What’s the biggest story after the first round of the British Open on Thursday? Scotland’s summer weather.
A strong southerly wind played havoc with players all day at Royal Troon. Temperatures were in the low 60s and occasional nasty drizzle didn’t help. All of this combined to produce a first-round scoring average of 74.45, a high score and an indication of just how difficult the course was on Thursday.
Only 17 players finished under par, but British player Daniel Brown, ranked 272nd in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), shot a six-under 65 to take control of the tournament after the first day.
However, many players admitted that they had never seen winds like this at Royal Troon before. Normally, the wind comes from the north, making the first six holes at Troon downwind and relatively easy compared to the rest of the course. However, players faced 20-25 gusts from the south, which is the exact opposite of the prevailing winds, which come from the north. This made the first six holes more difficult than usual and the back nine holes (one of the most difficult back nines in the world) downwind.
Nevertheless, the last nine holes frustrated the world’s best players.
“It’s not an easy golf course,” Jon Rahm said.
“You have to be really careful when the wind is blowing and understand how difficult it is.”
However, players will need to get used to the conditions on Friday as similar weather is expected to continue into the day. Light rain in the morning will subside before becoming cloudy in the afternoon. Winds gusting up to 30 mph will sweep across the course from the south for most of the day, but will pick up as the day progresses.
The first six holes will again be a tough day for players as fewer players are likely to be under par after 36 holes, so prepare to see more mayhem that will entertain golf fans around the world.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow For more golf articles, follow us on Twitter Jack Mirko In the same way.
