British Open Leaderboard
Zach Johnson 31-35—66 -5
Rafael Cabrera-Bello 34-33—67 -4
Mark O'Meara 31-36—67 -4
Miguel A. Jimenez 31-37—68 -3
Dustin Johnson 32-36—68 -3
Brandt Snedeker 36-32—68 -3
Tom Lehman 35-33—68 -3
Shiv Kapur 30-38—68 -3
Todd Hamilton 36-33—69 -2
Phil Mickelson 35-34—69 -2
Angel Cabrera 34-35—69 -2
Jordan Spieth 35-34—69 -2
Tiger Woods 37-32—69 -2
Francesco Molinari 36-33—69 -2
Oliver Fisher 34-36—70 -1
Bubba Watson 36-34—70 -1
G. Fernandez-Castano37-33—70 -1
Ken Duke 36-34—70 -1
Martin Laird 33-37—70 -1
Henrik Stenson 36-34—70 -1
Thomas Aiken 35-36—71 E
Bernd Wiesberger 35-36—71 E
Hideki Matsuyama 36-35—71 E
a-Jimmy Mullen 34-37—71 E
Gareth Wright 36-35—71 E
Adam Scott 36-35—71 E
Kiradech Aphibarnrat 35-37—72 +1
Mikko Ilonen 35-37—72 +1
Stewart Cink 34-38—72 +1
Jimmy Walker 34-38—72 +1
Jonas Blixt 36-36—72 +1
Marc Warren 36-36—72 +1
Martin Kaymer 35-37—72 +1
Jason Dufner 36-36—72 +1
Ian Poulter 34-38—72 +1
Tim Clark 38-34—72 +1
Camilo Villegas 36-36—72 +1
Mark Calcavecchia 39-33—72 +1
Josh Teater 36-36—72 +1
Steven Tiley 34-38—72 +1
Freddie Jacobson 36-36—72 +1
Michael Thompson 35-37—72 +1
Darren Clarke 36-36—72 +1
Ryan Moore 34-38—72 +1
Lee Westwood 36-36—72 +1
Hunter Mahan 35-37—72 +1
Richard McEvoy 36-37—73 +2
Jason Day 36-37—73 +2
Shingo Kayatama 35-38—73 +2
Thomas Bjorn 37-36—73 +2
K.T. Kim 35-38—73 +2
Johnson Wagner 38-35—73 +2
Marcus Fraser 37-36—73 +2
a-Grant Forrest 37-36—73 +2
a-Matthew Fitzpatrick34-39—73 +2
Padraig Harrington 35-38—73 +2
Webb Simpson 36-37—73 +2
Eduardo de la Riva 40-33—73 +2
Peter Senior 37-37—74 +3
Bud Cauley 38-36—74 +3
Ben Curtis 35-39—74 +3
Shane Lowry 36-38—74 +3
Carl Pettersson 37-37—74 +3
Ernie Els 37-37—74 +3
Billy Horschel 37-37—74 +3
Scott Piercy 36-38—74 +3
Kevin Streelman 37-37—74 +3
John Huh 37-37—74 +3
John Wade 38-36—74 +3
Oscar Floren 36-38—74 +3
Boo Weekley 39-35—74 +3
Justin Leonard 37-37—74 +3
Harris English 37-37—74 +3
Matt Kuchar 39-35—74 +3
Branden Grace 38-36—74 +3
Jamie Donaldson 36-38—74 +3
Chris Wood 38-37—75 +4
Nicolas Colsaerts 36-39—75 +4
Tom Watson 38-37—75 +4
Fred Couples 38-37—75 +4
Justin Rose 38-37—75 +4
Keegan Bradley 37-38—75 +4
Richard Sterne 37-38—75 +4
Nick Watney 34-41—75 +4
Estanislao Goya 36-39—75 +4
Daniel Willett 36-39—75 +4
Geoff Ogilvy 38-37—75 +4
Charl Schwartzel 36-39—75 +4
Sergio Garcia 36-39—75 +4
Graeme McDowell 37-38—75 +4
Marcel Siem 38-37—75 +4
a-Ben Stow 39-37—76 +5
Brooks Koepka 38-38—76 +5
Ashun Wu 36-40—76 +5
David Duval 40-36—76 +5
Scott Stallings 38-38—76 +5
K.J. Choi 38-38—76 +5
Graham DeLaet 37-39—76 +5
a-Garrick Porteous 39-37—76 +5
George Coetzee 36-40—76 +5
Hyung-sun Kim 35-41—76 +5
Steven Jeffress 38-38—76 +5
Sandyt Lyle 38-38—76 +5
Marc Leishman 40-36—76 +5
Richie Ramsay 37-39—76 +5
Stephen Gallacher 40-36—76 +5
Matteo Manassero 39-37—76 +5
Bo Van Pelt 39-37—76 +5
George Murray 39-37—76 +5
