The highest two finishers on the 2024 U.S. Open had been among the many worst performers within the first spherical of the 2024 Open Championship on Thursday. Recent off an all-time battle at Pinehurst No. 2, Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy opened the ultimate main of the season with respective rounds of 5-over 76 and 7-over 78. Their totals got here in above the course common of 74.84 as troublesome scoring situations engulfed Royal Troon.
DeChambeau entered The Open as one among two gamers (Xander Schauffele) to complete inside the highest 10 throughout the primary three main championships of the season. Whereas The Open has at all times posed an issue for DeChambeau with the large hitter having completed inside the highest 10 simply as soon as throughout six prior efforts, the American got here to Scotland with a renewed sense of confidence given his performances up to now this season.
That confidence took a success instantly as DeChambeau dropped a shot on his opening gap after initially splitting the golf green and discovering the inexperienced along with his first two strikes of the championship. His ball-striking solely went downhill from there as he didn’t hit a inexperienced in regulation throughout his subsequent 5 holes.
Throughout this stretch, the squares piled up on DeChambeau’s scorecard with bogeys on Nos. 3-4 and a double-bogey 7 on the par-5 sixth. Simply six holes into his championship, DeChambeau discovered himself at 5 over and forward of only a few names that primarily consisted of old-time previous champions. One other bogey a pair holes later made it so the 30-year-old turned in 42 and put a sub-80 spherical in play.
He settled into the center portion of his spherical, nevertheless, rattling off six straight pars at one stage. One other sq. got here on No. 15 earlier than DeChambeau’s lone par breaker arrived on his scorecard due to a prolonged eagle on the par-5 sixteenth. All in all, it added as much as a 76 for the U.S. Open champion as his quest to determine the Open riddle continues.
“It is a fully completely different take a look at. I did not get any apply in [this wind direction], and I did not actually play a lot within the rain,” DeChambeau stated. “Yeah, it is a troublesome take a look at out right here, one thing I am not acquainted with. I by no means grew up taking part in it, and to not say that that is the rationale; I completed eighth at St Andrews. I can do it when it is heat and never windy.”
McIlroy’s mundane spherical was extra of a sluggish bleed and a consequence of two holes specifically. After making bogey on No. 1, Rory maneuvered his strategy into the par-4 third to entry a considerably tucked pin on the left aspect of the inexperienced to arrange his first birdie of the spherical. He remained at even par up till the par-3 eighth, a gap generally generally known as the Postage Stamp.
The four-time main champion’s tee shot initially discovered the placing floor however slowly trickled into the greenside bunker proper of the inexperienced. Leaving his second at his toes, McIlroy’s third discovered the inexperienced about 20 toes away from the pin. A two putt resulted in a double bogey and put the Northern Irishman on his again foot.
Opening his second 9 by including one other sq. on his scorecard, McIlroy determined to push the envelope on the tough par-4 eleventh by hitting driver. Dropping his tee shot proper, McIlroy’s ball discovered the railway tracks leading to a reload off the tee. A double bogey was carded, and his identify drifted to five over, all as a consequence of this four-hole stretch.
Tacking on two extra bogeys in his subsequent seven holes, together with one on the final, McIlroy signed for his 78. It represents the fourth-highest rating in his Open profession and his third-highest within the opening spherical — solely outdone by 79s carded in 2013 at Muirfield and 2019 at Royal Portrush.
Each DeChambeau and McIlroy will now flip their attentions to Friday afternoon when they may start their second rounds. It’s probably they may discover their names simply across the cutline as each search to play their means into the weekend for the fourth time this yr at a significant championship.