ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — The strangest thing happened overnight here, sometime before light fell across the Old Course on Thursday morning.
A rain in which Noah himself might have felt comfortable turned to drizzle, then to mist, then disappeared altogether, taking the morning off. A wind that howled in off the North Sea somehow tired, blowing itself into oblivion, resting in the hours before noon.
What remained, when the British Open began, would have seemed unfathomable just 12 hours before: calm.
“It felt awkward because there was absolutely no wind whatsoever,” Tiger Woods said. “And you never play a links golf course with no wind.”
This from a guy whose tee time was 9:09 a.m., when the flags fell limp. At that hour, an accomplished player could shoot 5-under-par 67, as Woods did, and carry a tinge of disappointment because, as he said, “the course could have been had.”
At that hour, a player as talented as Rory McIlroy — the 21-year-old from Northern Ireland defined by his hair and his flair — could threaten the record for low score in a major championship and end up tying it with a simple-as-can-be 9-under 63, a round that was perhaps equally due to St. Andrews’ utter vulnerability as it was to McIlroy’s superior play.
“You’re never going to get St. Andrews to play easier,” he said.
At the moment McIlroy spoke, it was just after 1 p.m. And perhaps right then, the flags atop the grandstands awoke. With that, so did the Old Course.
The first round of the British Open yielded a leaderboard with some of the right names, McIlroy and Woods among them, and many surprising ones, none more so than John Daly, the 1995 champion here who managed a 6-under 66 despite what would have to be considered the distraction of his own multicolored pants.
The usual array of who-the-heck-is-that characters also joined the fray, with Louis Oosthuizen — a South African who has never finished better than 73rd in a major — coming closest to matching McIlroy with a 65.
Scotland’s Andrew Coltart, who spent the past two Opens working as a television analyst because he didn’t qualify to play, matched Daly with a 66, as did England’s Steven Tiley, who had to win a three-man playoff in a qualifying event just to be here. The common thread among that diverse group: They all began play before noon.
Indeed, of the 16 players who shot 67 or better, 14 teed off before 1 p.m. By the time Masters champion Phil Mickelson, who had a 2:20 p.m. tee time, reached the 16th tee, the wind had turned a fan’s umbrella inside-out. When Mickelson made his only birdie of the day at 18 — he had a double bogey and 16 pars en route to 73 — it was raining.
Such was the distinction between a.m. and p.m. that Englishman Paul Casey and Argentina’s Angel Cabrera, who went out at 1:31 p.m., endured a squall as they reached the 17th green, let it pass, and then lamented their bad fortune.
“He felt it was four shots tougher this afternoon,” Casey said of Cabrera, “although we’ve got no way of measuring.”
McIlroy and the other leaders aren’t as concerned about such measuring. Daly set the tone shortly after his 7:25 a.m. start.
Wearing an outfit that only he could assemble — a hat that didn’t match his sweater vest, a sweater vest that didn’t match his shirt, and a shirt that didn’t match his pants — he began with two birdies, then birdied 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11.
Considering Daly is ranked 455th in the world, considering he has been suspended repeatedly by the PGA Tour, considering he had gastric band surgery to deal with his burgeoning weight, there was little reason to believe he could shoot 66. But considering he’s at St. Andrews, maybe it was reasonable.
“It’s a special place,” Daly said. “It’s my favorite course all over the world.”
McIlroy is cognizant enough of his game that he can reel off the competitive rounds he has played on the Old Course — none previously in an Open — without a tremendous amount of thought: 69, 69, 67, 68, 67, 68, 65, 69, and Thursday’s 63.
“I’ve played so well around here before,” he said, “I feel as if I’ve got a great chance.”
63 a major feat
Players who have scored 63s in a major championship, with round, year and course:
MASTERS (Augusta)
• Greg Norman (first round) 1996
• Nick Price (3) 1986
U.S. OPEN
• Vijay Singh (2) 2003, Olympia Fields
• Jack Nicklaus (1) 1980, Baltusrol
• Tom Weiskopf (1) 1980, Baltusrol
• Johnny Miller (4) 1973, Oakmont
BRITISH OPEN
• Rory McIlroy (1) 2010, St. Andrews
• Payne Stewart (4) 1993, Royal St. George
• Nick Faldo (2) 1993, Royal St. George
• Jodie Mudd (4) 1991, Royal Birkdale
• Paul Broadhurst (3) 1990, St. Andrews
• Greg Norman (2) 1986, Turnberry
• Isao Aoki (3) 1980, Muirfield
• Mark Hayes (2) 1977, Turnberry
PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
• Tiger Woods (2) 2007, Southern Hills
• Thomas Bjorn (3) 2005, Baltusrol
• Mark O’Meara (2) 2001, Atlanta Athletic Club
• Jose Maria Olazabal (3) 2000, Valhalla
• Brad Faxon (4) 1995, Riviera
• Michael Bradley (1) 1995, Riviera
• Vijay Singh (2) 1993, Inverness
• Gary Player (2) 1984, Shoal Creek
• Ray Floyd (1) 1982, Southern Hills
• Bruce Crampton (2) 1975, Firestone
The Associated Press
Bests
Just missed.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland shot a 9-under-par 63, but it could’ve been better. He missed a short birdie putt on No. 17. No one has ever shot a 62 in a major championship.
Frustrated but happy.
John Daly, right, was 7-under after 11 holes. He could have gone even lower, but he lipped out three birdie putts on the back nine and wound up with a 66.
St. Andrews’ weather.
The course was soft after 2 inches of rain fell Wednesday, and the wind didn’t pick up until the afternoon. The forecast for the next three rounds calls for windy conditions with a good chance of rain.
The Associated Press
Worsts
Barely there.
Phil Mickelson had all pars until he double-bogeyed the 13th, then managed a birdie on the last hole on his way to a 1-over-par 73.
Watson slide.
Tom Watson, last year’s British Open star even though he didn’t win, didn’t fare as well this time. He made three straight bogeys on the front side and shot a 73.
Tiger off course.
Thursday was the first time in his last eight British Open rounds at St. Andrews that Tiger Woods was not leading.
Monty blows up.
Colin Montgomerie was even par when he came to the 17th hole. Then he hit his drive out of bounds and his fourth shot into the deep Road Hole bunker, getting up and down for a six. He finished with a par on 18 and posted a 74.
The Associated Press
