Day 1 at the 2025 Open Championship
Posted on July 18, 2025
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Thursday at The Open
Check out the majorpunter score's at The Open.
The conditions at Royal Portrush were challenging to say the least, scoring was very hard with a low score of 67, though 31 players eventually posted under par. The weather went from warm to windy, to cold and wet. All in a day at The Open to be fair.
The unheralded Olesen set the early pace out the house with a 67 including a birdie on the first and a closing bogey to boot. He was soon followed by a few others as the morning field laid dents into Royal Portrush, with the weather calmer (for that moment).
The lead touched 5 under at 1 point but eventually settled at 4, with few afternoon starters able to go deeper, playing in stronger winds and course that had slowed and matured as the day went on. English had it at 5 under thru 7 holes, before holding on to tie the lead.
Overnight, its a leading pack of 5 golfers covering all sectors of the globe, Li, Fitzy, CBez, English & Olesen, who sit with a 1 shot lead heading into Friday.
There is a stash of players at Even or better, within 4 shots back at The Open, where all sorts of weather and unpredictability awaits. This is wide open, with the big boys on the hunt.
Shot of the Day
It was a tough day yesterday for rewards, though there were a scattering of eagle 3’s across the course including from our leaders and an illusive 2 on the par 4 5th. The best creativity came from JT which included a chip in for a birdie amongst it all.
Round of the Day
Li powered in with a bogey free 67, almost coming back from the ashes in pro golf, such was his fall and then rise again. Once the expected Chinese major champion elect, now he seeks redemption amongst the game’s best.
Performance of the Day
JRose posted 69, but bogey free with hardly a twitch out of place. He’ll be suitably pleased with another score in the 60s at The Open and eager to attack again tomorrow.
There are a few other vets who are making a mockery of big boys. Under par from Westie, JL, ZJ, Lefty is pretty impressive.
The Leaders
The Chasers
majorpunter Picks
Top Bucket: The Big Boys dominated the picks as predicted, with Roryand Scottie sharing the pundits favour. The fans on the ground were certainly favouring a certain Masters champion. over the rest. There were a few surprises and big numbers from TommyLad & BDC.
2nd Bucket: MadHatter had his moments of moans and groans, but posting 68 is a good outing for a man chasing his 1st major. Plenty of misery otherwise for this bucket including The Hov & Collin who both looked at sea in the rain and wind.
3rd Bucket: ABerg had moments though continues to struggle to score consistently - will need a move on Friday. Punters were rewarded for backing the in-form Fitzy, who leads headed into Friday.
Bottom Bucket: JRose delivered again in a major and he will feel confident to keep it going. The others really struggled, which can’t be emphasised more than the opening tee shot of Cambo who had a duck-hook driver go 150 yards on the notorious opening hole!
Stats:
Bucket 1: Rory 32%, Scottie 31%, Rahmbo 16%, TommyLad 11% (3 under par)
Bucket 2: The Hov 44%, MadHatter 21%, Collin 18%, Mr Burns 5% (2 under par)
Bucket 3: Aberg 23%, Lowry 20%, Fitzy 16%, Bobby Mac 13% (2 under par)
Bucket 4: JRose 18%, Other Cam 10%, Foxy 8%, Cambo 8% (1 under par)
For a full view of the scores head to The Open Leaderboard and majorpunter leaderboard.
majorpunter Leaderboard:
| Rank | Team | Punter | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Down the middle | Eric Cook | -13 |
| 2 | Fitzmagic | Wil Harper | -12 |
| T3 | Doyles Open Winners | David Dampier | -11 |
| T3 | Fitzmagic2 | Wil Harper | -11 |
| T5 | Beastychiefs | James Bisset | -10 |
| T5 | Klein Lepel | Milan Fourie | -10 |
| T7 | PokeyAU5 | Preston Barnes | -9 |
| T7 | Team GFY | Ryan Boright | -9 |
| T7 | Slice and Dice | Stuart Green | -9 |
| T7 | 9th green at 9 | Chris Pfeiffer | -9 |
Day 1 was a challenging day and a real mix of performances from everyone being picked, leading to a hard day for scoring for pro’s and punters alike, as per the LEADERBOARD.
This was reflected in Down the middle who had plenty under par except the top bucket where TommyLad let this team down! Its a 1 shot lead without the big boys is impressive.
There are a stash of chasers as you expect - so much golf is still to be played. Only 1 shot back is Fitzmagic, which makes total sense. Its a long journey ahead, plenty of change ahead.
majorpunter Bottomboard:
| Rank | Team | Punter | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 75 | Dr K GreenJackets | Gary Katcoff | +2 |
| T76 | Harmless777 | Harm Fourie | +3 |
| T76 | Tomoose & Friends | Kath East | +3 |
| T76 | Fore Horseman | Pierre Willemse | +3 |
| T76 | Fitzmagic1 | Wil Harper | +3 |
| T80 | PokeyAU2 | Preston Barnes | +4 |
| T80 | Bradthig6 | Bradley Thigpen | +4 |
| T82 | Burmy Army | James Bisset | +5 |
| T82 | Fitzmagic3 | Wil Harper | +5 |
| 84 | Bradthig4 | Bradley Thigpen | +7 |
The bottomboard has some big numbers with a few punters in significantly over par already. Bradthig4 holds the base but close to 2 other punters who also have teams at the top!
Its not easy picking a winning team, so be positive wherever you are located!
It’s a long road to go and with changing weather in the mix, there is still a lot of unknown. With major champions in your team, we know they can flip the switch and turn it around.
For more news and information head over to majorpunter.
Looking forward to a Friday with so much in anticipation.