Rory McIlroy out to climb Open leaderboard after first-round fightback

Rory McIlroy had a clear target in mind as he looked to boost his bid for a second Open Championship victory at Royal Liverpool on Friday.

McIlroy recovered from a slow start to card an opening level-par 71 to trail Ryder Cup team-mate Tommy Fleetwood, Emiliano Grillo and South African amateur Christo Lamprecht by five shots after day one.

The world number two, who lifted the Claret Jug at Hoylake in 2014, was two over par after 13 holes before making birdies on the 14th and 15th and a crucial par on the 18th after needing two shots to escape a greenside bunker.

An up-and-down for the ages. #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/pqBSHLFz9T

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) July 20, 2023

“It was a really good par in the end,” McIlroy said. “I got lucky because that ball could have gone into a deeper part of my footprints and I could have been there all night.

“I could have let that round get away from me, but I didn’t with the two birdies on the back nine. I need to shoot something in the 60s and I will be right there for the weekend.”

Fleetwood had earlier ridden a wave of home support as he carded six birdies and a bogey in a five-under-par 66.

“It really was a great day,” the 32-year-old from Southport said. “To get that support all day was amazing. If you’re not going to enjoy this atmosphere and these experiences then what’s the point? Make sure you have the time of your life out there.”

Wonderful imagination. Perfect execution.A quite incredible shot on 18 from Sepp Straka. pic.twitter.com/7c4lUDGyXR

— The Open (@TheOpen) July 20, 2023

Austria’s Sepp Straka plays mainly on the PGA Tour but showed he has the imagination to thrive on links courses with a deft chip on the 18th.

What a day for Christo Lamprecht