Golf: Denmark's Thomas Bjorn took advantage of his late call-up to take the early lead in the first round at the British Open, only to be joined on five under at Royal St George's by British amateur Tom Lewis, who scorched home late on in the day to also card a 65.
It was the lowest-ever round by an amateur in the 140-year history of the championship from 20-year-old Lewis, a qualifier from the same Welwyn Garden City club that produced Nick Faldo.
The two players have contrasting emotions from their last competitions at the fames Sandwich links. Eight years ago, Bjorn led by three with four to play before stumbling horribly over the closing stretch and losing by one to shock winner Ben Curtis.
Lewis, the first amateur to share the lead in the event since Michael Bonallack at Carnoustie in 1968, won the British boys title two years ago and earned a return trip by winning a final qualifying event down the coast at Rye two weeks ago.
His 65 beats by one the previous amateur record set by American Frank Stranahan in 1950 and subsequently matched by Tiger Woods in 1996 and Justin Rose two years later.
Bjorn and Lewis were a shot clear of the American duo of Lucas Glover and Webb Simpson, while Spanish veteran Miguel Angel Jimenez was also on four under.
Much of the talk in the build-up had centred on favourite Rory McIlroy after his stunning success at the US Open, but it was his Ulster comrades, Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell, that got the job done today as they both posted 68s to sit three off the lead. Pádraig opened with two bogeys and also carded a double bogey on the 15th in a three-over-par 73.
McIlroy was rusty early on in his first competitive round since he won the US Open in Washington last month, running up scrappy bogeys on the first and third and having to sink some lengthy par putts.
A birdie at the eight helped him turn in one-over 36 but he let another shot slip on the 13th as he headed for home. A birdie on the 17th as reward for some good approach work over the closing holes as he signed for a one-over 71.
McIlroy admitted afterwards that he failed to get the measure of Sandwich’s notoriously difficult greens, but was happy enough with his opening day’s work.
“I struggled a bit with my speed all day on the greens, but it was a day where you just needed to grind out a score and anywhere around even par was a good start.
“On a day like this I know better than most people you can shoot a high number and put yourself out of the golf tournament, so it was nice to go out and shoot a decent score. I feel like if you keep it around level par this week you’re going to have a good chance.”
The Holywood golfer received a thunderous reception when he walked to the first tee just after 9.0am, but his poor start helped him focus on the job in hand.
“The support was great. I probably didn’t take it in as much as I could have I was just trying to concentrate on that first tee shot and get that out of the way.
“I didn’t hit the fairway on the first and it was going to be very difficult to stop it anywhere close to that pin.
“And on three I got a little bit unlucky. I hit the downslope with my tee shotand it ran through the back and into not a great lie.”
Bjorn’s 65 had long finished when Lewis teed off just after 2.30pm, but he started making inroads with a two at the 240-yard third.
Conditions were kind to the late starters, with rain clearing away and the wind speed dropping, but nobody made hay like the youngster.
He got up and down from a bunker at the long seventh, then added another birdie at the 453-yard next to turn in 32.
It looked as if he might fall back into the pack when he bogeyed the 11th and 13th, but then came an incredible four birdies in a row. The last of them was a 20-footer that brought him alongside Bjorn and he then chipped to five feet on the last and made it to stay there.
Ben Curtis, the player who profited from Bjorn’s collapse eight years ago, had a disastrous opening round, carding nine bogeys and two birdies in a seven-over 77.
The comeback of the first round came from big-hitting Dustin Johnson. Four over standing on the 14th tee, the American hit back-to-back birdies followed by a hole-in-one at the 16th.
He then birdied the 17th to go under par for his round, before a bogey at the last saw him sign for a 70.
McDowell also had a storming finish, making birdie at the final two holes as he came home in 31 shots.