Gregory Bourdy 39-37—76 +5
Kenichi Kuboya 38-38—76 +5
Niclas Fasth 38-39—77 +6
Alvaro Quiros 35-42—77 +6
Vijay Singh 40-37—77 +6
Robert Karlsson 37-40—77 +6
John Senden 40-37—77 +6
Bill Haas 37-40—77 +6
Mark Brown 37-40—77 +6
Toru Taniguchi 39-39—78 +7
D.A. Points 38-40—78 +7
Justin Harding 37-41—78 +7
Gareth Maybin 39-39—78 +7
Daisuke Maruyama 42-36—78 +7
Robert Garrigus 39-39—78 +7
Brendan Jones 37-41—78 +7
Luke Guthrie 41-37—78 +7
Y.E. Yang 39-39—78 +7
Russell Henley 41-37—78 +7
a-Steven Fox 40-38—78 +7
Thorbjorn Olesen 40-38—78 +7
Jim Furyk 37-41—78 +7
Rickie Fowler 41-37—78 +7
Hiroyuki Fujita 38-40—78 +7
Lloyd Saltman 41-38—79 +8
David Lynn 41-38—79 +8
Nick Faldo 38-41—79 +8
Rory McIlroy 37-42—79 +8
Thaworn Wiratchant 37-42—79 +8
Thongchai Jaidee 39-40—79 +8
Brett Rumford 38-41—79 +8
Scott Brown 41-38—79 +8
Darryn Lloyd 40-39—79 +8
Scott Jamieson 37-43—80 +9
Satoshi Kodara 42-38—80 +9
Stephen Dartnall 42-38—80 +9
Lucas Glover 40-40—80 +9
Brian Davis 41-39—80 +9
Luke Donald 39-41—80 +9
Paul Lawrie 42-39—81 +10
Kyle Stanley 46-36—82 +11
Tyrrell Hatton 42-40—82 +11
Alexander Noren 40-43—83 +12
Makoto Inoue 44-39—83 +12
a-Rhys Pugh 38-46—84 +13
Peter Hanson WD
Louis Oosthuizen WD
GULLANE, Scotland — A blue sky and a gentle breeze usually means ripe scoring conditions at the British Open. Just not on the brown links of Muirfield.
Zach Johnson handled it better than anyone Thursday. Helped along by a 45-foot eagle putt and only one bogey despite trouble lurking around every pot bunker, Johnson had a 5-under 66 for a one-shot lead, the first time he's been atop the leaderboard at any major since he rallied to win the Masters six years ago.
Tiger Woods more than survived the late end of the draw, after the sun had thoroughly baked out the crispy greens and allowed only eight of the 20 rounds under par. He knocked one putt clear off the green, but 10 one-putts — most of them for pars — carried him to a 69, a good start in his bid to end his five-year drought in the majors.
"The golf course progressively got more dried out and more difficult as we played," Woods said. "And I'm very pleased to shoot anything even par or better."
And for all the talk about Muirfield's men-only membership, at least the club doesn't discriminate against age.
Mark O'Meara, the 56-year-old who won his claret jug in 1998 at Royal Birkdale, shot a 67 and nearly tied Johnson for the lead until his 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th took a hard spin out of the cup. Another former champion, 54-year-old Tom Lehman, opened with a 68.
It was an eclectic group who broke par, from major champions to players making their British Open debut. What they all had in common was finding a way to get through a firm, fast and frightening test at Muirfield that figures to get even harder if the Royal & Ancient doesn't put some water on the links course.
