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David Rosenblum / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Eleven years after winning the Open Championship, Louis Oosthuizen is in charge to start again.
The 38-year-old took the first round lead with a score of 64 under par at Royal St. George’s Golf Club on Thursday.
Oosthuizen was far from the only player to get off to a good start. Jordan Spieth and Brian Harman are tied for second by five under. A group of five players is tied for fourth place.
Collin Morikawa and Tommy Fleetwood are among the 10 dime players.
Open Championship 2021 standings – First round
1. Louis Oosthuizen (-6)
T2. Brian Harman (-5)
T2. Jordan Spieth (-5)
T4. Mackenzie Hughes (-4)
T4. Dylan Frittelli (-4)
T4. Stewart Cink (-4)
T4. Benjamin Hébert (-4)
T4. Webb Simpson (-4)
T9. Tommy Fleetwood (-3)
T9 Collin Morikawa (-3)
T9. Andy Sullivan (-3)
T9. Justin Harding (-3)
T9. Danny Willett (-3)
T9. Jack Senior (-3)
T9. Justin Rose (-3)
T9. Scottie Scheffler (-3)
T9. Byeong Hun An (-3)
T9. Marcel Siem (-3)
Full ranking via TheOpen.com
Oosthuizen has yet to win a tournament this year, but he’s been on the verge of making a breakthrough for some time. The South African finished second at the PGA Championship in May and was the only US Open finalist last month.
To post the best lap of the day, Oosthuizen did all his damage in an eight-hole period of numbers 8-16. He birdied six in that streak and had no bogey the entire lap.
The Open @The Open
A superb 64 for the Champion Golfer of 2010, @ Louis57TM 👏
See if anyone can catch Louis on our live blog 👉https://t.co/xYY44zj43t#TheOpen pic.twitter.com/e2sHYbsXMp
Spieth was not so quick to start the day. He was one over the top thanks to a bug on the third par three hole.
From that point on, however, the Dallas native had one of his most impressive rounds of the year. He had a streak of four straight birdies from holes five through eight, which took his score to three under the turn.
Spieth’s birdie of No.16 briefly gave him possession of the five-under lead until Oosthuizen later passed him.
The Open @The Open
@JordanSpieth’s putter was hot today🔥
Follow the action 👉 https://t.co/xYY44zAFs3#TheOpen pic.twitter.com/oRzreusnBA
Daniel Rapaport @Daniel_Rapaport
He asked Jordan Spieth why he always seems to thrive in Opens, and he delivered absolute beauty.
“There are a lot of external factors here, and it’s the outside that I have to live. ” pic.twitter.com/AI6ZTTd5Vg
Thursday’s 65 marked Spieth’s best single-round score since the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge in May. He led this event after 54 holes, but a 73 in the final round opened the door for Jason Kokrak to win the tournament.
Spieth has not finished in the top 10 at the Open Championship since 2018. His last victory in a Grand Slam tournament was the Open Championship 2017 at Royal Birkdale in England.
PGA TOUR Communications @PGATOURComms
Jordan Spieth recorded his third career first-round score of 65 or better in a major league and won the previous two instances:
65, 2021 Open Championship
65, 2017 Open Championship
64, Masters Tournament 2015 #TheOpen
Lower in the rankings, Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia are among the main players in contention. They are part of a tie at 13 for 19th place at two under par.
Johnson stumbled late on the top nine with bogeys on No.8 and 9. He bounced back from the turn with birdies on 11 and 14 which kept him a good distance from Oosthuizen.
Another player who struggled on the first nine was Rory McIlroy. The winner of the 2014 Open Championship seemed to be in serious trouble after pulling down three consecutive bogeys and doing the round one.
McIlroy went two with a bogey on No 11 before getting birdies on 14 and 18 to save a tied 70.
Phil Mickelson’s quest to win his second major tournament of the year seems unlikely. He finished the day tied with Deyen Lawson for last place at 10 above par overall.
PGA TOUR @PGATOUR
The highest Open first round score of Phil Mickelson’s career. pic.twitter.com/GjzJUbCD0R
Looking ahead to the rest of the weekend, the only player to have won the Open Championship since 2017 who was outside the top three in the standings after the first round was Francesco Molinari in 2018.
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