2026 British Open Round 1 updates: Rory McIlroy makes mess of first round at Royal Birkdale

SOUTHPORT, England — The 154th Open Championship is underway!

Southport local Matthew Baldwin hit the first tee shot of the day, kicking off a marathon day at the year's final major. When it was all said and done, Jackson Suber (5-under) was a surprise leader ahead of Sungjae Im and Dan Brown.

But there are plenty of big names lurking: Robert MacIntyre, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Young and Collin Morikawa all opened with rounds of 2-under 68 or better. Then there's the world No. 1 and defending champion, Scottie Scheffler, who remains firmly in the mix after a 2-under 68 that saw him briefly take the early lead.

Among those with work left to do: Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick, two pre-tournament favorites who each faltered to rounds of 2-over 72. A closing double bogey proved costly for former champion Xander Schauffele (71).

Take a look below at some of the notable updates from our team on the ground as the round played out at firm and fast Royal Birkdale:

8:45 p.m.: A wild opening round for Rory McIlroy has ended in pretty wild fashion. The Ulsterman made a mess of the par-5 17th, missing another short putt to save par, but he rebounded in the nick of time with a birdie on the home hole to give the evening crowds something to cheer. McIlroy will look to the putter as a clear culprit today, as he ranks 155th out of 156 players in Strokes Gained: Putting, but a 5-footer at the last salvaged a 2-over 72 and gave him a glimmer of hope heading into Friday. McIlroy is seven shots back, tied for 85th and on the wrong half of the standings, but a turnaround on the greens could be all that he needs to turn the tide. Based on his putting performance today, though, that feels like a big "if."

7:30 p.m.: McIlroy is not the only notable in his group having a tough day. Matt Fitzpatrick has won three times on TOUR this year and entered as one of the biggest favorites, but it's been a disappointing day for the Englishman who has never quite seemed comfortable on the greens. Fitzpatrick didn't make a birdie until No. 12, and he's spent the entire afternoon on the wrong side of par. As his opening round draws to a close, he finds himself at 2-over and needing a jolt to avoid having a steep climb back into contention in the second round.

6:40 p.m.: The wheels might be coming off for Rory McIlroy, and there's one club to blame. With 156 players in the field, McIlroy ranks 155th in Strokes Gained: Putting as he plays the 13th hole. He's 3-over for the day and clearly frustrated, having missed three putts from inside 4 feet on Nos. 7, 8 and 10.

He sandwiched amid that dry spell one of the shots of the day, a towering 389-yard tee shot on No. 9 that drove the green en route to his lone birdie thus far, but he gave it back and then some with bogeys on Nos. 10 and 11.

McIlroy has lost more than 3 strokes to the field on the greens alone, and he has an uphill battle over the next 24 holes just to make the cut as he's currently mired in a tie for 114th place and eight shots off the early lead.

6:10 p.m.: The first player to shoot a 65 this week is an unexpected name: Jackson Suber. The 26-year-old turned heads with his eagle on the par-5 17th, hitting his 233-yard approach to within 7 feet, and he became the first player to reach 5-under in the tournament. A graduate of the Korn Ferry Tour last year, Suber has three top-10 finishes on the PGA TOUR this season - including a T4 result at the RBC Canadian Open last month that earned him a spot in the field at Royal Birkdale.

Suber is making his third career major start this week, but his first outside the U.S. Open. In fact, this is his first-ever trip to Europe, as he told reporters that he had played precisely 27 holes of links golf in his life before Thursday's opening round. Not a bad debut.

5:35 p.m.: A new name has joined the ranks of the co-leaders at 4-under: Collin Morikawa. The American already has his name etched on the claret jug after a masterful performance at Royal St. George's in 2021, and he's rolling once again as he looks to get his hands back on golf's oldest trophy. Morikawa bogeyed the opening hole but hasn't wobbled since, making five birdies from Nos. 2-10 to grab a share of the lead alongside Dan Brown and Sungjae Im.

Morikawa's strength is his iron play, ranking second on TOUR this season in Strokes Gained: Approach, and he's flexing that advantage thus far in the opening round while picking up nearly 3 strokes against the field from the fairways. He's showing no signs of the back injury that hampered him through much of the spring and certainly knows what it takes to keep his name on the yawning yellow leaderboard behind the 18th green.

5:20 p.m.: It's a short miss for par on No. 7 for Rory McIlroy, and the alarm bells may be ringing for the reigning Masters champ. While several big names are already in red figures, McIlroy has yet to make a birdie in his opening round and now sits at 2-over heading toward the eighth tee. The Ulsterman has finished T7 or better at this event in three of the last four years, but he'll need to flip the switch soon or risk falling too far off the early pace as winds continue to freshen around Royal Birkdale.

4:30 p.m.: The prominent afternoon tee times are on the golf course, and it looks like we have a bit of a wave disparity. We are always ripe for one at The Open, where conditions play such a prominent role in scoring. It seems the morning wave had the better side of the draw.

Per Data Golf, the morning wave played to a scoring average of 71.0. The afternoon wave, as of 4:30 p.m., was playing to 72.6.

4:00 p.m.: The big morning groups are off the course and the stars, by and large, performed. Bryson DeChambeau shot 3-under 67. Scottie Scheffler shot 68. Tommy Fleetwood and Jon Rahm each shot 69 On the other end of the spectrum, Jordan Spieth shot 3-over 73. Justin Rose shot 75.