Phil Mickelson opened with a 69 and felt like he got off easy by playing in the morning. Mickelson was concerned about some hole locations being too close to the edge of slopes, and he pleaded with the R&A to let go of its ego and "just set the course up the way the best players can win."
Some of the best did just fine.
"Anytime you shoot under par in an Open — or a major, for that matter — you have to be putting at least somewhat decent," Johnson said. "And I putted great. I made some nice birdie putts and obviously that one for eagle. But I struck some really nice, solid par putts. That's what you've got to do to stay in it."
Rafael Cabrera-Bello of Spain joined O'Meara at 67, while the group at 68 included Dustin Johnson and Brandt Snedeker, who each have contended on Sunday over the last two years in the Open. Two-time major champion Angel Cabrera, who lost in a playoff at the Masters in April, and 19-year-old Jordan Spieth were in the group at 69.
It was a beautiful day along the Firth of Forth. And it was hard work.
No one felt safe until the ball stopped bouncing along the crusty fairways, and no one was sure when that would happen.
"I haven't seen anything like this," said Snedeker, who tied the 36-hole Open record a year ago at Lytham. "I've played in, I think, five Opens. This is completely new to me — foreign to see a 2-iron going 300 yards. You have got to be wary of how you're shaping your golf ball, and what shot selections you're using on the greens."
O'Meara thought he hit a reasonable bunker shot on the 15th until it kept rolling — and rolling — off the green and into another bunker.
"They get so glassy and crispy around the holes," Graeme McDowell, who played with Woods, said after a 75. "You literally can see 300 footprints around the hole from all the players and caddies that have been out there today. They just get really shiny, and really glassy. I couldn't single out a pin that I thought was unfair. But if you got on the wrong side of them, they could make you look very, very silly."
Yes, there was plenty of that.
Rory McIlroy never looked comfortable, and it caught up with him. After missing left of the 12th green, he chipped it up the slope and watched it roll back down to his feet. His next chip was long and he wound up with double bogey. On the 15th hole, his putt to the back pin rolled well past the hole and into a bunker for another double bogey. A bogey-bogey finish gave him a 79, his highest score at the Open since that 80 in the vicious wind of St. Andrews in 2010.
At least he had some company.
Luke Donald, another former No. 1 player in the world, had a double bogey and a triple bogey two holes apart on the back nine. He shot 80. Nick Faldo celebrated his 56th birthday with a return to the links where he won two of his three claret jugs. He shot a 79, but still enjoyed the nerves and the emotions of seeing the gallery lining both sides of the fairway in his first Open in three years.
Lloyd Saltman got the 142nd Open off to a dubious start when it took him three tee shots to get his ball in play. He made a quadruple-bogey eight. Some eight hours later, Woods hooked his opening tee shot so far left, and into grass so deep, that he took a penalty shot for an unplayable lie. Woods hit into a bunker, but blasted out to 4 feet to escape with bogey. He made four birdies in his round, including a 25-foot bender behind the 13th hole. But it was the clutch putting that kept him going.
Dustin Johnson played the three par 5s in 4-under, yet what made him smile was a par. From left of the par-3 seventh green, he chipped between two bunkers and watched the ball ride the rounded face of one, roll precariously near the top of another and settled 4 feet away.
"That," he said, "was sweet."
Mickelson, coming off a win at the Scottish Open on a links-styled course at Castle Stuart, rolled in three big putts early in his round and kept it together with great lag putts for par when he ran into what he called "technical difficulties."
He rallied with a pair of late birdies, only for his last attempt from 15 feet above the hole on the 18th to slide some 6 feet by for a three-putt bogey. Even so, Lefty was pleased to be done as the greens turned brown.
"I got very lucky to play early today because as the day wore on and we got to the back nine, about a third of every green started to die and become brown," he said. "And the pins were very edgy, on the slopes. The guys that played early had a huge, huge break. Because even without any wind, it's beyond difficult."
It was tough all day.
Ninety-eight players in the 156-man field had at least a double bogey on their scorecards. Former U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover might have summed it up best when he took to Twitter after opening with an 80.
"Muirfield 1, Me 0."
