Jackson Suber, making his debut at The Open Championship, has taken an early lead after an impressive opening round at Royal Birkdale. The 26-year-old American posted a 5-under 65 on Thursday, which stood as the lowest round of the day. This performance places him one shot ahead of the field overnight.
Suber’s strong finish saw him go 4-under in five holes, propelling him to the top of the leaderboard. This marks a significant moment for Suber, who has yet to secure a win on the PGA Tour and had not previously traveled to Europe before this week. His qualification for The Open came after finishing tied for fourth at the RBC Canadian Open.
Despite his current lead, Suber is in unfamiliar territory, as he has only competed in two prior major championships. He missed the cut at this year’s U.S. Open and finished 73rd in the 2024 U.S. Open. However, he has shown strong form on the PGA Tour since May, recording four top-20 finishes. These include a solo fourth at The CJ Cup Byron Nelson, a tied-for-fourth finish at the RBC Canadian Open, and a tied-for-sixth finish at the John Deere Classic.
Chasing Pack and Notable Performances
Behind Suber, Sungjae Im and Daniel Brown are just one shot back, having both carded 66s. A larger group of players is at 3-under, including Bryson DeChambeau. DeChambeau, who played in a group with Scottie Scheffler, posted a 3-under 67, marking his only major round under par this year. This performance is particularly notable for DeChambeau, as he had not shot under par in any of his six major rounds in 2026 and missed the cut in the first three majors of the year.
Scottie Scheffler, the world No. 1, finished his opening round at 2-under 68. Scheffler had a strong start, making birdie on four of his first six holes, but stalled later in the round with two bogeys and no further birdies. He noted that he felt he played better than his score indicated, despite missing some short putts, including a 5-footer on the 11th hole and a 4 1/2-footer on the 17th hole.
In the afternoon wave, world No. 4 Cameron Young also shot a 67, joining a group of nine players tied for fourth place. The leaderboard features a mix of established players like Scheffler, DeChambeau, and Young, alongside lesser-known names such as Suber, Daniel Brown, Pierceson Coody, and Alex Smalley, setting the stage for an intriguing weekend.
McIlroy’s Putting Struggles Continue
Rory McIlroy experienced a challenging first round, finishing at 2-over 72. His struggles with short putts, which have been a recurring issue, reappeared on Thursday. He missed putts from inside 4 feet on both the 7th and 8th holes, and another from just over 4 feet at the 10th. McIlroy missed six putts from inside 12 feet on his first 12 holes.
Despite draining a 23-footer for birdie on the 13th, he gave the shot back with a bogey on the par-5 14th. He then made a 12-footer for birdie on the 15th, only to follow it with another bogey on the 17th, another par-5. McIlroy’s play on the par-5s resulted in him being two-over on those holes for the day. He missed another putt from inside 12 feet on the 17th, bringing his total to eight such misses for the round, before closing with a birdie on the 18th. McIlroy now sits seven shots behind the leader after 18 holes.
For Friday’s play, Suber is scheduled for an early tee time at 2:30 a.m. ET. DeChambeau will be part of a later wave, teeing off alongside Scheffler at 10:04 a.m. ET. McIlroy is set to tee off just after 5 a.m. ET.
The full list of tee times for Friday at The Open Championship includes a wide array of golfers. Among the notable tee times are Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, and Ludvig Åberg at 4:58 a.m. ET, and Justin Thomas, Alex Noren, and Jason Day at 9:53 a.m. ET. Other groups include Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, and Jon Rahm at 10:15 a.m. ET, and Brian Harman, Si Woo Kim, and Nick Taylor at 10:26 a.m. ET.
Source: sports.yahoo.com