, Cantlay E, Schauffele E

Tiger finds the dancefloor with his approach but is considerably short of the pin. 

He manages to two-putt for par, as does Schauffele. 

Meanwhile Cantlay is forced to drain a putt from about 20 feet to save his four. 

The wind catches Woods' tee shot on the second... 

14:52
MacIntyre finishes on a high

MacIntyre +1, Fleetwood +5, Rahm +2 (F)

Great stuff from home favourite MacIntyre who manages to finish strong with a closing birdie. 

He receives a thunderous applause from those braving the rain in the 18th grandstand. 

It's a poor start from Tommy Fleetwood, though...

14:46
Here's what's coming up

There aren't too many groups left to go out. 

It's wet, cold and ugly and in truth a score of two-over or better now is darn good. 

Here's who is yet to tee off... 

14:48 Sam Burns (US), Si-Woo Kim (Kor), Collin Morikawa (US)

14:59 Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng), Shane Lowry (Ire), Cameron Smith (Aus)

15:10 Scottie Scheffler (US), Jordan Spieth (US), Cameron Young (US)

15:21 Akshay Bhatia (US), Tom Hoge (US), Sami Valimaki (Fin)

15:32 Ben Griffin (US), Emiliano Grillo (Arg), Mackenzie Hughes (Can)

15:43 Joseph Dean (Eng), Andy Ogletree (US), Yannik Paul (Ger)

15:54 Charlie Lindh (Swe), (a) Luis Masaveu (Spa), Ryan van Velzen (SA)

16:05 Kazuma Kobori (NZ), (a) Jaime Montojo (Spa), (a) Liam Nolan (Ire)

16:16 Denwit Boriboonsub (Tha), Daniel Brown (Eng), (a) Matthew Dodd-Berry (Eng)

16:27 Sam Horsfield (Eng), Aguri Iwasaki (Jpn), Jeung-Hun Wang (Kor)

(a) denotes amateur

14:44
Let's check in with Rory McIlroy

McIlroy +5 (13)

Not the start McIlroy would've liked here. 

A bogey at the 10th followed by a double bogey at the 11th means he's going to have it all to do tomorrow. 

Can he finish strong?

14:41
Tiger Woods tees off

Tiger Woods, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele are all underway. 

The rain is picking up... 

14:21
Reaction from Justin Thomas

Justin Thomas has been speaking to reporters about his excellent start here. 

Last year, Thomas was all over the place at Royal Liverpool. 

Here's what he said to the media about his start the 152nd Open. 

13:50
Hutsby falls out of lead

Hutsby -1 (8)

Just a hole after joining Thomas out in front, Hutsby has handed two back to the field on the Postage Stamp 8th.

The Englishman did exactly what McIlroy did earlier in the day by finding the bunker right of the pin.

He then splashed his ball out and the ball hit the top of the slope and trundled back onto the beach.

The resulting double sends Hutsby back into the chasing pack at 1-under par. 

13:38
Hutsby joins the lead

Hutsby -3 (7)

It's a third birdie in five holes for Sam Hutsby.

The Englishman joins Thomas out in front on 3-under par.

Thomas is of course in the clubhouse. 

13:28
Tiger tees off in an hour

Tiger is in the building.

He tees off in just over an hour at 2.37pm alongside Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay.