Rory McIlroy recovers on back nine to stay in Open hunt at Hoylake

Patience: a virtue or a curse? For those with eyes on the great prize at this 151st Open Championship by the mudflats of the Dee Estuary, the contrary bounces and the propensity for the ball to find a way, almost as if lured by some magnetic force, to one of the many bunkers on the links, contrived to test the patience of one and all.

There were successive hits out of bounds for Rickie Fowler. Or the sight of Jon Rahm being forced to play backwards out of a bunker, not once but twice. And, most gruesome of all, the unfortunate Hong Kong golfer Taichi Kho, who reached a greenside pot bunker on the Par 5 18th in two and then became a victim of the nasty traps, ultimately running up a 10 on the hole.

There was more. Two-time US PGA champion and former world number one Justin Thomas ran up a quadruple bogey nine on the 18th, his travails starting with an out-of-bounds tee shot; and then, when reaching a greenside bunker in four, going from one pot bunker to another and playing into the rough just to escape the sand. He looked a broken man by the end.

I needed to stay patient, it wasn’t the easiest of days, but I am still right in there

Rory McIlroy, too, became a victim of the 18th pot bunkering only to showcase a feat of escapology: his approach ran up against the steep bank and he needed two attempts to get the ball from sand to grass, finally contorting his body and legs, one in and one out, to manufacture his escape. “I might have been there all night,” he said.

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Almost miraculously, he found a way to save closing par for an opening round of level-par 71. How important will that 10-foot putt prove to be? “I’m right in the golf tournament,” said McIlroy of managing to avoid the feats of others from those same pot bunkers.

[ The Open first round - As it happened ]

On a first day’s play on a links that posed so many difficult questions, in an examination that tested mental fortitude and physical shot-making, and also demanded creative use of the old terrain, a trio of players – local hero Tommy Fleetwood, Argentine Emiliano Grillo and South African amateur Christo Lamprecht – led the way with five-under-par 66s.

Unquestionably, Fleetwood’s act of defiance proved most popular with the huge galleries as the player from further up the Lancashire coast produced quite the performance for his army of fans: his round featured six birdies and one dropped shot, the highlight coming as he closed for home with a hat-trick of birdies from the 14th to the 16th holes.

“It’s such a special opportunity to play so close to home, and to have that support and play an Open, I’m glad I gave them some good golf to watch. I guess for any tournament, you just want to get off to a fast start. It’s not really been my strength recently. I’ve started tournaments pretty slow, so to get something going today felt really good. As first rounds go, that’s absolutely the one you wanted,” admitted Fleetwood.

He is a player who has contended in Majors – most notably in the US Open at Shinnecock in 2018 and in The Open at Royal Portrush in 2019 when finishing runner-up each time – without getting over the line.

As if to demonstrate the openness of this Major, among those accompanying Fleetwood at the top was South African amateur Lamprecht, the reigning Amateur Champion and someone who has an East of Ireland amateur title (in 2018) on his impressive CV.

Golf’s longest day was a dry one – although rain is anticipated as the championship moves from day to day – with a constant wind that was strong enough to add to the examination without wreaking carnage. The bunkers, primarily, were the source of such angst.

McIlroy joined Séamus Power in producing the joint low round of the sextet of Irish players. His par at the last enabled him to join Power on 71, while Shane Lowry (72), Alex Maguire (72), Darren Clarke (73) and Pádraig Harrington (73) have varying degrees of work to do in the second round to move off the cut line and into the business part of proceedings.

For any tournament, you just want to get off to a fast start. It’s not really been my strength recently

“I wouldn’t have been too happy walking off 18 with a bogey, especially after the two shots I hit in,” said McIlroy. “When you hit it into these bunkers you are riding your luck ... you’re just trying to make par and get out of there.

“Overall, [being] two-over through 12 to get it back to even par for the day, I am pretty pleased with that. A few putts started to go in on the back nine. Hopefully, I have got my eye in now and I can build on that over the next three days.

“I needed to stay patient, it wasn’t the easiest of days, but I am still right in there. Just go out in the morning, shoot something in the 60s and I will be in the mix.”

Patience: a virtue. And time on his side to play catch-up on Fleetwood and company.