Bryson DeChambeau hits out of the rough on the 15th hole during the first round of the Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Troon. Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports

Royal Troon makes golf's best look bad in opening round of British Open

By Jack Dougherty | Last updated Jul 18, 2024 4:50 PM ET

Sporadic rain showers and strong, unpredictable wind gusts tore through Royal Troon Golf Club during a gloomy first round at the British Open, and many of the top contenders couldn't handle the carnage.

The mayhem broke out bright and early in South Ayrshire, Scotland. U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau began his championship with three bogeys and a double in his first six holes. The bomber held on to shoot a 5-over 76, but he's well outside the cut line heading into Round 2.

Rory McIlroy, who has nine top-12 finishes in his last 11 major starts, went 7 over in his last 11 holes en route to a shocking 78. As enthralling as DeChambeau and McIlroy's U.S. Open battle was last month, it doesn't look as if we'll be getting a rematch this week.

Royal Troon is claiming victims at The Open Championship.

Awesome example of what happens in these bunkers. You can make an easy bogey, but if you want a par you often need to take a big risk.

Rory paid the price. The mistakes you can’t make and claim the Claret Jug. pic.twitter.com/2bD5f8IALc
— Rick Golfs (@Top100Rick) July 18, 2024

DeChambeau and McIlroy weren't the only superstars Royal Troon tossed in a blender on Thursday. Cameron Smith, the Open champion from two years ago, struggled to a 9-over 80 — as did Tiger Woods with his 8-over 79.

Former major champions Wyndham Clark and Louis Oosthuizen joined McIlroy with 7-over 78s. Max Homa, Tommy Fleetwood, Tom Kim, Will Zalatoris and Sungjae Im all limped to 5-over 76s. Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland and Hideki Matsuyama weren't much better with their 4-over 75s.

Think about all the star power in that paragraph. If the current scores hold firm in the second round, every one of those names would be going home before the weekend.

That may not be ideal for the fans of those players, but this is exactly how major championships should play. We want to see double- and triple-bogeys when players make mistakes — not a -21 final score like we had at the PGA Championship.

It wasn't as if Royal Troon played unfairly difficult on Thursday. Shane Lowry fired a bogey-free 66 to take the outright lead at -5. Justin Thomas bounced back from a double to shoot a 3-under 68.

Xander Schauffele (-2), Scottie Scheffler (-1), Brooks Koepka (-1), Matt Fitzpatrick (-1), Tony Finau (E) and Jordan Spieth (E) are all lurking near the lead.

If you like golf for the birdie fests, feel free to sleep in and miss the action this weekend. But if you prefer major championships when the course fights back, this tournament is going to be right up your alley.

Jack Dougherty

Jack Dougherty has been writing professionally since 2015, contributing to publications such as GoPSUSports. com, Centre Daily Times, Associated Press, and Sportscasting. com

More must-reads: