The 154th Open - Day one digest

Jackson seized a surprise first-round lead in his first Open Championship, Dan was contending again, Bob was sticking to a cautious game plan and Matt was feeling the nerves on the first tee.

Here is everything you need to know from day one of The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale.

Surprise package Suber leads on links debut

Unheralded American Jackson Suber made light of having no links experience to hold the solo lead after day one of The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale. Suber is this week competing on European soil for the first time after securing a debut at golf’s oldest championship by finishing tied fourth at the RBC Canadian Open on the PGA TOUR last month. In just his third career Major Championship appearance, the World Number 115 surged to the summit in what were the tougher afternoon conditions at the sun-baked Southport venue with a five-under 65.

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Brown contending again at The Open

Dan Brown came to wider prominence in golf's oldest championship on his debut at Royal Troon in 2024. Already a DP World Tour winner, he held the first-round lead before finishing tied tenth. He has since won a second DP World Tour title and played his way onto the PGA TOUR for the first time this season. But after a tough spell in his rookie campaign stateside, the 31-year-old played his way into an early share of the clubhouse lead after a four-under 66. Having endeared himself to the crowds at Troon two years ago with his laidback on-course demeanour, much of his post-round media duties was spent discussing his tatoos - three of which are of birds - and his habit of on-course smoking. "I feel like I'm a better player now to what I was back then, two years ago," he said. "So we'll see. "(Hopefully), I'm in a sort of similar area on the leaderboard come Sunday."

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MacIntyre makes strong start in 'test of patience'

A common refrain among several players on day one was how the firm conditions meant putting the brakes on off the tee was a game plan worth adopting. While Robert MacIntyre used a driver off the first tee, from then on the Scot adopted a measured and deliberate approach of hitting irons and trusting his approach game and putting. The strategy paid dividends as MacIntyre found 13 of 18 greens in regulation, while he holed 127 feet of putts in a 67. “It was a test of discipline and almost acceptance,” said MacIntyre, who has three top tens in his six appearances at The Open. “I probably took the club off the tee which then left a fairly long shot in on some of them, but my job was to get it on the fairway, stay out of these pot bunkers."

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McIlroy facing uphill battle after 'stupid mistakes'

It was a frustrating day for Rory McIlroy as a two-over round of 72 left him seven off the lead. The Northern Irishman arrived on the back of a closing 64 to finish in a tie for seventh at last week's Genesis Scottish Open but was uncharacteristically out of sorts. His struggles were perhaps most evident on the greens, missing three putts from inside four feet. “There were just too many stupid mistakes – but every time I made a stupid mistake, thankfully I made a birdie to sort of keep myself in it. I’m not too far away. If you look at the discrepancy between the scoring this morning and the scoring this afternoon, it looks like that’s going to be flipped tomorrow with the conditions again."

A spotless showing

Only two players - Kristoffer Reitan and Ryo Hisatsune - were bogey-free in the opening round. Over a course that demands a lot in terms of game plan and execution, Norway's Reitan was understandably pleased after holing a 14-foot par putt on the last to card a spotless 69. "Overall, pretty solid," he said. "I'd say not enough bad stuff to make a lot of bogeys and not enough really good stuff to make a lot of birdies. It's difficult and you need to make a lot of decisions, so I'm a little bit tired, but it feels good to start with a solid round."

'I was absolutely terrified' - Baldwin on hitting opening tee shot

The first round got under way at 06.35am local time, with the honour of hitting the opening tee shot handed to Royal Birkdale member Matthew Baldwin. The Englishman, who secured his spot through Final Qualifying at Dundonald Links, admitted he was so nervous he had been struggling to eat all week but he found the fairway and opened with a par on his way to a 72. "It was overwhelming at times," he said afterwards. "First tee shot I was absolutely terrified. I've never experienced nerves like that before, obviously I've experienced nerves but not quite as extreme as that. It was an incredible feeling. But it's something that will stay with me for the rest of my life."

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41 and counting for caddie Foster

Billy Foster first caddied at The Open in 1984, for Hugh Baiocchi and he has since only missed one - at Royal Lytham and St Annes in 2012 through injury. This week, he continues a long-standing association with the championship as the caddie for Matthew Southgate, who opened with a 69.