Oosthuizen leads after 1st round at The Open, Spieth trails by 1
Louis Oosthuizen posted a brilliant 6-under 64 during Round 1 of the Open Championship to hold an early one-shot edge over Jordan Spieth and Brian Harman.
Oosthuizen, who placed as a runner-up during the previous two major championships, is right back in the thick of things after his bogey-free trip around Royal St. George's Golf Club.
"I was just very patient," Oosthuizen said of his round, according to ASAP Sports. "I was trying to just hit my shots and didn't really hit anything close enough to make birdies those first few holes, and then all of a sudden just made two good putts on eight and nine and got the ball rolling. It happened quickly, but you still need to put yourself in those positions, and I felt definitely the last 10, 11 holes I gave myself a lot of opportunities."
The 2010 Open champ played in the final pairing at June's U.S. Open and fell two shots short of Phil Mickelson at the PGA Championship for two of his six runner-up results in majors.
As for Spieth, he rebounded from a third-hole bogey with four straight birdies on Nos. 5 through 8. The 27-year-old's 65 matches his lowest career score at the Open Championship and the third time he's shot that number in Round 1 of a major. He won on the previous two occasions - the 2015 Masters and 2017 Open.
Webb Simpson carded the lowest score among players who teed off during the afternoon with a 4-under 66.
Here's the top of the leaderboard following Day 1:
| Place | Player | To Par | Round 1 Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louis Oosthuizen | -6 | 64 |
| T2 | Jordan Spieth | -5 | 65 |
| T2 | Brian Harman | -5 | 65 |
| T4 | Mackenzie Hughes | -4 | 66 |
| T4 | Dylan Frittelli | -4 | 66 |
| T4 | Stewart Cink | -4 | 66 |
| T4 | Benjamin Hebert | -4 | 66 |
| T4 | Webb Simpson | -4 | 66 |
Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, and Scottie Scheffler are all at 3-under and inside the top 10.
Dustin Johnson (2-under), Brooks Koepka (1-under), and Xander Schauffele (1-under) all broke 70, while Rory McIlroy (even), Bryson DeChambeau (1-over), pre-tournament favorite Jon Rahm (1-over), and Justin Thomas (2-over) didn't.
Phil Mickelson shot 80 for the highest score of his Open Championship career.