July 18-21
Royal Portrush GC, Portrush, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
$10,750,000
Live leaderboard
Round 2, Round 3, Round 4
World number one Brooks Koepka cruised into contention for a fifth major title in his last 10 starts as Rory McIlroyโs hopes of ending his five-year drought were effectively ended by two nightmare holes in the 148th Open.
At the venue where he announced himself as a star of the future with a course record of 61 aged 16, McIlroy began with an eight and finished with a seven in a demoralising opening 79 at Royal Portrush.
At eight over par McIlroy was 13 shots off the pace set by American JB Holmes, whose 66 gave him a one-shot lead over Irelandโs Shane Lowry, with Koepka part of a 13-strong group which included Scotlandโs Robert MacIntyre and the English trio of Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood and Lee Westwood.
McIlroy was not the only big name to struggle in the wind and rain, Masters champion Tiger Woods acknowledging his only birdie of the day on the 15th by licking his index finger and drawing a number one in the air in weary celebration.
😮
โ PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) 18 July 2019
So close.@BKoepka almost chipped in at the second hole.pic.twitter.com/kQqz4KkdpP
Woods eventually signed for a 78 to card his highest opening round in 21 Open appearances, three shots higher than his previous worst of 75 in 1996 when he was still an amateur.
Koepka finished second in the Masters in April, successfully defended his US PGA title the following month and was runner-up to Gary Woodland in the US Open at Pebble Beach in June.
No player in the modern era has placed in the top two in all four majors in a calendar year, but the 29-year-old made the most of the local knowledge of his caddie Ricky Elliott, who hails from Portrush, as he carded four birdies and one bogey in his 68.
โObviously he knows this golf course like the back of his hand,โ Koepka said.
โItโs fun. Itโs easy when heโs just standing on the tee telling you to hit it in this spot and I just listen to him. I donโt have to think much.
โIโve hit it unbelievable the last couple of days. Iโm very pleased with the way Iโm striking it. I feel good. I feel very comfortable. Itโs a major championship. Thatโs what youโre trying to peak for.โ
Lowryโs 67 was his best opening round in any major and came after a pub pep talk with his coach Neil Manchip on Wednesday.
โWe went for a coffee down at the Bushmills Inn and we found a little quiet room, we had a great chat for about 40 minutes,โ Lowry said.
โWe just put everything out in the open, everything out on the table, what could happen, what might happen.
โI left that room full of confidence and ready to go and itโs my best (opening major round) by about eight shots.
โThat was nice. It was nice to shoot a good score and hopefully I can go out and keep at it the next few days.โ
New Zealandโs Ryan Fox was part of the large group on three under after firing six birdies in the last seven holes to card the first back nine of 29 in Open history.
โIโve missed seven cuts in a row and to figure it out in a major is certainly nice,โ Fox said. โItโs the first round in a while where I had some fun and some control over the golf ball.โ
An understandably nervous McIlroy could certainly not say the same as he ran up a quadruple-bogey on the first after pulling his tee shot out of bounds on the 424-yard par four.
McIlroyโs wayward iron shot hit a female spectator and damaged a mobile phone in her pocket before ending up five feet outside the white posts which mark the internal out of bounds.
The four-time major winner then found the left rough with his second attempt and hacked his fourth shot into a bush from where he took a penalty drop, chipped to seven feet and two-putted for a demoralising eight.
Another shot went at the third before McIlroy birdied the seventh and ninth to reach the turn in three over, but after six straight pars he three-putted from five feet to double bogey the 16th and then ran up a triple-bogey seven on the 18th to complete a miserable day.
โIโd be disappointed regardless, whether it was here or St Andrews or Birkdale or any of the other tournaments or majors,โ McIlroy said.
โSo, yeah, Iโm disappointed, but at the end of the day Iโm still the same person.
