By the time play finally ended on Thursday night, there were five players tied for the lead at 4-under. Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, thanks to a very solid 68 in the early wave, is just a shot back. Rory McIlroy climbed into contention briefly, but three bogeys on his back nine dropped him to 1-under — so he still has some work to do.

McIlroy, playing with Justin Thomas and Tommy Fleetwood, is one of the early starters in Friday’s second round and sits just three shots behind the leaders overnight, with world No 1 Scottie Scheffler,

Scottie Scheffler settled, settled and settled until he surged through the finish line of his opening 18 holes at the 2025 Open Championship. Signing for a first-round 68 to position himself one shot behind the early co-leaders of Matt Fitzpatrick,