The temperature was in the 70s. The breeze was maxing out at in the mid-teen-miles per hour. And the fairways were stimping at 9.5. Those are just a few of the notable facts and figures from Thursday’s play at Carnoustie. Here are 9 other numbers that help tell the story of the opening round of the 2018 Open Championship.
-1 — That was Tiger Woods’s score as we walked off the first hole, marking the first time he’d opened with a birdie in a major since the 2012 PGA Championship.
1 — The total number of birdies carded by the world’s top-ranked player, Dustin Johnson, who capped his five-over round with a triple bogey from the fairway on 18.
3 — The number of South Africans to finish the day in the top 5. Their names are Erik van Rooyen, Zander Lombard and and Brandon Stone, if you’re keeping score at home.
22 — Along with taking the fewest shots, first-round leader Kevin Kisner also took the fewest putts. The 22 he needed was 15 better than the 37 putts stroked by Oliver Wilson, who shot 75 to Kisner’s 66.
28 — The number of countries represented in Thursday’s field. Among them was the first golfer from Iceland to ever peg it in the British Open. Hats off to Haraldur Magnus, who shot a one-over 72, the same as defending champ Jordan Spieth.
41-31 — front nine-back-nine scores of Brooks Koepka, whose cold-and-hot performance netted out to a one-over 72.
91 — As in, the number of yards Tiger Woods’s drive ran after landing on the fairway on the par-5 6th hole.
128 — The number of yards Justin Thomas had left to flag after his drive on the 513-yard par-5 14th hole. Thomas wound up making par.
396 — The length, in yards, that the par-4 first hole was playing. Thomas Pieters drove it.
