Open Championship: An unlikely leader, Bryson's bounce-back and Rory's struggles - ESPN

SOUTHPORT, England — There have been plenty of surprising first-round leaders in The Open the past few years.

Two years ago, England's Dan Brown, who grew up on a pig farm, dropped out of college and nearly quit playing golf, grabbed the first-round lead with a bogey-free 65 at Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland. Brown had missed the cut in all but one of his previous eight starts and was ranked 272nd in the world.

The year before, amateur Christo Lamprecht, who played at Georgia Tech, posted a 5-under 66 for a share of the 18-hole lead. It was the lowest score by an amateur in the first round of The Open in a dozen years.

Jackson Suber is a more accomplished player than Brown and Lamprecht, but the fact that he's atop the leaderboard after the opening round of the 154th Open underway at Royal Birkdale Golf Club is just as astonishing for this reason: Suber had never been to Europe before Saturday and had never played on a true links course.

Yet, the 26-year-old from Tampa, Florida, posted a 5-under 65 and carries a one-stroke lead over Sungjae Im and Brown heading into Friday's second round on a course that is considered one of the most difficult in The Open rota and was playing especially firm and fast in dry conditions.

«I'm not really sure, but I feel like I've just been playing good the last few months and just knowing that good golf is going to take care of everything, and really trusting my caddie to figure out where we're going to hit it,» Suber said, when he was asked to explain how he's been able to adapt to links golf so easily.

Suber, a former Ole Miss star, said he watched YouTube videos of each of Royal Birkdale's holes last week and worked with his statistician and caddie, Greyson Porter, to prepare.

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