The favorite didn’t disappoint, Woods struggled. American Young leads after the first round of the Golf Open

The Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland, has completed the first round of the 150th edition of The Open. Between sunrise and sunset, 156 golfers took to the eighteen-hole course for the first time to begin the battle for not only the tournament’s $14 million endowment, but also immortal honour and glory.

Many of the favorites are holding on after the opening round, but there are a few surprising names among them. American Cameron Young played his best ever first round of golf, finishing with a score of -8 after a 64-shot round.

Just two shots behind him is the favourite according to bookmakers, experts and computer models – Irish golfer Rory McIlroy. In a clean game of seven birdies he stumbled only on the thirteenth hole, where he lost one shot.

Perhaps the biggest surprise can be found in the tied fifth position, where the amateur player Barclay Brown from England is. However, the question will be whether he can repeat his great performance in at least the second round on a seemingly simple looking course full of pitfalls. Unless he collapses outright, however, he should play the final rounds.

It may not be that easy for Tiger Woods, still the most watched man in world golf. He has been preparing for the 150th edition of The Open for months, but the wind was taken out of his sails on the opening hole, where he played two shots over par.

At the turn of the first and second nine, it looked like he might be able to catch his groove after all, but somehow everything was against him all day. By the seventh hole he was a complete cramp, then he was more or less regularly alternating between birdies and bogeys.

In the end, he finished with a +6. If he wants to see the course at St. Andrews again this weekend, he’s going to have to put in a truly phenomenal performance, just like the old days.

“It looks like I’ll have to play 66 shots tomorrow to have a chance of making the cut. It’s possible because some of the guys did it today. And it’s my responsibility to go out there tomorrow and play it. I’ve got to do it,” a determined Tiger Woods told his eponymous website after a failed first round.

Friday’s second round runs again from early in the morning. Throughout the day, fans can enjoy the fourth major of the season via the Golf Channel, which has devoted virtually an entire day’s programming to the tournament.

Source: The Open, news.tigerwoods.com