KJ Choi is playing in his first Open for 11 years, his reward for winning the Senior Open last year. The 55-year-old Korean’s skied opening drive led to inevitable bogey … as did those aforementioned errant first strokes by Cameron Smith and Marco Penge. Of the first nine players to complete the intimidating 1st hole: one birdie, two pars, six bogeys. Welcome to Royal Portrush!
The Open 2025: first round updates from Royal Portrush – live | The Open
Published: 2025-07-17 07:21:58 | Views: 10
Key events
Nicolai Højgaard only qualified for this Open last week at the Scottish. He looks like taking last week’s good form into this week, making his birdie at the par-five 2nd to join his playing partner Padraig Harrington at the top of the leaderboard. There are only a dozen players out there, but leading the Open is leading the Open. For the record …
-1: Harrington (2), N Højgaard (2)
E: Migliozzi (1)
Taylor Pendrith of Canada becomes the first player to wing his opening tee shot out of bounds. A big hook over the rope on the left. The 34-year-old Canadian is making his Championship debut this week, so that’s not going to calm the nerves.
This opening tee shot is messing with a few heads already. KJ Choi skies his effort 176 yards into thick rough down the left. Even if that was straight it wasn’t reaching the fairway. In the next group, the 2022 champion Cameron Smith somehow manages to be even worse, a mishit low hook fizzing into the same native area, covering just 153 yards. Marco Penge, who came so close at last week’s Scottish Open, also sails way left, though he’s gone 226 yards at least. A lot of people will be mindful of Rory McIlroy’s quadruple-bogey eight start here in 2019. To repeat: OB left, OB right. Is it any wonder?
The morning wave look to have the more favourable conditions compared to the later starters. There are dark clouds rumbling over Portrush right now, but “intermittent rain … with briefly heavier bursts” is the worst expected this morning. The breeze will pick up though, and there could be a chance of 25-35 mph gusts and possibly “thundery downpours” later this afternoon.
Padraig Harrington looks up for this. He turns 54 years of age next month, and if successful this week would become the oldest winner of the oldest major by the best part of eight years. (Old Tom Morris has held that record since 1867.) Having just landed the Senior US Open title, the 2007 and 2008 winner is in form, and you can be sure he thinks he can make history. And why shouldn’t he? From 210 yards he lashes his second pin high to 15 feet, then rolls in the birdie putt! Another huge smile, and those early nerves are all forgotten. The first rumbling roar of the week from the home gallery, and we really are up and running in style. Opening bogey for Tom McKibben, though, the inevitable result of his finding more rough with his second shot.
-1: Harrington (1)
E: Højgaard (1)
+1: McKibben (1)
Here we go, then … and the two-time winner Padraig Harrington steps up to hit the first shot of the 153rd Open Championship. Despite everything he’s done in the game – and he’s the brand-new Senior US Open champion – he looks pensive, approaching nervous. David Lancaster, the official starter, welcomes him to the tee. Out of bounds left and right. But what’s the worry? He clips an iron straight down the middle, after which his face melts into a huge smile. His playing partners Nicolai Højgaard and local lad Tom McKibbin take their turns – the latter finding the thick stuff down the left – and four days of glorious links-infused nonsense stretch out in front of us. Here we go, then!
Preamble
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the 153rd Open Championship. Xander Schauffele, who saw off Billy Horschel, Justin Rose and Thriston Lawrence at Troon last year, is the defending champion … and yet because this edition will be contested on the links of Royal Portrush in County Antrim, it kind of feels like Shane Lowry, the winner here in 2019, is defending too. Hey, we don’t write the rules, it just does.
Another Irish winner on home soil, then? Lowry fancies doubling up, while course-record holder Rory McIlroy will doubtless think the old place owes him one after that quadruple-bogey start in 2019 and subsequent tearful missed cut. Tom McKibbin, 2007 and 2008 winner Padraig Harrington and 2011 champion Darren Clarke also hear Ireland’s call.
Bob MacIntyre, fresh from his runner-up spot at the US Open, will be aiming to become Scotland’s first major champion since Paul Lawrie in 1999. As for the English, Tommy Fleetwood, second at Portrush six years ago, would be a popular winner as well, while it feels like Tyrrell Hatton is effing and jeffing his way closer and closer to a breakthrough major.
Other European hopes include Jon Rahm, Ludvig Åberg, Viktor Hovland and Sepp Straka. The US charge, led by world number-one and tournament favourite Scottie Scheffler, also features the aforementioned reigning champ Schauffele, Bryson DeChambeau, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth.
And yes, we probably have forgotten your particular favourite and/or dark-horse tip, so sorry for neglecting to mention them. We’ll get round to them soon, no doubt. The first shot will be hit in anger by Padraig Harrington, and this Hole-By-Hole report will be up and running the moment persimmon meets featherie. It’s on!
