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July 20 (UPI) — Tommy Fleetwood, Emiliano Grillo, and amateur Christo Lamprecht shot impressive 5-under-par 66s to secure a three-way tie for the lead after the first 18 holes of the 2023 Open Championship in Hoylake, England.
The prestigious tournament will continue at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club until Sunday, with the winner receiving a record-breaking prize of $3 million and the coveted Claret Jug.
“Finishing the day with such a strong performance feels great,” said Fleetwood. “I’ll take the time to rest up and prepare for tomorrow. It was a pretty good start to the tournament.”
Lamprecht, making his PGA Tour debut, played in the eighth group to tee off in the first round. The 22-year-old Georgia Tech senior highlighted his round with three birdies on the front nine, followed by four more birdies on the back nine, securing the clubhouse lead.
Fleetwood, aiming for his first major title, recorded six birdies and only one bogey to finish with a 66 and a share of the lead. The 21st-ranked player in the Official World Golf Ranking started the round with four consecutive pars before making birdies on the 5th and 7th holes, with a bogey on the 6th in between. He then played a flawless back nine, with a streak of four birdies over six holes.
Grillo, ranked No. 41, had a slow start with bogeys on two of the first three holes. He managed to bounce back with birdies on the 5th and 9th, finishing the front nine with an even-par 35. Grillo continued his strong performance on the back nine, birdieing two of the first three holes and closing the round strong with birdies on the 15th, 17th, and 18th holes, joining Fleetwood and Lamprecht at 5-under.
Antoine Rozner (No. 139), Adrian Otaegui (No. 95), and Brian Harman (No. 26) are tied for fourth place at 4-under. Tied for seventh place at 3-under are Stewart Cink, Alex Noren, Max Homa, Shubhankar Sharma, and 2023 U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark (No. 10).
Rory McIlroy (No. 2), the tournament favorite, finished his first 18 holes at even par and is tied for 32nd. No. 1 Scottie Scheffler finished 1-under and is tied for 18th with No. 4 Patrick Cantlay, No. 5 Viktor Hovland, No. 6 Xander Schauffele, No. 12 Brooks Koepka, and No. 51 Patrick Reed, among others.
Justin Thomas (No. 20) struggled throughout the first round, carding an 11-over 82 and tying for 154th place. Thomas, who has missed the third-round cut in two out of three majors this season, struggled with seven bogeys, including a quadruple bogey on the 18th hole.
The top 70 players and ties with the best scores at the end of the second round on Friday are expected to make the cut for the third round of the Open Championship.
Second-round tee times will start at 1:35 a.m. EDT on Friday in Hoylake, with Grillo teeing off alongside Sahith Theegala and Dustin Johnson at 3:25 a.m. Lamprecht, Louis Oosthuizen, and Joost Luiten will tee off at 7:53 a.m. Fleetwood, Scheffler, and Adam Scott (No. 39) will tee off at 9:48 a.m. Second-round coverage will start at 4 a.m. on Friday on USA Network.
Open Championship Schedule:
All times EDT
Friday:
Second-round coverage from 4 a.m. to 3 p.m. on USA Network
Saturday:
Third-round coverage from 5 to 7 a.m. on USA Network and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on NBC
Sunday:
Final round coverage from 4 to 7 a.m. on USA Network and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on NBC
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