What was the biggest surprise on Day 1 of the Open Championship?

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The first round of the 2024 Open Championship had everything it should have — rugged Scottish weather, unpredictable winds and, of course, players scratching their heads trying to get out of those pesky pot bunkers. Daniel Brown (six under) holds the lead after an eventful Day 1. What was the biggest surprise on Thursday at The Open?

Josh Sens, senior writer (@JoshSens): I’ll pluck the low-hanging fruit and go with Rory McIlroy’s seven-over opening round. No doubt he drew some of the worst of the weather, but a few of his stumbles — the OB tee shot on 11, the indifferent wedge on 13 and so on — seemed as much mental glitches as anything. I’m not sure that anything in links golf counts as a true shocker — we’re supposed to expect the unexpected — but often what’s even harder to get a handle on these days is what’s going on in Rory’s head.

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Josh Berhow, managing editor (@Josh_Berhow): Daniel Brown is 29 years old and making his first major start, and before his 61st-place finish at the Genesis Scottish Open, he had missed six cuts and withdrew from another tournament in a seven-event span. So of course he leads! He birdied two of the last three and didn’t make a bogey for a brilliant major debut. But other than Brown’s surge up the leaderboard, the answer has to be Rory. Like so many others I thought he’d really bounce back this week, but we didn’t see that today.

Jack Hirsh, assistant editor (@JR_HIRSHey): It’s Justin Thomas’ late-round recovery. He took the lead at four under, which, despite his opening-round 62 last week, is surprising on its own. But then his round could have gone off the rails when he couldn’t do anything with the best drive of the day on 11, doubled 12 and bogeyed 13. I thought we were heading for a 75 and eventually another missed cut in what’s been a long streak of bizarre play from the two-time major winner. But he righted the ship, knocked it stiff on 17, one of the toughest holes all day, and made a solid birdie putt at the last to grab the best round of the morning wave.

Ryan Barath, equipment editor (@rdsbarath): Rory’s first round was truly shocking, and to be fair so was Bryson DeChambeau’s. Both of these players handled tough conditions at Pinehurst extremely well, and today I was hoping to see them jockeying for position atop the leaderboard at Royal Troon — not sitting well below the potential cutline. If I had a second pick, I agree with Jack in that Justin Thomas’ recovery was not what I was expecting after his mid-round troubles. He still continues to struggle with consistency, and after the double bogey I was half expecting a full ejection.

Dylan Dethier, senior writer (@dylan_dethier): The biggest surprise, for me, was a delightful one: Troon played tough! I know the fellas snuck a couple low ones through at the end (shoutout Dan Brown) but the fact that only 17 pros are under par after the first round means good scores were well earned. The only thing better than an Open is a tough Open. Can’t wait for the rest of the week.

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