Here are the tee times for the first round (GBR & IRE unless stated, all times local, (a) denotes amateurs) …
0635 Padraig Harrington, Nicolai Hoejgaard (Den), Tom McKibbin
0646 K. J. Choi (Kor), Guido Migliozzi (Ita), Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa)
0657 (a) Justin Hastings (Cay), Marco Penge, Cameron Smith (Aus)
0708 Jason Day (Aus), Jacob Skov Olesen (Den), Taylor Pendrith (Can)
0719 Phil Mickelson (USA), Ryan Peake (Aus), Daniel van Tonder (Rsa)
0730 Byeong-Hun An (Kor), Max Greyserman (USA), Niklas Noergaard (Den)
0741 Dustin Johnson (USA), Haotong Li (Chn), Jordan Smith
0752 Darren Clarke, Lucas Herbert (Aus), Davis Riley (USA)
0803 Mikiya Akutsu (Jpn), Julien Guerrier (Fra), Chun-An Yu (Tai)
0814 Thomas Detry (Bel), Chris Gotterup (USA), Lee Westwood
0825 Patrick Cantlay (USA), Mackenzie Hughes (Can), Cameron Young (USA)
0836 (a) Filip Jakubcik (Cze), Matthew Jordan, Thorbjoern Olesen (Den)
0847 Stephan Jaeger (Ger), Sebastian Soederberg (Swe), Henrik Stenson (Swe)
0903 Martin Couvra (Fra), Kristoffer Reitan (Nor), Adrien Saddier (Fra)
0914 Takumi Kanaya (Jpn), (a) Bryan Newman (Rsa), Justin Walters (Rsa)
0925 Matthew Fitzpatrick, Ryan Fox (Nzl), Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn)
0936 Akshay Bhatia (USA), Ben Griffin (USA), Sepp Straka (Aut)
0947 Sam Burns (USA), Brooks Koepka (USA), Aldrich Potgieter (Rsa)
0958 Jon Rahm (Spa), Xander Schauffele (USA), JJ Spaun (USA)
1009 Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa (USA), Scottie Scheffler (USA)
1020 Wyndham Clark (USA), Corey Conners (Can), Tom Hoge (USA)
1031 Nicolas Echavarria (Col), Denny McCarthy (USA), Patrick Reed (USA)
1042 Ryggs Johnston (USA), Matthias Schmid (Ger), (a) Richard Teder (Est)
1053 John Axelsen (Den), Darren Fichardt (Rsa), Dylan Naidoo (Rsa)
1104 Oliver Lindell (Fin), Jesper Sandborg (Swe), Justin Suh (USA)
1115 Sadom Kaewkanjana (Tha), Riki Kawamoto (Jpn), Sampson Zheng (Chn)
1126 Stewart Cink (USA), Marc Leishman (Aus), Matteo Manassero (Ita)
1147 (a) Connor Graham, Francesco Molinari (Ita), Jesper Svensson (Swe)
1158 Daniel Brown, Daniel Hillier (Nzl), Zach Johnson (USA)
1209 (a) Ethan Fang (USA), Rickie Fowler (USA), Adam Scott (Aus)
1220 Laurie Canter, Sergio Garcia (Spa), Elvis Smylie (Aus)
1231 Andrew Novak (USA), Matthieu Pavon (Fra), Matt Wallace
1242 Dean Burmester (Rsa), Rikuya Hoshino (Jpn), Davis Thompson (USA)
1253 (a) Sebastian Cave, Shugo Imahira (Jpn), Si-Woo Kim (Kor)
1304 Bud Cauley (USA), Michael Kim (USA), John Parry
1315 Angel Hidalgo (Spa), Matt McCarty (USA), Shaun Norris (Rsa)
1326 Daniel Berger (USA), Keegan Bradley (USA), Sung-Jae Im (Kor)
1337 Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Rsa), Rasmus Hoejgaard (Den), Romain Langasque (Fra)
1348 Harry Hall, Aaron Rai, Sahith Theegala (USA)
1404 Thriston Lawrence (Rsa), Justin Leonard (USA), Antoine Rozner (Fra)
1415 Chris Kirk (USA), Carlos Ortiz (Mex), JT Poston (USA)
1426 Brian Harman (USA), Maverick McNealy (USA), Joaquin Niemann (Chi)
1437 Tyrrell Hatton, Russell Henley (USA), Min-Woo Lee (Aus)
1448 Bryson DeChambeau (USA), Robert MacIntyre, Justin Rose
1459 Ludvig Aaberg (Swe), Viktor Hovland (Nor), Jordan Spieth (USA)
1510 Tommy Fleetwood, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas (USA)
1521 Harris English (USA), Tony Finau (USA), Nick Taylor (Can)
1532 Lucas Glover (USA), Joo-Hyung Kim (Kor), Jhonattan Vegas (Ven)
1543 Brian Campbell (USA), John Catlin (USA), (a) Frazer Jones
1554 (a) Cameron Adam, Nathan Kimsey, Jason Kokrak (USA)
1605 Curtis Knipes, Curtis Luck (Aus), Daniel Young
1616 George Bloor, OJ Farrell, Young-Han Song (Kor)
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