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British Open Live Blog: Live updates from Round 1 at Carnoustie

By GOLF WIRE
July 20, 2018
Dustin Johnson is looking for his first British Open title this week at Carnoustie.
Getty Images

The 2018 Open Championship at Carnoustie is finally upon us, and the top golfers in the world are battling it out at iconic Carnoustie in Scotland for the right to take home the claret jug.

Tiger Woods is making his first Open start of his most recent comeback, hoping his love for links golf helps him get back into the winner’s circle. 2018 major winners Patrick Reed and Brooks Koepka are eager to add to their trophy cases. But they will all have to get past defending champion Jordan Spieth. We are live blogging all the action in the first round at Carnoustie. Follow along below.

FULL ROUND 1 LEADERBOARD | OUR EXPERTS’ OPEN PREDICTIONS

(ALL TIMES EASTERN, REFRESH THE PAGE FOR THE LATEST UPDATES)

3:23 p.m.: Aw man. Under-read, but at least he hit it hard enough. He’ll tap in for a respectable round of even-par 71.

3:21 p.m.: Tiger is stalking this putt, taking his time.

3:15 p.m.: 162 yards left for TW. He has a wedge in hand and finds the green, but it will be yet another lengthy putt.

3:11 p.m.: Tiger safely in the fairway on No. 18. Sounds like maybe a 315-yard drive, which will leave a relatively short approach.

3:06 p.m.: TW drains the putt for par, so we move to No. 18 at even par.

3:03 p.m.: Tiger has been leaving almost everything short on this back side, and this putt is no exception. He’ll need another five-foot save for par.

2:58 p.m.: Nice, safe approach to the middle of the green for Tiger on 17. Meanwhile, Brooks Koepka taps in on 18 for a back-side 31. So that’s 41-31, 72. One over par on the day.

2:55 p.m.: Nice iron off the tee on 17 for Tiger.

2:47 p.m.: And he rolls it in. A great save.

2:46 p.m.: Nicely done by TW. Should be an easy putt for par to remain even on the day.

2:42 p.m.: Tiger misses the green on the par-3 16th, and he’ll need a nifty up-and-down to save par.

2:36 p.m.: After missing his par attempt, Tiger has to make a shortie for bogey. He’s now back to even par, five shots back of the lead.

2:28 p.m.: 157 yards left for Tiger now. He hits a good shot, but tough to get it close to the hole. He’ll have about 25 feet left.

2:27 p.m.: Tiger was forced to address the ball on one leg, given his lie, so it was all he could do to just bail out.

2:22 p.m.: Another iron off the tee for Tiger on No. 15, and he STILL rolls into the bunker on the right. Going to be penal by the looks of it.

2:17 p.m.: It’s in! Tiger stays at one under.

2:16 p.m.: Tiger’s birdie attempt comes up way short. A tester left now for par. Kind of a must-make.

2:14 p.m.: Tiger manages to extricate himself from the bunker with an ultra-cool steep swing and no follow-through. Will still be a lengthy putt for birdie though.

2:09 p.m.: Tiger finds the bunker on the right side of the green on No. 14 and — gulp — it’s a fried-egg lie.

2:05 p.m.: Chez Reavie finishes at two under to join a very large group at T8.

2:02 p.m.: Tiger has an iron out again for his tee shot on No. 14. Commentators are saying he’s the first player to hit one. He’s safely in the fairway.

1:53 p.m.: TW lips out in for par. What a bummer bogey. Now back to one under.

1:52 p.m.: Tiger leaves his birdie putt WAY short. Tester left now for par on No.13.

1:51 p.m.: The Koepka comeback continues, as he drains ANOTHER birdie on No. 14 to get to one over par.

1:44 p.m.: Tiger now on No. 13, a par 3, 175 yards. PW in hand! The ball checks on the green instead of rolling out, leaving TW with at least 20 feet for birdie.

1:38 p.m.: Fantastic touch by Tiger on the chip, tapping in to save par. He remains two under and three shots back with six holes left in round 1.

1:33 p.m.: 220 yards left for Tiger on 12, and it bounces hard and rolls all the way over the green.

1:32 p.m.: JT just barely misses his birdie try on 18, and settles for a tap-in par. Currently T8.

1:27 p.m.: Koepka in fight-back mode, with birdies on three of his last four holes. He’s now two over par.

1:24 p.m.: Tiger goes with an iron off the tee on No. 12, and he’s safely in the fairway. Meanwhile, JT’s approach on 18 takes a huge bounces and ends up about 25 feet from the hole.

1:22 p.m.: JT ended up hitting that 3-wood 408 yards off the tee. 101 yard difference between his ball and Molinari’s, which found the fescue on the left.

1:19 p.m.: Tiger drains a HUGE putt on No. 11 to get back to two under on the day! Big roar!

1:15 p.m.: Tiger finds the fairway on 11 and hits his approach well left of the hole. He’s pin high, but it will be a long birdie try.

1:13 p.m.: JT smashes a drive on 18, setting up a very short approach and a chance to get within one shot of the lead.

1:08 p.m.: JT with a nice up and down on No. 17 to remain two under, three shots back of the lead.

1:04 p.m.: Tiger taps in for bogey on No. 10 to fall to one under on the day.

12:48 p.m.: Tiger with a solid out from the bunker on 9 and he taps in and makes the turn in a clean two-under 34, three off the lead.

12:42 p.m.: Rough day for two-time U.S. Open champ Brooks Koepka. He birdies 10 to get back to four over. He finished the front nine bogey-double-bogey.

12:37 p.m.: Tiger finds the fairway on 9. Rory also closing in on a two-under round on 18 now.

12:29 p.m.: Par for Tiger on 8. Pretty easy two-putt. He heads to the 9th still two under and without a bogey on the day. Tommy Fleetwood, a big-time favorite this week, also finishes up his day at one over.

12:25 p.m.: Woods finds the green on the par-3 8th. So does Hideki, who is two over through 7.

12:20 p.m.: Woods barely misses his birdie putt. Another good run. He remains two under after 7.

12:14 p.m.: Good shot for Tiger on 7. He’ll have about 20 feet or so for birdie.

12:10 p.m.: Rory with a birdie on 14, and he’s now two under through 15 and three off the lead.

12:03 p.m.: Oh and he misses…Tiger pushes it right and it’s a par on a short par-5.

12:00 p.m.: Tiger with a good shot out. He’ll have about 5 feet for another birdie.

11:55 a.m.: Playing his second shot on the par-5 6th, after a huge drive, Woods pulls it left into a pot bunker. Looks like he will have some room in there though.

11:50 a.m.: Thomas bogeys 12, his first of the day, and he falls back to three under, two behind Kisner.

11:44 a.m.: Here’s quick leaderboard update: Kisner leading at five under, and Van Rooyen, Finau and Lombard all tied at four under. Justin Thomas has reached four under too and he’s through 11 holes.

11:41 a.m.: Wow, Tiger is a rotation away from dropping in a long birdie putt from a collection area on 5. Settles for par.

11:38 a.m.: Here’s Tiger’s birdie putt on 4.

11:34 a.m.: Tiger misses the green short and right on 5, and it rolls down into a collection area. He’s not thrilled.

11:30 a.m.: McIlroy just misses a birdie putt on 13, remains even on the day.

11:22 a.m.: Oh boy, Tiger makes a birdie on 4, from about 12 feet. And he’s 2 under after four holes.

11:09: Tiger Woods’s birdie try on No. 3 misses left; he’ll settle for par.

10:59 a.m.: Rory McIlroy is holding strong at even par through 11. He has one birdie and one bogey on the day. Koepka has made three-straight pars since his opening birdie.

10:54 a.m.: Tiger’s birdie try at 2 just misses high. He’ll tap in for par to remain at one under.

10:52 a.m.: Justin Thomas rolls in another birdie at 9 to get to three under. He’s just two shots back of the lead.

10:49 a.m.: Here’s a look at Tiger’s birdie at 1…

10:45 a.m.: Tiger hits a solid aproach at 2 into the middle of the green. He’ll have a long one for his second-straight biride. Justin Thomas has already made it to two under early in his round.

10:39 a.m.: Tiger chooses a 3-wood for his tee shot at 2 and it’s a good one. It lands in the fairway and rolls out a good 30 yards.

10:34 a.m.: BIRDIE! Tiger rolls in a 6-footer at the 1st get to one under right out of the gate.

10:29 a.m.: From 134, Tiger hits a beautiful wedge that settles just a few feet from the cup. He’ll have a great look at an opening birdie.

10:26 a.m.: Tony Finau rolls in a long birdie at 18 to shoot a four-under 67. He’s just one behind Kisner.

10:22 a.m.: And Tiger Woods is off, stick neck and all! Woods takes an iron on the 1st tee and knocks it into the fairway. Good start.

10:19 a.m.: Patrick Reed drops another shot at 18 to finish at four over. It doesn’t look like this will be the Master champ’s week.

10:15 a.m.: After seven-straight pars to start, DJ makes bogey at 8 to fall to one over.

10:13 a.m.: Your back-to-back U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka opens with a birdie at the 1st.

10:10 a.m.: Marc Leishman has piled up four birdies over his first eight holes to get within one of the lead. Tiger tees off in 10 minutes.

