The Open round review: Shane Lowry trails Dan Brown at Royal Troon

The first round of The Open at Royal Troon is in the books, and a Cinderella story is atop the leaderboard. Dan Brown, the world’s 272nd-ranked player, is one shot ahead of Shane Lowry at Royal Troon.

It was a day when the field faced a myriad of conditions, and many of the game’s biggest names struggled in the inclement weather. Here’s everything you need to know from the first round at Royal Troon.

The leader

Brown’s 65 on Thursday came in his first round in a major championship. The 29-year-old, winner of one DP World Tour event, went through qualifying to make the field at Royal Troon. Brown was bogey-free Thursday.

Storylines

Tiger at Troon: Tiger Woods showed glimpses of promise Thursday at The 152nd Open Championship, but he failed to maintain a rhythm in any facet. The result was a frustrating 8-over 79 at Royal Troon, well outside the projected cut line into Friday's second round on the Scottish coast.

"I didn't do a lot of things right today," Woods said afterward. "I didn't hit my irons very close, and I didn't give myself a whole lot of looks today. I need to shoot something in the mid-60s tomorrow to get something going on the weekend.

Full circle for Thomas: What a difference a year makes.

Justin Thomas opened last year’s Open Championship with an 82, a round that was indicative of the struggles that marred his 2023 season. He left Royal Birkdale concerned with his position in the FedExCup Playoffs (he’d fail to qualify for golf’s postseason) and on the U.S. Ryder Cup team (he received a captain’s pick onto the roster).

Now Thomas is the early leader at The Open after shooting 68 on Thursday at Royal Troon.

Thomas had five birdies in his opening 10 holes, then endured a double and bogey on Nos. 12 and 13. Birdies at the last two holes gave him a 68.

“I’m extremely pleased,” Thomas said after the round. “Birdieing those last two holes leaves a completely different taste in my mouth. I felt like I only had one bad swing today and it cost me, but even there I was a short putt away from saving bogey. I tried to stay patient and keep my head down.”

Return to sender: The Postage Stamp is a beguiling hole, and it got the best of Rory McIlroy, who is off to a slow start Thursday at The Open. McIlroy made double on the 118-yard hole and was 2-over par after his first eight holes of The Open.

McIlroy’s wedge shot onto the eighth green bounced twice and looked to stop right of the pin, but it slowly trickled into a deep bunker right of the green. McIlroy’s first attempt from the bunker didn’t make it onto the green and rolled back into the bunker. He hit his next shot well past the hole, ensuring his ball would stay safely on the putting surface. He two-putted for double.

McIlroy arrived at Royal Troon after finishing fourth at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open, his first start since his heartbreak in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst. He finished T5 in the 2016 Open at Royal Troon.

McIlroy had a run-in with another Royal Troon landmark on the 11th hole, hitting his tee shot onto the railroad tracks that give the hole its name. He made another double there to fall to 5 over.

He signed for a 78 on Thursday, his highest round in a major since the opening round of The Open at Royal Portrush in 2019.

Big names struggle: McIlroy wasn’t the only big name to struggle Thursday. It was an underwhelming day for many of the sport’s top stars, who were caught off guard by an unusual west/northwesterly wind off the coast of the Firth of Clyde. What was expected to be a gettable downwind opening nine turned into a cutthroat start that featured gusts upwards of 30 mph straight into the players' faces.

Among the players who will need a Friday rally to play the weekend at Royal Troon are Woods (79, 8-over), McIlroy (78), Wyndham Clark (78), Theegala (77), Homa (76), Bryson DeChambeau (76), Tommy Fleetwood (76), Hideki Matsuyama (75), Viktor Hovland (75) and Ludvig Aberg (75).

“That's the beauty of The Open,” said Tom Kim, who shot 76. “There's so many things you have to be smart about, and you have to try to predict bounces. I'm actually kind of looking forward to seeing how the scores are going to be in the afternoon.”