FINAL FIRST ROUND SCORES
(Par 70, British and Irish unless stated)
65Thomas Bjorn (Den), Tom Lewis
66Lucas Glover (USA), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Esp), Webb Simpson (USA)
68Jeff Overton (USA), Graeme McDowell, Kyle Stanley (USA), Ryan Palmer (USA), Martin Kaymer (Ger), Darren Clarke, Simon Dyson, Pablo Larrazabal (Esp), Ricky Barnes (USA), Jung-Gon Hwang (Kor), Kurt Barnes (Aus), Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe)
69Seung-yul Noh (Kor), Anders Hansen (Den), Danny Willett, Robert Rock, Chad Campbell (USA), Alexander Noren (Swe), Edoardo Molinari (Ita), Steve Stricker (USA), Adam Scott (Aus), Richard McEvoy, Bubba Watson (USA), George Coetzee (Rsa), JB Holmes (USA), Mark Calcavecchia (USA), Robert Allenby (Aus), Yuta Ikeda (Jpn), Ian Poulter, Ryan Moore (USA)
70Floris De Vries (Ned), Tadahiro Takayama (Jpn), Peter Whiteford, Davis Love III (USA), Sergio Garcia (Spa), Stewart Cink (USA), Graeme Storm, Phil Mickelson (USA), Dustin Johnson (USA), Justin Leonard (USA), Trevor Immelman (Rsa), Fredrik Jacobson (Swe), Stephen Gallacher, Richard Green (Aus), Rickie Fowler (USA)
71Ross Fisher, Bryden Macpherson (Aus), Kenneth Ferrie, Charles Howell III (USA), Gary Boyd, Ben Crane (USA), Peter Uihlein (USA), Rory McIlroy, Matthew Millar (Aus), Lee Westwood, Y.E. Yang (Kor), Jason Day (Aus), Rory Sabbatini (Rsa), Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Tom Lehman (USA), Simon Khan, K J Choi (Kor), Adam Wootton, Camilo Villegas (Col), Luke Donald
72Spencer Levin (USA), Charley Hoffman (USA), Harrison Frazar (USA), Robert Karlsson (Swe), John Daly (USA), Prom Meesawat (Tha), Justin Rose, Bill Haas (USA), Lee Corfield, Ernie Els (Rsa), Martin Laird, Henrik Stenson (Swe), Gregory Havret (Fra), Zach Johnson (USA), Tom Watson (USA), Angel Cabrera (Arg), Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Anthony Kim (USA), Jim Furyk (USA), Sang-moon Bae (Kor)
73Francesco Molinari (Ita), Joost Luiten (Ned), Matteo Manassero (Ita), Peter Hanson (Swe), Sean O'Hair (USA), Alejandro Canizares (Spa), Bo Van Pelt (USA), Sandy Lyle, Neil Schietekat (Rsa), Lucas Bjerregaard (Den), Thorbjorn Olesen (Den), Paul Lawrie, Mark Laskey, Gregory Bourdy (Fra), Martin Maritz (Rsa), Padraig Harrington
74Andrew Johnston, Nick Watney (USA), Thomas Aiken (Rsa), Robert Garrigus (USA), Thomas Shadbolt, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus), Simon Lilly, Steve Marino (USA), Bob Estes (USA), Nathan Green (Aus), Jerry Kelly (USA), Jason Dufner (USA), Matt Kuchar (USA), Mark Wilson (USA), Raphael Jacquelin (Fra), Kevin Na (USA), Ryo Ishikawa (Jpn), Rick Kulacz (Aus), Paul Casey
75Bernhard Langer (Ger), Brian Davis, Gary Woodland (USA), Rhys Davies, Jason Knutzon (USA), Scott Jamieson, Hiroyuki Fujita (Jpn), Kyung-Tae Kim (Kor), Alvaro Quiros (Spa), Thongchai Jaidee (Tha), Hiroo Kawai (Jpn), Hunter Mahan (USA), Tetsuji Hiratsuka (Jpn), Jonathan Byrd (USA), Brandt Snedeker (USA)
76Retief Goosen (Rsa), Mark O'Meara (USA), Prayad Marksaeng (Tha), Chih-bing Lam (Sin), Kevin Streelman (USA)
77Aaron Baddeley (Aus), Chris Tidland (USA), Francis McGuirk, Markus Brier (Aut), Ben Curtis (USA), Todd Hamilton (USA), Brad Kennedy (Aus)
78David Duval (USA)
81Andy Smith
82Simon Edwards (USA), Craig Hinton
