Another sand salvage operation is here. It is made by 11-year-old Matthew Jordan, who is up against the precipitous face of a greenside bunker. The situation appears almost insurmountable, but he opens his wedge and strokes as hard as he can, launching the ball almost vertically to escape in a single spectacular stroke.
Even though he can only land 30 feet from the flag, this is still an improvement from where he was. It was a frightening situation, but it could have been much worse. The local golfer falls to -1 and loses the lead, which is currently held by Jordan Spieth misses his birdie putt on the first hole, but an opening par will suffice at the Open.
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As for his playing companions, Jason Day also makes par, while Matt Fitzpatrick makes a bogey. However, he won’t be too upset, as it could have been much worse. After hitting a weak wedge into a bunker, he did exceptionally well to save par.
From one Jordan to another, Mr. Spieth arrives, always entertaining. The defending champion hits his initial tee shot into the right rough. Matt Fitzpatrick redeems the situation by pulling the ball over the heads of the spectators lined up on the left side of the fairway. A nervous performance from the 2022 US Open champion.
He receives a break, a reasonable lie near a dust track, but sends his next shot into the rough to the right of the green, where he will be short-sided and must also negotiate a bunker. However, Spieth responds by placing his second shot within 15 feet of the hole, giving him a birdie opportunity.
The birdie on hole 2 by Jordan was the first of the week. Pablo Larrazabal has produced the first eagle of the week. The 40-year-old Spaniard hits a 35-foot right-to-left curler across the par-five fifth hole, which is why he is positioned -1 stroke behind the leader.
Larrazabal’s best finish at the Open, and indeed any major, was a tie for 30th at Sandwich in 2011, so it is improbable that he will mount a sustained challenge… However, he has won twice in the last four months on the DP World Tour, at the Korea Championship, and the KLM Open, so it is understandable that he is presently striding the links with confidence.
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Matthew Jordan teed off the 151st Open with the first shot. Since he has been a member of his local club since he was seven years old, the 27-year-old from Hoylake is quite familiar with it. Nonetheless, attempting the oldest major for the first time is a bit unusual, not least because the first hole is the 17th for regular course members. Moreover, it appeared as if half of Liverpool was watching from the gallery. Therefore, you could not fault him for pulling his tense tee shot into the dense rough on the left.
However, he composed himself and played his ball into a greenside hazard, from which he saved par. And now, having made several significant putts along the way, he has reached the turn in 33 strokes, with birdies at 2, 5, and 8 more than compensating for a single stroke lost at 6. A local champion dominates the Open! Not bad for someone who has only participated in the tournament once before, at St. Andrews last year, where he missed the cut. Now observe!
Preamble
Welcome to our coverage of the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, where over the next four days so many questions will be answered. Will Cameron Smith become the first player since Padraig Harrington in 2008 to retain the Claret Jug? Will Rory McIlroy repeat his 2014 victory and end his ensuing nine-year drought in major championships? Will Rickie Fowler, runner-up to Rory that year, cap his return to prominence in 2023 with his long-awaited first major championship? Will a champion emerge from the throng, as Wyndham Clark did last month at the US Open? (Tom Kim? Who is Bob MacIntyre? The reason why not Will Masters champion Jon Rahm, PGA winner Brooks Koepka, or world number one Scottie Scheffler hoist the Claret Jug for the first time? Will out-of-sorts former champion golfers, Collin Morikawa, Shane Lowry, and Jordan Spieth unexpectedly find their groove and win their second championship? Will Viktor Hovland, eliminated in the final pairing on the final day of the Open and PGA last year and this year, ultimately win a major? Will Tommy Fleetwood, a virtuoso on the links and another Open contender, finally win? Will the in-form Tyrrell Hatton eventually cross the finish line first? Or hurl a club into the Dee Estuary in a magnificent outburst of rage?
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Or shall Xand… However, we could spend all day here, couldn’t we? In fact, we will be here all day, but that time would be much better spent on action than idle chatter. Let’s proceed without further ado. Hoylake ahoy!
The tee times are listed.
All times are in British Summer Time, and the participants are from Great Britain and Ireland unless otherwise specified. (a) signifies amateurs.