2:41 p.m.: Alex Smalley spent much of the early afternoon atop the leaderboard at Royal Birkdale, flashing the same form that had him firmly in the mix at the PGA Championship at Aronimink earlier this year. But just as he did on that Sunday, Smalley stumbled late. His tee shot on the par-4 18th leaked right and over the metal out-of-bounds fencing. After re-teeing, Smalley made par on his second ball and carded a double bogey, dropping from 5-under back to 3-under and into the growing pack of contenders.

With the afternoon's stars warming up on the range, England’s Dan Brown and Sungjae Im bump back into the lead at 4-under after matching rounds of 66. The pair played together Thursday morning alongside amateur Fifa Laopakdee, with Brown harkening back to the form he first found at The Open in 2024. Playing in his major championship debut at Royal Troon, Brown held a share of the lead deep into the weekend before finishing T10.

A year later, after a season on the PGA TOUR, the Englishman returns home looking like a more complete player and building another bid at the claret jug.

2:00 p.m.: We're seeing the strategic intrigue of Royal Birkdale early. There's no clear, obvious way to play. Robert MacIntyre shot 3-under and was incredibly conservative off the tee. He hit a 5-iron at the second hole and left himself a mid-iron. Viktor Hovland drove the same green in practice. Later, MacIntyre hit a 7-iron off the par-4 10th and a 5-iron at the 510-yard 18th.

"It's one of the hardest links courses I've ever played just for the sheer fact of the positions of the pot bunkers on certain holes with the length of the hole," MacIntyre said. "You've just got to -- someone is going to stand up there and smash driver on the golf course and could potentially get away with it, but it could switch the other way. It's the same for me; I could go play and play the same way I did and make three bogeys on the long holes."

A few of those mashers have had success. Bryson DeChambeau pulled driver at the 10th and nearly drove the green. Alex Fitzpatrick did the same. DeChambeau is 3-under through 13. Fitzpatrick shot 1-under.

Could a dominant strategy emerge? Potentially. But right now, there's no right or wrong way to play.

12:27 p.m.: Scottie Scheffler has made the turn in 31 (3-under) and everything looks aligned for the world No. 1. The putter is cooperating and he's steered it around efficiently off the tee. It's dangerous to see Scheffler already around the lead. When this happens, he's usually there all week.

Meanwhile, some of our first low scores have reached the clubhouse. Robert MacIntyre shot 3-under 67. Henrik Stenson shot 68. From the few players who have spoken to the media, it seems many expect there will be a 6- or 7-under out there for someone today. The firmness of the course is making things tricky, but there's almost no wind out there. That's creating ideal scoring conditions.

12:00 p.m.: Matthew Baldwin is a member at Royal Birkdale and made it through local qualifying to be here. Then he had the privilege of hitting the first tee shot. He also has a unique perspective on the golf course, knowing how it plays when it's not hosting an Open. So how did it compare?

"It's obviously a lot drier and a lot faster. Caught me by surprise in places, the speed of the greens and stuff," he said. "I mean, as members, I'd say the rough is thinner now than it would be for the members. However, it's obviously been a really dry period. But I think it plays a little bit wider, as well. They've brought it in, dried it out. Yeah, I think it's incredible."

What tripped him up?

"Just a couple of putts, 7, for example, I had about 28 feet up the hill, and I hit it 12-foot by and it was into the wind and was a bit shocked how quick it was, to be fair," Baldwin said. "Same again on 10, which was back down the hill but into the wind."

11:23 a.m.: The defending champion has begun his campaign for a second claret jug in sparkling fashion. Scottie Scheffler hung four birdies on the signature yellow leaderboard in his first six holes to plant himself in the solo lead. Rumours of Scheffler's demise after his first missed cut since 2022 last week have subsided for now.

This could be a trend to look for all week as the first few holes seem to offer a warm welcome before Birkdale sharpens up throughout the routing. Look for players to get out to strong starts before sliding back as they face this harsh and thrilling test. Reminder that all players start on No. 1 tee this week, as is tradition at The Open.

10:10 a.m.: The marquee groups this morning are off, and the crowds are already out in droves in Southport. How could they not be? Tommy Fleetwood and his caddie Ian Finnis are local heroes. They had massive galleries in the practice rounds, and that will continue all week. Whoever catches a glimpse will also see Jordan Spieth try to resurrect his form at a place with many good memories. Just in front of them, Scottie Scheffler is off and running.

Nobody is going too low too early. Robert MacIntyre grabbed a couple early birdies but gave a shot back at the eighth. David Duval, 54, made the turn in even par and would be quite the feel-good story if he can make the cut.

We're starting to get some action!

8:30 a.m.: Up and running from the Open Championship media center, where the energy is a bit low as many English media were hoping for a better outcome last night. Maybe one of their countrymen can take home the Open and provide some reprieve. Here are some of the best tee times to follow today

• 9:36 a.m.: Justin Rose, Russell Henley, Viktor Hovland
• 9:56 a.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Tyrrell Hatton, Bryson DeChambeau
• 10:09 a.m.: Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm
• 1:31 p.m.: Tom Kim, Billy Horschel, Mason Howell (a)
• 2:31 p.m.: Chris Gotterup, Sam Burns, Adam Scott
• 2:53 p.m.: Shane Lowry, Aaron Rai, Brooks Koepka
• 3:04 p.m.: Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Ludvig Åberg
• 3:15 p.m.: Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick