The Open: Fitzpatrick shares five-way tie for lead on enthralling first day – Sporty.com

England’s Matt Fitzpatrick is one of five players to share the clubhouse lead following an enthralling opening round at The Open at Royal Portrush.  Fitzpatrick, along with Jacob Skov Olesen, Haotong Li, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Harris English, led the way after carding rounds of four-under on Thursday.  On a day when the weather in Northern Ireland played its part, the likes of Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler appeared to struggle, but remained in contention for glory.  Scheffler was able to overcome some erratic driving that saw him hit just three fairways off the tee, recovering to card a three-under 68.  Masters champion McIlroy, backed by a raucous home crowd, registered a one-under 70, which was nine strokes better than he managed during his missed cut in the 2019 edition at the same venue.  How the leaderboard stands after round one of The 153rd Open. pic.twitter.com/ovqUstNmT9 — The Open (@TheOpen) July 17, 2025 Skov Olesen set the clubhouse target, mixing an eagle and four birdies with two bogeys during his first round in what was just his second appearance at a major.  He started well with a 40-foot putt at the first and briefly jumped ahead with a sensational eagle at the 12th before chipping in to birdie the par-five
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