If you’re reading this and you set your alarm clock at an ungodly hour to check in on The Open, you are one of us. If you slept in a bit and are catching up on the latest, you are in the right place.
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There are some terrific groups off early at Royal St. George’s, so if you did catch the early action, you were in for a treat. Here are some of our favorites: At 3:03 a.m. (eastern), Brooks Koepka, Jason Kokrak and Garrick Higgo were off. At 4:25 a.m., Jordan Spieth, Bryson DeChambeau and Branden Grace. And at 4:58 a.m., Jon Rahm, Shane Lowry and Louis Oosthuizen.
Golf in its purest form is here. We’d say to enjoy it, but wouldn’t that be stating the obvious?
4:44 a.m.: DeChambeau makes a mess of the first for a bogey then puts his drive in the 2nd in the heather. An inauspicious start for the 2020 U.S. Open champ.
Ahead at the seventh, Brooks Koepka—who tends to play well in these sort of championships—puts a wedge into the wind within 15 feet at the par-5 seventh, giving himself a look to get into red figures for the day.
4:30 a.m.: Jordan Spieth and Bryson DeChambeau are off. Both find the fairway at the first, Bryson doing so with an iron off the tee. While both will garner attention today (and hopefully the next four days) it will be particularly interesting to see how DeChambeau handles the vagaries of links golf, a beast that has thrown him for a loop in the past.
4:25 a.m.: Your early leaders are Paul Casey and Andy Sullivan at two under. Begging the question: IS IT COMIN’ HOME?!? (Too soon, England? … Too soon.)
4:20 a.m.: Good morning from Royal St. George’s! Actually, we’re coming to you live from America, but we’ll be keeping you up-to-date with all the proceedings from Sandwich over the next four days.