The Open :: Neeps & Tatties :: Round 1

A generous portion of tasty morsels
served direct from the Open at Royal Liverpool

Rise and shine

He was first out in the Open at 6.25am but David Howell insists that he has had an even earlier tee time before today. “I think I had a start in Australia at 6am or something ridiculous,” he said. “It doesn’t a lot earlier than that, I would say.”

World domination

Four players have an extra incentive to win this week, with Adam Scott’s position as world No.1 under threat from Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose, Bubba Watson and Jason Day. A win for any of them will, depending on Scott’s performance, catapult them to the top of the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time.

Swede nothings

Some journalists just love a challenge…

Like, really love a challenge…

Work shy

It’s fair to say factor worker John Singleton doesn’t fancy going back to the day job next week after making his Open debut. But that’s alright – his boss doesn’t want him there either! “He basically said to me, ‘I don’t think I’ve ever wanted someone not to come back to work on a Monday’,” revealed aspiring tour pro Singleton.

Brad habits

Keegan Bradley’s pre-shot routine was summed up perfectly by one spectator today. “He looks like he’s getting ready to do the high jump,” said the voice in the crowd. Spot on!

The height of cheek

As Rory was putting together a superb six-under 66 opening round, his ex-fiancee Caroline Wozniacki was out painting the town red in Istanbul. And, in a not too subtle dig at her 5ft 9in former golf beau, the 5ft 10in Dane tweeted this…

Another good way to show him what he’s missing? Winning a tennis tournament.

There’s always tomorrow…

… of course, depending on how you look at it, that could either be an opportunity for redemption or further humiliation for young Bryden Macpherson. The former Amateur champion is propping up the leaderboard after shooting an 18-over-par round of 90. Ninety. That’s eight shots worse than the next worst score.

The Open: Quote of the Day

“It’s better than any day I had in the hospital.” – Double heart transplantee Erik Compton is philosophical after opening with a one-under 71.

Fairway to heaven

Henrik Stenson led the field in ‘Fairways Hit’ after round one. According to the official stats people, he hit 92.66% of them. He also topped the charts in ‘Clubs Broken’…

Dodgy driver

Even-par seemed like a poor score by Justin Rose’ recent high standards. Turns out there was a very good reason for it, though. He started the day without his driver. A mix-up yesterday resulted in his club being given to one of his caddie’s friends and driven to Bedford. He had it returned to him, though, by the time he reached the third hole. “It was a comedic start to the day, no doubt,” said the Scottish Open champion.

The Open :: Discuss the action

Join the discussion on our forum and share your thoughts on the Open Championship. Click here to get involved.

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor