In one of my tweets earlier in the week, I screamed “It’s Scotland.” Fortunately, no one called me on the carpet for that error. Make no mistake: we are near Liverpool, the land of the Beatles, football, and the Mersey river. Royal Liverpool is called Hoylake among the golf-knowledgeable, and it is a proper golf links. It has a wonderful history of winners, including Rory and Tiger as its previous two, champion golfers of the year. Royal Liverpool saw a fair bit of precipitation in the weeks leading up to this year’s playing, so  even with the quick-dry nature of a sand base, it’s still a bit soft. The fairways are narrow, and the new 17th hole has everyone abuzz. We’re abuzz, as well, over the five things we learned today, after morning coffee and watering the shrubbery. Let’s have a look.

Wonderful imagination. Perfect execution.

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

— The Open (@TheOpen) July 20, 2023

1. An amateur posted five-under par on day one

Christo Lamprecht is a tallish South African youth, who selected Georgia Tech for his university studies and golf seasons. He negotiated the Royal Liverpool links as if he had some sort of insider information. The six feet-eight inch Yellowjacket posted three birdies on the outward half, then added a fourth at the tenth hole. At eleven, he missed the fairway, then overshot the green with his second. His pitch left him eight feet, but his putt for par was off the mark. At the par-four 16th hole, Lamprecht again missed the fairway, and was compelled to chop out to the short grass. His pitch from 30 yards left him a dozen feet for par, but again, the putt erred.

Fortunately for Lamprecht, those two bogies were offset by three birdies, including a five-feet make on the final green. Lamprecht won The Amateur Championship in late June, securing his position in this championship. He defeated Ronan Kleu of Switzerland, by a healthy margin.

And please, discount what the clip says below. Lamprecht drove his ball into the greenside bunker at four, so the recovery was his second, not his third, swing. He took two putts from 26 feet for par.

Links golf on full display @TheOpen ? pic.twitter.com/aU3ScybUkh

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 20, 2023

2. The US Open champion is in the hunt

Wyndham Clark, the most recent major champion and newly-minted champion of the United States Open, found his way to a scorecard that totaled four birdies against a solitary bogey … more on Mr. Bogey later. After nine pars to open his round, Clark set to work with birdies at the 10th and 11th holes. A 200-yard approach to the green at number ten, left him a wee effort for three of 2.5 feet. On eleven, Clark escaped the rough from 90 yards, and faced another putt for three, of just less than eight feet. He converted.

Clark’s only moment of trouble (see below) came at the 14th hole. A drive into the right rough necessitated a mighty thwack with a wedge, to return to safety. Clark’s first swing moved the ball one meter. His second effort (third of the hole) crossed the fairway, into deeper rough. Another massive swipe brought the ball to a rest, 18 feet from the hole. With mental and mathematical elements on the line, Clark holed for bogey, and saved his round. Two birdies coming home brought him within two of the day-one lead.

Find the wrong spot at @RLGCHoylake and you'll get big trouble.@usopengolf winner Wyndham Clark found that out the hard way. pic.twitter.com/bApMttgZtk

— The Open (@TheOpen) July 20, 2023

3. Two professionals join Lamprecht at top

Neither Emiliano Grillo nor Christo Lamprecht was expected to ride the lead horse after 18 holes, but local lad Tommy Fleetwood certainly was at the top of everyone’s list to figure in this event. Both Grillo and Fleetwood followed the lead trail carved by Lamprecht, and each did it in a different wave. Fleetwood was out in game 18 of 54, while Grillo worked his magic from the 37th game.

Fleetwood sandwich his lone bogey betwee n birdies at five and seven. He awakened on the inward half, posting four birdies from the 11th tee to the 16th green. He looked to be in some trouble on 18, but recovered nicely on two occasions. First, the Englishman pitched out of a rotten lie in the rough with his second, which allowed him to reach the green with his third. Then, Fleetwood navigated a curving, 45-feet putt to near perfection, holing in par.

All things being equal, Grillo should fade away over the next 54 holes, alongside Lamprecht, while Fleetwood should remain in the hunt until the last putt is holed. In major-championship golf, over a links, all things are unequal. A stout heart and head are required to navigate the turbulent trace of Royal Liverpool.

From downtown Liverpool ?@GrilloEmiliano finishes with a birdie and share of the lead @TheOpen. pic.twitter.com/zN0jZN8a68

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 20, 2023

4. Those who went away

Forget that I had Rasmus Højgaard in a pool, and forget that he opened with a quadruple bogey, ultimately posting 78. The ones that caught everyone’s eye are Justin Thomas (+6 for T130) and Joaquín Niemann (+7 for T143). Niemann has spent the last year on the LIV series, and seems out of touch with 72-hole, championship golf. He began the day with birdies on holes one and three, but that pair represented the last strokes he would gain on Hoylake. His run of four bogeys and a triple, from eight through twelve, took him from minus-two to plus-five. Niemann lost another two strokes to Old Man Par in his run to the clubhouse.

Justin Thomas, frankly, is lost. His game has left him. Until the 18th hole, it was a series of small cuts that sapped his resolve. A bogey here, another one there, and but two birdies on the day. It all came undone on the 18th. Thomas went OOB to the right, reached the greenside bunker in four, left a shot or three in the sands and rough ’round the green, and signed for nine. 82 was his day-long tally, with only an 83 between him and the basement.

Another who struggled, was Sahith Thegala. His play in the states has brought him close to an inaugural tour victory. His play at Hoylake reminds us all of the difference between golf architecture and climate. Consecutive doubles at holes three and four dropped the man from California to plus-five, and his round had barely begun. One birdie was suffocated by three more bogies, and Thegala finished at plus-eight on the day.

5. Guys that held it together

Neither Scottie Scheffler nor Rory McIlroy had their best games on Thursday. What each was able to do, was hold the moving parts together, and stanch the bleeding when it came. Scheffler putted horribly and didn’t drive the ball much better, but he found the manner of getting around in 70 strokes, just four behind the lead. McIlroy was one shot worse, which may be attributed to his struggles in the greenside pot on the 18th. As with Scottie, Rory remained patient all day, and remained in the hunt for the Claret Jug.

Joining the pair around par were Viktor Hovland, 2023 PGA Champion Brooks Koepka, Patrick Cantlay, and Tyrrell Hatton. Regardless of what the leading trio does, these chasers will need to find a 67 or a 66 on Friday, to avoid losing more ground.

Avoiding disaster on 18.@McIlroyRory with an incredible par save from a pot bunker @TheOpen ? pic.twitter.com/4TFhwVJkNW

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 20, 2023