British Open 2011: A Recap and Highlights of Day 1

Round 1 of the 140^th edition of the British Open is in the books and it did not disappoint. The conditions were harsh early on and many suffer because of them. As expected, there were mixed results.

Most of the pre-tournament favorites didn't make the hoped-for impression on the leaderboard. But they are certainly not out of contention. Tomorrow, things could change; they can still get back in the mix.

US Open champ Rory McIlroy had all eyes on him. Maybe as a result of his layoff he started a bit rusty, bogeying hole one and three. He settled pretty nicely from then on, having only one bogey and two birdies, including the 17th.

But the main stories come from 40-year-old redemption seeker Thomas Bjørn and 20-year-old amateur Tom Lewis, who currently sit atop the leaderboard.

Bjørn had not been back to Royal St George’s since 2003 and wasn’t even supposed to be here. He was the fifth alternate, so five players had to withdraw for him to play.

First, Tiger Woods said he would not play. That was followed by Thomas Levet, Tim Clark, David Toms and, this past Monday, Vijay Singh. Then it was Royal St George’s on line-one for Mr Bjørn.

Bjørn's drives were fairly accurate all day; he hit 11 of 14 fairways. But maybe the more telling stat of them all was the two-for-two in sand saves—we all know how that went on the 16th hole back in 2003.

Bjørn at least got some revenge back. He shot three birdies and one bogey in the front-nine, and finished the back-nine with four birdies and one bogey to finish at five-under. He is playing much better than he did eight years ago.

Before this, all we knew about Tom Lewis was that he was a 20-year-old amateur playing in the same group that five-time Open champion Tom Watson was.

Lewis's father named him Tom, after Tom Watson. His brother is named Jack, so we all know who he was named after. Maybe that meant that Lewis was destined to emulate Watson and play the links like the former champ.

He did not drive too well, but he hit eight out of 14 fairways. He shot seven birdies and two bogeys, but the highlight of his round came when he birdied holes 14 through 17 and joined Bjørn at five-under atop the leaderboard.

Lewis proved he is not your average amateur. He definitely showed he can play—now we all want to see his staying power.

Just right behind Lewis and Bjørn are Miguel Angel Jimenez and Americans Lucas Glover and Webb Simpson, who carded four-under.

Jimenez had the only bogey-free round of the day. He only hit half of the fairways and did not have much on his drives, but he certainly made up for that with superior iron play and putting to avoid bogeying.

Glover, who bogeyed the second hole, birdied hole nine and 10, finishing with the best momentum with birdies on the last three holes. He did not hit many fairways, but certainly had plenty of distance today.

Simpson, who is ranked No. 54 in the world and was T8 at the AT&T, was even after nine and birdied hole 10 and 12, along with the final two, to join Jimenez and Glover.

Graeme McDowell and Martin Kaymer finished at two-under. McDowell got off to a horrible start with a double-bogey first hole. He finished the front-nine at two-over, but had four birdies on the back-nine to get in contention.

Kaymer stayed out of trouble for most of the day. His only bogey came at the sixth hole, but he came right back and birdied the seventh. He then birdied hole 11 and 16 on the back-nine.

Also at two-under were Americans Kyle Stanley, runner-up at the John Deere last week to Stricker, and 2009 US Open runner-up Ricky Barnes. Americans Steve Stricker and Bubba Watson finished at one-under.

Stricker was at one-over after nine, but birdied hole 12 and 15. Meanwhile, Watson was very steady today and was at one-under after nine. He bogeyed hole 13, but got that back with a birdie at 14.

At par were Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and 2009 champ Stewart Cink. Mickelson had a birdie and a bogey in each nine side. He hit half of the fairways and missed a three-foot putt once.

Garcia looked good early and was sitting at two-under after consecutive birdies at 12 and 13, but finished badly with bogeys at 16 and 18. Similarly, Cink was at three-under after birdies at 10 and 11, but bogeyed three out of the last six.

Lee Westwood, Luke Donald, Jason Day and Masters champ Carl Schwartzel all joined McIlroy and finished at one-over. The top player in the world, Donald, was at one-under after nine. But he had a bad back-nine with three bogeys, falling at two-under before his birdie at 17.  

Westwood was all over the place, but his result could have been worse than one-over. He had five bogeys, including holes three through five. At least in the last seven holes he birdied at 14 and 15, going bogey-free.

Day was standing at three-over after 11, but was able to play steady the rest of the way and had birdies on 13 and 14. Meanwhile, Schwartzel was even before three bogeys from 11 through 13, but birdied at 14 and 17.

Defending champ Louis Oosthuizen finished at two-over and Americans Matt Kuchar and Nick Watney ended at four-over. Oosthuizen was at four-over after 10, but was able to birdie 12 and 17 to stay in sight.

Watney was at six-over, including a double-bogey on the eighth hole, but was able to finish on a positive note with birdies at 16 and 17. Kuchar’s only positive was his lone birdie at 12. He had five bogeys, including one at 18.

Among other notables, Davis Love III, Justin Leonard and Rickie Fowler finished at par; K.J. Choi at one-over; Tom Watson and Ernie Els at two-over; and two-time champ Padraig Harrington at three-over.

And finally, Ben Curtis did not have a triumphant return to the scene of his stunning win at The Open in 2003. He just did not have the 2003 magic with him—he finished at seven-over.