- 35 Branden Grace (Rsa), Matthew Jordan, Richie Ramsay
- 46 Russell Henley (USA), Jazz Janewattananond (Tha), Graeme Robertson
- 57 Ryan Fox (Nzl), Lucas Herbert (Aus), Byeong-Hun An (Kor)
- 08 Rikuya Hoshino (Jpn), (a) Alex Maguire, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa)
- 19 Hiroshi Iwata (Jpn), Pablo Larrazabal (Spa), Adrian Meronk (Pol)
- 30 (a) Jose Luis Ballester (Spa), Patrick Reed (USA), Connor Syme
- 41 Darren Clarke, Victor Perez (Fra), Thomas Pieters (Bel)
- 52 (a) Christo Lamprecht (Rsa), Joost Luiten (Ned), Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa)
- 03 Stewart Cink (USA), Trey Mullinax (USA), J. T. Poston (USA)
- 14 Harris English (USA), Andrew Putnam (USA), Henrik Stenson (Swe)
- 25 Thorbjoern Olesen (Den), Jordan Smith, Scott Stallings (USA)
- 36 Ernie Els (Rsa), Takumi Kanaya (Jpn), Kurt Kitayama (USA)
- 47 Sam Burns (USA), Chris Kirk (USA), Sepp Straka (Aut)
- 03 Jason Day (Aus), Matthew Fitzpatrick, Jordan Spieth (USA)
- 14 Talor Gooch (USA), Padraig Harrington, Seamus Power
- 25 Kyoung-Hoon Lee (Kor), Davis Riley (USA), Taiga Semikawa (Jpn)
- 36 Patrick Cantlay (USA), Brooks Koepka (USA), Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn)
- 47 Tommy Fleetwood, Scottie Scheffler (USA), Adam Scott (Aus)
- 58 Wyndham Clark (USA), Xander Schauffele (USA), Cameron Smith (Aus)
- 09 Rickie Fowler (USA), Shane Lowry, Robert MacIntyre
- 20 Bryson DeChambeau (USA), Si-Woo Kim (Kor), Cameron Young (USA)
- 31 Bio Kim (Kor), Kazuki Yasumori (Jpn), Nicolai Hoejgaard (Den)
- 42 Haydn Barron (Aus), Daniel Bradbury, Oliver Farr
- 53 (a) Tiger Christensen (Ger), Martin Rohwer (Rsa), Marcel Siem (Ger)
- 04 Richard Bland, Lee Hodges (USA), Antoine Rozner (Fra)
- 15 Laurie Canter, Yannik Paul (Ger), Sami Valimaki (Fin)
- 36 Alex Fitzpatrick, Rasmus Hoejgaard (Den), Matthew Southgate
- 47 Daniel Hillier (Nzl), Kensei Hirata (Jpn), Kyung-Nam Kang (Kor)
- 58 Kazuki Higa (Jpn), Michael Kim (USA), Callum Shinkwin
- 09 Kyle Barker (Rsa), Zack Fischer (USA), Taichi Kho (Hkg)
- 20 Romain Langasque (Fra), Travis Smyth (Aus), Brendon Todd (USA)
- 31 Alexander Bjoerk (Swe), Adrian Otaegui (Spa), Gary Woodland (USA)
- 42 Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Rsa), (a) Harrison Crowe (Aus), Min-Woo Lee (Aus)
- 53 Corey Conners (Can), Billy Horschel (USA), Alexander Noren (Swe)
- 04 Abraham Ancer (Mex), Tom Hoge (USA), Joo-Hyung Kim (Kor)
- 15 Zach Johnson (USA), David Micheluzzi (Aus), Matt Wallace
- 26 Emiliano Grillo (Arg), Dustin Johnson (USA), Sahith Theegala (USA)
- 37 (a) Mateo Fernandez (Arg), Denny McCarthy (USA), Francesco Molinari (Ita)
- 48 Thomas Detry (Bel), Brian Harman (USA), Thriston Lawrence (Rsa)
- 04 John Daly (USA), Taylor Moore (USA), Danny Willett
- 15 Ben Griffin (USA), Ockie Strydom (Rsa), David Lingmerth (Swe)
- 26 Adria Arnaus (Spa), Ewen Ferguson, Keita Nakajima (Jpn)
- 37 Keegan Bradley (USA), Sung-Jae Im (Kor), Joaquin Niemann (Chi)
- 48 Tony Finau (USA), Viktor Hovland (Nor), Justin Thomas (USA)
- 59 Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm (Spa), Justin Rose
- 10 Tyrrell Hatton, Max Homa (USA), Collin Morikawa (USA)
- 21 Phil Mickelson (USA), Adam Schenk (USA), Nick Taylor (Can)
- 32 Alejandro Canizares (Spa), Ignacio Elvira (Spa), Marc Warren
- 43 Connor McKinney (Aus), Guido Migliozzi (Ita), Oliver Wilson
- 54 Kalle Samooja (Fin), Shubhankar Sharma (Ind), Gunner Wiebe (USA)
- 05 Jorge Campillo (Spa), Brandon Thompson, Michael Stewart
- 16 Seung-Su Han (USA), Hurly Long (Ger), Marco Penge
The Open 2023 Championship at Royal Liverpool is set to begin with the first round, featuring 11-year-old Matthew Jordan attempting a sand salvage operation against a greenside bunker. Jordan, a local golfer, made a spectacular save in a single stroke, securing the lead. Jordan’s performance was a highlight, as he saved par on the first hole and defended his lead against the defending champion, Jordan Spieth.
Jordan Spieth missed his birdie putt on the first hole, but he managed to save par on the second hole. The defending champion, Matt Fitzpatrick, also made par but missed his next shot into the rough. Spieth responded by placing his second shot within 15 feet of the hole, giving him a birdie opportunity.
Pablo Larrazabal, a 40-year-old Spaniard, hit the first eagle of the week, putting him a stroke behind Jordan. Larrazabal’s best finish at the Open was a tie for 30th at Sandwich in 2011, but he has won twice in the last four months on the DP World Tour, including the Korea Championship and the KLM Open.
Over the next four days, many questions will be answered, including whether Cameron Smith will become the first player since Padraig Harrington in 2008 to retain the Claret Jug, Rory McIlroy will repeat his 2014 victory, Rickie Fowler will cap his return to prominence, Masters champion Jon Rahm, PGA winner Brooks Koepka, or world number one Scottie Scheffler will win their second championship, former champion golfers Collin Morikawa, Shane Lowry, and Jordan Spieth will unexpectedly find their groove, Viktor Hovland will win a major, Tommy Fleetwood will finally win, and Tyrrell Hatton will cross the finish line first.