โIโm going to go back and see my family, see my friends, and hopefully they donโt think any less of me after a performance like that today. And Iโll dust myself off and come back out tomorrow and try to do better.โ
Pos. |
Player | Nat |
To Par |
R1 |
1 |
J. B. Holmes | USA |
-5 |
66 |
2 |
Shane Lowry | IRL |
-4 |
67 |
T3 |
Alexander Noren | SWE |
-3 |
68 |
T3 |
Sergio Garcia | ESP |
-3 |
68 |
T3 |
Webb Simpson | USA |
-3 |
68 |
T3 |
Dylan Frittelli | RSA |
-3 |
68 |
T3 |
Robert MacIntyre | SCO |
-3 |
68 |
T3 |
Kiradech Aphibarnrat | THA |
-3 |
68 |
T3 |
Ryan Fox | NZL |
-3 |
68 |
T3 |
Tyrrell Hatton | ENG |
-3 |
68 |
T3 |
Tommy Fleetwood | ENG |
-3 |
68 |
T3 |
Brooks Koepka | USA |
-3 |
68 |
T3 |
Lee Westwood | ENG |
-3 |
68 |
T3 |
Tony Finau | USA |
-3 |
68 |
T3 |
Jon Rahm | ESP |
-3 |
68 |
T16 |
Romain Langasque | FRA |
-2 |
69 |
T16 |
Justin Rose | ENG |
-2 |
69 |
T16 |
Sang-Hyun Park | KOR |
-2 |
69 |
T16 |
Ashton Turner | ENG |
-2 |
69 |
T20 |
Charley Hoffman | USA |
-1 |
70 |
T20 |
Andrew Putnam | USA |
-1 |
70 |
T20 |
Eddie Pepperell | ENG |
-1 |
70 |
T20 |
Branden Grace | RSA |
-1 |
70 |
T20 |
Henrik Stenson | SWE |
-1 |
70 |
T20 |
Bernd Wiesberger | AUT |
-1 |
70 |
T20 |
Russell Knox | SCO |
-1 |
70 |
T20 |
Kevin Kisner | USA |
-1 |
70 |
T20 |
Rickie Fowler | USA |
-1 |
70 |
T20 |
Si-Woo Kim | KOR |
-1 |
70 |
T20 |
Callum Shinkwin | ENG |
-1 |
70 |
T20 |
Rory Sabbatini | SVK |
-1 |
70 |
T20 |
Erik Van Rooyen | RSA |
-1 |
70 |
T20 |
Louis Oosthuizen | RSA |
-1 |
70 |
T20 |
Shubhankar Sharma | IND |
-1 |
70 |
T20 |
Jordan Spieth | USA |
-1 |
70 |
T20 |
Cameron Smith | AUS |
-1 |
70 |
T20 |
Lucas Bjerregaard | DNK |
-1 |
70 |
T20 |
Jason Day | AUS |
-1 |
70 |
T20 |
Matt Kuchar | USA |
-1 |
70 |
T20 |
Patrick Cantlay | USA |
-1 |
70 |
T20 |
Yuki Inamori | JPN |
-1 |
70 |
T42 |
Darren Clarke | NIR |
Par |
71 |
T42 |
James Sugrue | IRL |
Par |
71 |
T42 |
Zander Lombard | RSA |
Par |
71 |
T42 |
Matthew Fitzpatrick | ENG |
Par |
71 |
T42 |
Sung-Jae Im | KOR |
Par |
71 |
T42 |
Hideki Matsuyama | JPN |
Par |
71 |
T42 |
Mikumu Horikawa | JPN |
Par |
71 |
T42 |
Justin Thomas | USA |
Par |
71 |
T42 |
Justin Harding | RSA |
Par |
71 |
T42 |
Ernie Els | RSA |
Par |
71 |
T42 |
Patrick Reed | USA |
Par |
71 |
T42 |
Doc Redman | USA |
Par |
71 |
T54 |
Bubba Watson | USA |
1 |
72 |
T54 |
Curtis Knipes | ENG |
1 |
72 |
T54 |
Mikko Korhonen | FIN |
1 |
72 |
T54 |
Connor Syme | SCO |
1 |
72 |
T54 |
Corey Conners | CAN |
1 |
72 |
T54 |
Paul Casey | ENG |
1 |
72 |
T54 |
In-Choon Hwang | KOR |
1 |
72 |
T54 |
Thomas Pieters | BEL |
1 |
72 |
T54 |
Thorbjorn Olesen | DEN |
1 |
72 |
T54 |
Aaron Wise | USA |
1 |
72 |
T54 |
Brandon Stone | RSA |
1 |
72 |
T54 |
Lucas Glover | USA |
1 |
72 |
T54 |
Nino Bertasio | ITA |
1 |
72 |
T54 |
Abraham Ancer | USA |
1 |
72 |
T54 |
Brian Harman | USA |
1 |
72 |
T54 |
Dustin Johnson | USA |
1 |
72 |
T54 |
Gunn Charoenkul | THA |
1 |
72 |
T54 |
Yosuke Asaji | JPN |
1 |
72 |
T72 |
Emiliano Grillo | ARG |
2 |
73 |
T72 |
Alexander Levy | FRA |
2 |
73 |
T72 |
Brandon Wu | USA |
2 |
73 |
T72 |
Rafael Cabrera Bello | ESP |
