It was a difficult first day at The Open for many of the big name stars as they struggled in the conditions at Royal Troon. Rory McIlroy's hopes of bouncing back from US Open heartbreak already look over, after he carded a seven over par 79 to leave him facing an early exit.
A stunning birdie on the third proved a false dawn from Tiger Woods, who will tee off today at eight over. But on his tournament debut, the unknown Daniel Brown had a day to remember, finishing with the outright lead on six under par and one clear of Shane Lowry.
The weather is set to be kinder today, so see below for Express Sport's live updates from The Open...
Tiger tees off
Tiger Woods hammers one straight down the middle of the fairway on the first.
He won't be giving up yet....
Selected morning tee-times
The wind is due to pick up later on, so players will be keen to get out there quickly.
Here's the lowdown on some of the star names heading out pre-lunch.
9:14: Brooks Koepka; 9:25: Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Tiger Woods; 9:36: Collin Morikawa; 9:47: Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry; 9:58: Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Cameron Young; 11:04: Daniel Brown.
Woods backed by crowd
Tiger Woods was backed by the crowd at Royal Troon yesterday following his spat with Colin Montgomerie.
"Prove Monty wrong!" was shouted at the first tee as the golf legend Tiger Woods embarked on his first round. But he is up against it today if he's to be here at the weekend.
Siem's super start
German Marcel Siem is making the most of the calm early conditions!
He's birdied four of the first six holes and is now two under par.
Billy Horschel has joined him after starting with two straight birdies.
McIlroy outburst
Rory McIlroy ranted at his own erratic play after his seven over par 79 included a double bogey at the famous Postage Stamp hole.
“All I need to focus on is trying to make the cut," he admitted. “Conditions were tough on that back nine and I just didn’t do a good enough job.
“I did ok for the first part, then missed the green at the Postage Stamp and made a double. Then hitting out of bounds on 11, making a double there. I was surprised just how difficult the back nine played.”
Tiger Woods snubbed
Open organisers clearly aren't expecting any miracle fightbacks from Tiger Woods today. The all-time great, playing with Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, has been dropped from the 'featured groups' coverage for day two.
Good morning!
Weclome back to our live coverage from The Open Championship at Royal Troon.
Round two is already underway, with fairytale leader Dan Brown set to tee off at 11.04am. Tiger Woods and Scottie Scheffler will be two of the first big names out at 9.25am.
So grab a coffee, stay in the warm, and follow the action here.
