Day 1 at the 2021 Open Championship
Posted on July 15, 2021
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Thursday at The Open at Royal St George’s
Royal St George’s looked sublime throughout, a gentle breeze exposing the grain of the fescue as it shined in the English sun. It was never hot and the players made the most of the fair conditions. The fans loved it too. Golf was certainly back where it belonged.
The course showed it’s teeth in the afternoon, even slightly, thanks to a little more wind and a little firmer underfoot. The morning was superb for scoring and the lowest numbers were posted then.
Birdies, eagles and very few bogeys littered the morning field and there were a few players who feasted while they could.
King Louis was patient through the front 9 before going on a birdie binge from the 8th hole, eventually posting a bogey free 64. In typical fashion, he made it look like a casual stroll.
Not far from him was another Open Champion, Jordan who also sprung to life on the back 9 and posted a 65 - showing he is most definitely back, even managing to contend with The Bulk and his drama.
The Open always has a story and Cink was that on day 1. The veteran (2-time winner this season) shot a 66 as he seeks to find his former major glories at the grand age of 48.
Not far behind him was Snedo who finished with 2 (NEAR ACE!), 2, 4 for a 68. Certainly the best 15 mins of his major career.
The course is going to get tougher every day and guys like Lefty felt it, blowing themselves out of the tournament early, but others held on to get home at Even or better.
Rors made a birdie early, acting as if the Scottish Open never happened, but then it all came back and he was forced to make a few clutch pars before finally posting a birdie on 18 and an Even par 70 to give himself a chance.
The best scores from the afternoon were a pair of 66’s from Webb and a little known Frenchman, Hebert - with the big names around them like JT, Cantlay, Fitzy and Reed not faring nearly as well.
The stats are against people like Rors (and those at 1 under) as 52 of the last 60 winners of The Open have been within 4 shots of the lead after round 1.
Those chasing King Louis will be fearful of the runaway win from 2010, but also sleep well knowing his lack of closing, makes him vulnerable.
Round of the Day
King Louis just lives for majors and he looked very good for his 64, which includes 6 birdies in a 9 hole stretch around the turn, including 4 straight 3’s.
He threw the book at the driving stats, by missing more than half the fairways, but then hit 14 greens in reg and got up and down every time.
It was effortless and cool.
Shot of the Day
It’s impossible to ignore Snedo who enjoyed back to back 2’s coming down the stretch. He was over par as he teed up on 16 and signing for a 68 was a sweet feeling.
He never made the only eagle, with a few other hole-outs like Zala.
He better keep holing out if his putter goes on the wobbles.
The Leaders
Mental note: not too many Power players at the top of the pile.
The Chasers
Beware the chasers. Again, pinpoint irons over thrashing drivers. Lots of fan favourites to watch here.
majorpunter Picks
Top Bucket:
Rahmbo, Xander and BK dominated at the top - being picked 68% of the time. Thats a crazy number - leaving not many on the other 7. But more surprising was the interest in Hatton despite his troubles at the majors.
2nd Bucket:
This Bucket is notoriously tough. King Louis again dominated the bucket, tied with Rahmbo as the most popular pick of the week.
Prominent picks were as expected Rors, Jordan and Fitzy which covered 66% of the teams, with only Fitzy letting punters down.
Key to this week might be in this bucket as there is a strong chance you suddenly have 2 leading lights King Louis and Jordan.
3rd Bucket: There was a host of players right on the edge here and the popularity of the top 5 picks was tight.
Most popular pick was JRose who had a MC at the US Open, but this time delivered. Next up Gracie who went bad but came good all in the same 9!
Poults, Lowry and CBez rounded out the popular votes covering 56% of the pool.
Stats:
Bucket 1: Rahmbo 29%, Xander 22%, BK 17%, JT 7% and Hatton 7%. (2 are under par)
Bucket 2: King Louis 29%, Rors 16%, Jordan 12%, Fitzy 9% and Hovland 8%. (leaders and 3 are under par)
Bucket 3: JRose 14%, Gracie 12%, Poults 11%, Lowry 10% and CBez 9%. (2 are under par)
For a full view of the scores head to The Open Leaderboard and majorpunter leaderboard.
majorpunter Leaderboard:
| Rank | Team | Punter | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St George's GREATS | Greg Dane | -16 |
| T2 | Great Scott! | Nelson Long | -15 |
| T2 | Links Lions | Keith Van Niekerk | -15 |
| 4 | D-Rocks Jocks 1 | Derek Fink | -14 |
| T5 | Farfield | Matthew Verbaan | -13 |
| T5 | The Savs | Philip Saville | -13 |
| 7 | DegenParty | Haden Smith | -12 |
| T8 | Bradthig1 | Brad Thigpen | -11 |
| T8 | bootsy5 | John Farrell | -11 |
| T8 | Rahm-Com | Nelson Long | -11 |
Day 1 is all about keeping yourself in it and not getting too excited in the chase for your first major. There were some good scores for the punters and plenty of scores under par. It was a good day for scoring.
One of the veterans of majorpunter, St George’s GREATS stepped up to the feast and celebrated, taking a 1 shot lead into day 2. Whatever you say, a lead is a lead and with a worst score of 69 - they could go wire to wire.
Hot in pursuit is relative newcomer Links Lions and Great Scott who sit 1 back. All 3 of the leaders were pegged up by a charging King Louis and Jordan who thrilled fans all day. Both the chasers used an over par wildcard, who perhaps could make a charge into Friday.
Nipping at their heels is D-Rocks Jocks 1 as usual, who should not be discounted with the leading top bucket player, Collin in his Open debut.
majorpunter Bottomboard:
| Rank | Team | Punter | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| T60 | CWD011 | Charlie Dodson | -2 |
| T60 | Henri's Heroes -USA | Ian Nords | -2 |
| T62 | John_Christian | John Christian | -1 |
| T62 | PokeyAU3 | Preston Barnes | -1 |
| T62 | Rahmpelstiltskin | Chris Pfeiffer | -1 |
| T62 | Gunslingers | Pete Grey | -1 |
| T66 | Golf Balls Deep | Michael Larson | E |
| T66 | Johnny English | James Bisset | E |
| 68 | Henri's Heroes - Team Europe | Ian Nords | +1 |
| 69 | Michael Swindall | Michael Swindall | +2 |
The bottomboard is only marginally over par, with 4 punters unable break par on Day 1.
Michael Swindall, Henri’s Heroes - Team Europe, Golf Balls Deep and Johnny English having to fill the bottom spots.
As luck would have it poor Rors fills a few of these teams, but for Henri’s Heroes - Team Europe, thank goodness for Guido Miglozzi as his only under par player!
It’s a long road to go still with the wind to feature prominently again tomorrow. There are a few major champions in these crews who can turn it around.
For more news and information head over to majorpunter.
Looking forward to an exciting 2nd day with a few players desperate to post some red numbers on the yellow board. Keep an eye on the cut-line (currently sitting at Even, but sure to move) and on the players finding some form and their grooves for your Substitutions strategy.
You don’t want to miss that Subs deadline, which is 10 mins before the first tee time on Saturday - wherever you may be across the globe.