2 |
73 |
T72 |
Andrea Pavan | ITA |
2 |
73 |
T72 |
Andrew Johnston | ENG |
2 |
73 |
T72 |
Oliver Wilson | ENG |
2 |
73 |
T72 |
Graeme McDowell | NIR |
2 |
73 |
T72 |
Jim Furyk | USA |
2 |
73 |
T72 |
Luke List | USA |
2 |
73 |
T72 |
Benjamin Hebert | FRA |
2 |
73 |
T72 |
Prom Meesawat | THA |
2 |
73 |
T72 |
Byeong-Hun An | KOR |
2 |
73 |
T72 |
Chris Wood | ENG |
2 |
73 |
T72 |
Shaun Norris | RSA |
2 |
73 |
T72 |
Chez Reavie | USA |
2 |
73 |
T72 |
Takumi Kanaya | JPN |
2 |
73 |
T72 |
Joost Luiten | NED |
2 |
73 |
T72 |
Keegan Bradley | USA |
2 |
73 |
T72 |
Matt Wallace | ENG |
2 |
73 |
T72 |
Adrian Otaegui | ESP |
2 |
73 |
T72 |
Patton Kizzire | USA |
2 |
73 |
T94 |
Sung-Hoon Kang | KOR |
3 |
74 |
T94 |
Christiaan Bezuidenhout | RSA |
3 |
74 |
T94 |
Ryan Palmer | USA |
3 |
74 |
T94 |
Xander Schauffele | USA |
3 |
74 |
T94 |
Haotong Li | CHN |
3 |
74 |
T94 |
Jason Kokrak | USA |
3 |
74 |
T94 |
Zach Johnson | USA |
3 |
74 |
T94 |
Bryson DeChambeau | USA |
3 |
74 |
T94 |
Francesco Molinari | ITA |
3 |
74 |
T94 |
Gary Woodland | USA |
3 |
74 |
T94 |
Jimmy Walker | USA |
3 |
74 |
T94 |
Stewart Cink | USA |
3 |
74 |
T94 |
Kurt Kitayama | USA |
3 |
74 |
T94 |
Jazz Janewattananond | THA |
3 |
74 |
T94 |
Danny Willett | ENG |
3 |
74 |
T94 |
Adam Hadwin | CAN |
3 |
74 |
T94 |
David Lipsky | USA |
3 |
74 |
T94 |
Brandt Snedeker | USA |
3 |
74 |
T94 |
Doyeob Mun | KOR |
3 |
74 |
T113 |
Chan Kim | USA |
4 |
75 |
T113 |
Padraig Harrington | IRL |
4 |
75 |
T113 |
Sam Locke | SCO |
4 |
75 |
T113 |
Kyle Stanley | USA |
4 |
75 |
T113 |
Ian Poulter | ENG |
4 |
75 |
T113 |
Austin Connelly | CAN |
4 |
75 |
T113 |
Paul Waring | ENG |
4 |
75 |
T113 |
Nate Lashley | USA |
4 |
75 |
T113 |
Jack Senior | ENG |
4 |
75 |
T113 |
Adria Arnaus | ESP |
4 |
75 |
T113 |
Keith Mitchell | USA |
4 |
75 |
T113 |
Paul Lawrie | SCO |
4 |
75 |
T113 |
Tom Lewis | ENG |
4 |
75 |
T113 |
Isidro Benitez | MEX |
4 |
75 |
T113 |
Yoshinori Fujimoto | JPN |
4 |
75 |
T128 |
Andy Sullivan | ENG |
5 |
76 |
T128 |
Matthias Schmid | 5 |
76 |
|
T128 |
Phil Mickelson | USA |
5 |
76 |
T128 |
Joaquin Niemann | CHI |
5 |
76 |
T128 |
Jorge Campillo | ESP |
5 |
76 |
T128 |
Joel Dahmen | USA |
5 |
76 |
T128 |
Jake McLeod | AUS |
5 |
76 |
T128 |
Dong-Kyu Jang | KOR |
5 |
76 |
T128 |
Billy Horschel | USA |
5 |
76 |
T128 |
Robert Rock | ENG |
5 |
76 |
T128 |
Yuta Ikeda | JPN |
5 |
76 |
T128 |
Andrew Wilson | ENG |
5 |
76 |
T140 |
Michael Lorenzo-Vera | FRA |
6 |
77 |
T140 |
Cheng Tsung Pan | TPE |
6 |
77 |
T140 |
Alexander Bjoerk | SWE |
6 |
77 |
T140 |
Kevin Streelman | USA |
6 |
77 |
T144 |
Richard Sterne | RSA |
7 |
78 |
T144 |
Adam Scott | AUS |
7 |
78 |
T144 |
Matthew Baldwin | ENG |
7 |
78 |
T144 |
Tom Lehman | USA |
7 |
78 |
T144 |
Marc Leishman | AUS |
7 |
78 |
T144 |
Tiger Woods | USA |
7 |
78 |
T150 |
Rory McIlroy | NIR |
8 |
79 |
T150 |
Garrick Porteous | ENG |
8 |
79 |
152 |
Miguel Angel Jimenez | ESP |
11 |
82 |
T153 |
Thomas Thurloway | ENG |
12 |
83 |
T153 |
Shugo Imahira | JPN |
12 |
83 |
T153 |
Dimitrios Papadatos | AUS |
12 |
83 |
156 |
David Duval | USA |
20 |
91 |