Open Británico: 5 Leaders After 18 Holes, Biggest Tie Since 1938

The British Open Golf Championship, held in Portrush, Northern Ireland, offered a diverse spectacle on Thursday, with changing weather conditions that included sun, rain, and strong gusts of wind. Amidst this scenario, Scottie Scheffler remained firm in the competition. Former US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick highlighted by holing a chip for birdie on the 16th hole, known as “Calamity Corner”. Harris English, with his short game coach in the bag due to visa issues for his usual caddie, made seven birdies. Both golfers joined three other players to lead the tournament with a score of 4-under-par 67, setting the most leaders after 18 holes since 1938, when there was a six-way tie. Scheffler, world number one and with an impressive streak of results in recent months, was one stroke away with a card of 68, despite hitting only three of the 14 fairways. Rory McIlroy, for his part, had a complicated start with a bogey on the first hole, but managed to recover and finish with a 70, three strokes better than his start in 2019. Despite hitting only two fairways, McIlroy got a crucial birdie on the 17th hole. The difficult weather conditions, typical of golf on links courses, played an important role, with intermittent rain and constant wind that prolonged the rounds to almost six hours. Jacob Skov Olesen, British amateur champion last year, was the first to reach 5 under par, but a bogey on the last hole relegated him to a score of 67, tying with Haotong Li of China and Matt Fitzpatrick. Christiaan Bezuidenhout was the only player in the afternoon to join the group of leaders with 67. It is the first time in the history of a major championship that five different countries are represented by the co-leaders after any round. Fitzpatrick, who seems to have overcome a slump in his game, is coming off a tie for fourth place at last week’s Scottish Open. His chip-in was the highlight of his round.

A little bit of luck, obviously. Sometimes you need that. It came out a little bit stronger than I anticipated and on the perfect line.

Matt Fitzpatrick

Li, for his part, had an impressive round without bogeys, including a 10-foot putt for par on the last hole.

Justin Rose, 44, also had a bogey-free round, finishing with 69. That group included Lee Westwood, 52, former Open champion Brian Harman, and Lucas Glover. English and Olesen were the only players to reach 5 under par at any point in the round. Harris English had Ramon Bescansa, a former player and putting and chipping coach, as his caddie. His usual caddie, Eric Larson, was unable to obtain the necessary visa for the United Kingdom due to a prior conviction. English is at a crucial moment of the season, seeking a place on the Ryder Cup team. Despite the circumstances, he has handled the situation with ease. “I was really looking forward to coming this week, and immediately after playing the course, I really liked it,” said English, who didn’t qualify for the Open when it was played at Portrush in 2019. “I loved how it frames the tee shots and you can see a lot more danger than you would on a normal links course.” Adapting to the conditions was a challenge, with the need to use sweaters and raincoats. Some finished their rounds in short sleeves, reflecting the “mixed” nature of the weather. Xander Schauffele, the defending champion, had a round with birdies and bogeys, finishing with 71. Shane Lowry, the last Open champion at Royal Portrush in 2019, felt the nerves when making the first shot, but handled the situation well and finished with 70.

We are going to have challenging conditions in the coming days. Today, for example, hole 11 was the worst for the weather we had. … I think there will be moments in the tournament where that will happen, and you just need to put your head down and fight to see where it leaves you.

Shane Lowry

Padraig Harrington, two-time Open champion, had the honor of hitting the first tee shot at the 153rd edition of the championship. He birdied, but finished with 74.