The 150th Open Championship started Thursday at the storied St. Andrews, with American Cameron Young shooting a first-round 64 to lead the early field in Scotland at 8 under par. Young had eight birdies, with five of those coming on the front nine, and no bogeys to get off to an impressive start at the tournament.
Rory McIlroy holds the sole spot in second after birdieing the final hole to shoot a 6-under 66. McIlroy and Cameron Smith were tied for second place most of the day at 5 under. Smith shot a 5-under 67 with six birdies and one bogey.
Earlier in the day, Ernie Els was tied with Smith and McIlroy for second place. However, the South African fell down the leaderboard after finishing with a 2-under 70 when he bogeyed on the 16th hole and double-bogeyed on the 17th to sit in 20th place.
In fourth place, Lee Westwood is in a six-way tie with amateur Barclay Brown, Kurt Kitayama, Brad Kennedy, Victor Hovland and reigning Masters champion Scottie Scheffler at 4 under. Everyone in the group except for Scheffler has finished the day with a first-round score of 68.
After teeing off in a later group, Tiger Woods is at 5 over with three bogeys and two double bogeys through 11 holes.
(Photo: Michael Madrid / USA Today)