10:01 a.m.: Fowler rolls in his short birdie try at 18 to finish with a solid one-under 70.

9:59 a.m.: Tiger is hitting drivers on the range. He’s claiming he slept awkwardly last night and woke up with a stiff neck, which is apparently why he is wearing therapeutic KT tape. He reportedly received treatment when he got to the course.

9:55 a.m.: Fowler hits a beautiful appraoch from a sideways lie in fescue to set up a short birdie try at 18. Tony Finau fails to convert a long par putt at 16. He drops to three under, two back.

9:51 a.m.: Padraig Harrington, the last man to lift the claret jug at Carnoustie, knocks his opening tee shot just off the fairway with an iron. Spieth finishes with a bogey to shoot a one-over 72. He was three under and bogey-free through 14 holes.

9:46 a.m.: Patrick Reed falls to three over with a bogey at 16. It’s a disappointing start for the Masters champ. DJ somehow saves par after a horrible drive shot at 6.

9:41 a.m.: Tiger tees off in about 40 minutes, but there’s already an ominous sign. He showed up to the course with two pieces of tape on the back of his neck. He’s looked so good this year that it’s easy to forget about his chronic injuries. Hopefully he’s only experiencing soreness and not something more serious.

9:37 a.m.: Spieth launches a wild drive at 18 that ends up in the Barry Burn. Not good. He’s really fallen off a cliff since his solid start.

9:33 a.m.: Spieth makes a great lag at 17 to save par and stop the bleeding. He’ll head to the last at even par. Meanwhile, Finau just sank his third consecutive birdie to move into a tie for second, one shot back.

9:29 a.m.: Spieth’s approach from the fairway at 17 stops on the green, but it’s a good 100 feet from the hole. It won’t be easy to save par from there. Rickie Fowler makes a heroic par at 16 to remain at even.

9:24 a.m.: Another two-putt par for DJ at 5. He’s stuck at even early in his round. Currently there are only 26 players under par.

9:18 a.m.: Tony Finau makes his second-straight birdie to get to three under through 14. He’s just two off Kisner’s lead now.

9:16 a.m.: Spieth hits a great chip from a horrible lie with his second at 16, but he can’t convert the 20-footer par. He’s dropped three shots over the last two holes to fall to even par.

9:10 a.m.: The wheels are starting to come off for Jordan Spieth. He just hit his tee shot at the par-3 16th wide right into fescue. He’ll need to summon some magic to save par.

9:06 a.m.: Adam Scott rolls in a loooooong birdie at 3 to move to one under. Jon Rahm, who’s been a regular winner’s pick for recent majors, is at two under through 14.

9:01 a.m.: Ryan Moore has made it to four under through just six holes. He’s one shot back of our leader Kevin Kisner. Meanwhile, DJ has been bombing his tee shots up near greens all day. But in doing so he’s left himself in difficult positions, so he hasn’t been able to capitalize.

8:59 a.m.: Spieth’s ball on 15 ended up against the wall of the pot bunker. He was forced to hit backwards just to get out, and he overcooked it into a patch of fescue. His fourth shot finally made the green, but a two-putt left him with a double bogey to drop to one under.

8:53 a.m.: Spieth’s tee shot at 15 ended up in the left rough. He knocks his second from a bad lie across the fairway into a pot bunker. He’ll have a tough time saving par. Tony Finau drains a long birdie putt at 13 to move to two under, just three shots back.

8:51 a.m.: Last year’s runner-up Matt Kuchar got off to a solid start, but he just dropped a shot at the par-4 15th to fall to one under. DJ fails to hole a mid-range birdie putt at 4. He remains at even.

8:44 a.m.: Spieth was able to scramble and save par at 14. He’s still at three under, two off the lead. Rory makes it to red numbers with his first birdie of the day at 3.

8:38 a.m.: Spieth is having some problems at the par-5 14th hole, but not as many as playing partner Justin Rose. Rose just had to take two shots to escape a greenside pot bunker. Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy are both even early in their rounds.

8:35 a.m.: Masters champ Patrick Reed isn’t off to the best start. He’s two over through his first 12 holes. Rickie Fowler has made two birdies against two bogeys to stay at even par. Tiger Woods tees off at 10:21 a.m. ET.

8:30 a.m.: Welcome to the GOLF.com Open Live Blog! While you were sleeping, Kevin Kisner fired a five-under 66 in the morning to set the pace for day 1 at Carnoustie. South African pro Erik van Rooyen nearly matched him in the early hours with a 67. But the big story so far is defending champion Jordan Spieth. He may have struggled some on Tour in 2018, but he isn’t struggling in the first round in Scotland. Spieth is three under through 13, just two shots off the lead.