Jackson Suber leads Open Championship after debut 65-shot

Jackson Suber, a 26-year-old American making only his third major start, posted a 65 on Thursday at Royal Birkdale, becoming the fourth player in Open history to shoot 65 or better in his debut round. He recorded just 24 putts and finished the final five holes four-under, including an eagle on the 17th, to share the top spot.

Dan Brown matched his early-round low with a 66, his best first-round score since June 2025, while compatriot Sungjae Im also carded a 66, marking his first sub-70 opening round at The Open. World No. 4 Cameron Young joined a group at three-under after improving his putting dramatically, gaining more than a stroke and a half on the greens.

Bryson DeChambeau, who had struggled in the first rounds of the season’s earlier majors, rebounded with a 67, hitting 15 greens in regulation despite only four fairways. Scottie Scheffler, the defending champion, posted a 68 after briefly leading with a birdie on the sixth hole but faltered on the greens in the latter half of his round.

Past champions Henrik Stenson and Collin Morikawa were among ten players at two-under, with Morikawa gaining over three strokes on the field through strong iron play. Rory McIlroy struggled, shooting a 72 and ranking 148th in strokes-gained putting, while local favorite Tommy Fleetwood recorded a 69 despite hitting only nine greens in regulation.

The afternoon half of the field averaged 1.86 strokes over par, compared with a one-stroke over par average for the morning group. Only four eagles were recorded in total, three of them on the par-4 17th. Historically, every Open champion in the past 26 editions was within five strokes of the lead after the first round, underscoring the competitive nature of the tournament.