The first day of action at the 2012 British Open concluded with Adam Scott sitting atop the leaderboard. The Australian, a +4050 moneyline play to win the season’s third major before today’s start, hit eight birdies, including five on the back nine, to finish with a six under par 64. First round results at the Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club also saw tournament favorite Tiger Woods get off to a good start as he closed play with a three under par 67. Updated odds for the Open Championship are still favoring Woods to win the event. Tiger is now a +400 moneyline favorite ($100 to win $400) while Scott and Rory McIlory are second picks to take home the Claret Jug at +700 odds.
Adam Scott, while having secured his fair share of professional wins, has never won a major, but he may have his best opportunity yet to change that after today’s scintillating opening round. The 32 year old Adelaide native, who finished eighth at the Masters and 15th at the U.S. Open, bogeyed the third and 18th holes at Royal Lytham; however, he was brilliant in between, notching birdies on holes 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 15, and 16 to hit the clubhouse with a one stroke lead.
Following Scott on the leaderboard were Nicolas Colsaerts, Paul Lawrie, and Zach Johnson, all of whom recorded a first round score of 65. American Brandt Snedeker secured sole possession of fifth place with a four under par 66 while sixth place (67) featured an eight way tie between a host of big names, including major winners Rory McIlroy, Ernie Els, Bubba Watson, Graeme McDowell, and Tiger Woods.
Among the first day’s biggest disappointments were Lee Westwood and Phil Mickelson. Westwood, who was drawing +1415 odds to win the Open Championship prior to today’s start, is tied for 99th after shooting a three over par 73. Mickelson, another pre-tournament favorite at +2850 odds, also registered a 73 after scoring four bogeys and one double bogey.
Luke Donald, the world’s top ranked golfer and another favorite to win this year’s Open, closed out the first round with an even par 70. Other notables include Tom Watson, a five time British Open champion, and last year’s winner, Darren Clarke. Watson, who stunned fans and pundits alike with a second place Open finish in 2009, finished the day with a one over par 71 while Clarke put himself in an unenviable cut position with a six over 76.
Second round play at the 2012 British Open is scheduled to begin at 1:30am ET with the trio of Bob Estes, Steven O’Hara, and Brendan Jones. Tiger Woods is scheduled to tee off at 9:43am ET; Adam Scott will hit the links at 8:43am ET.
2012 British Open Updated Odds:
Tiger Woods +400, Rory McIlroy +700, Adam Scott +700, Zach Johnson +1000, Paul Lawrie +1000, Nicolas Colsaerts +1500, Graeme McDowell +1500, Ernie Els +2000, Bubba Watson +2500, Steve Stricker +2500, Luke Donald +2500, Padraig Harrington +3000, Brandt Snedeker +3000, Peter Hanson +3000, Francesco Molinari +3000, Matt Kuchar +4000, Charl Schwartzel +5000, Fredrik Jacobsen +5000, Anders Hansen +6000, Lee Westwood +6000, Hunter Mahan +6000, Jason Dufner +8000, Rickie Fowler +8000, Phil Mickelson +8000, Ross Fisher +8000, Sergio Garcia +10000, Retief Goosen +10000, Thomas Bjorn +10000, Martin Laird +10000, KJ Choi +12500, Keegan Bradley +12500, Nick Watney +12500, Ian Poulter +12500, Louis Oosthuizen +12500, Andres Romero +12500, Bo Van Pelt +12500, Alexander Noren +15000, Jim Furyk +15000, Justin Rose +15000, Dustin Johnson +15000, Miguel Angel Jimenez +15000, Ross McGowan +20000, Bill Haas +20000, Carl Pettersson +20000, John Daly +20000, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano +20000, Angel Cabrera +20000, Raphael Jacquelin +20000, Kyle Stanley +20000, Vijay Singh +20000, Davis Love III +20000, Simon Dyson +20000, Aaron Baddeley +20000, Geoff Ogilvy +20000, Charles Howell III +25000, Harris English +25000, Branden Grace +25000, Paul Casey +25000, Kevin Na +25000, Sang-Moon Bae +25000, Lucas Glover +25000, Greg Chalmers +25000, Stewart Cink +25000, Tom Watson +30000, Pablo Larrazabal +30000, Gary Woodland +30000, Joost Luiten +30000, Johnson Wagner +30000, Jonathan Byrd +30000, George Coetzee +30000, John Huh +50000, Chad Campbell +50000, David Duval +50000, YE Yang +50000, Ben Curtis +50000, Ryo Ishikawa +50000, Trevor Immelman +50000, Robert Allenby +50000, Kyung-Tae Kim +50000, Alvaro Quiros +50000, Robert Rock +100000, Darren Clarke +100000, Justin Leonard +100000, Tim Clark +100000, Martin Kaymer +100000
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