'Wouldn't have thought it was possible': Smith's admission over ugly ...

It was the day Royal Troon bared its teeth and it left some of the world’s best golfers bleeding shots in a brutal start to the British Open, with Australian star Cameron Smith shooting his worst ever round in a major.

Just two years after hoisting the Claret Jug aloft at St Andrews, Smith was the leading contender who fared poorest in testing conditions, with a horror start cascading into a nine-over par 80.

Only a decent putt for his third birdie on the last saved the bewildered Smith, who teed off shortly before 3pm in the worst of the conditions, from setting a new over-par worst following his 9-over 79 at Shinnecock Hills on the first day of the 2018 US Open.

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A drastic wind change from the practice rounds and regular bursts of rain, in conjunction with the thickest of thistle and gorse on the coastal course, and along with trains and planes as well, to render scoring difficult throughout a challenging opening day.

“It’s just a bad day, really. I mean, if you had told me yesterday that I was going to shoot that, I wouldn’t have said that was possible,” he said.

“But (it was) just a bit of a crappy start and didn’t really manage to hold any putts when I needed to, to kind of get back in it. It’s just a bad day and I had some bad breaks as well.”

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TROON, SCOTLAND – JULY 18: Cameron Smith of Australia prepares to play his second shot on the sixth hole on day one of The 152nd Open championship at Royal Troon on July 18, 2024 in Troon, Scotland. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

Rubbing salt into the rawest of wounds for Smith, who turned in 43 and ballooned to 10-over twice on the back nine, is that his playing partner Shane Lowry shot a superb five-under 66 when revelling in the cross-winds. He trails leader Daniel Brown by one shot.

Fellow partner Matt Fitzpatrick was among the 17 players including Adam Scott and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who both shot 1-under, to finish under par as Troon put stars including multiple major winners including Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods and Ernie Els to the sword.

After finishing sixth in a LIV Tour event last week, Smith said he felt quietly confident on Wednesday.

But with the wind whipping to 40km/h in wintry conditions, the 30-year-old pulled an iron with his second shot of the day to the left of the opening green in an over-par start.

When his arm shot right on the second tee – while Lowry and Fitzpatrick went left, Smith’s ball cut towards the Firth of Clyde despite the direction of the heavy gale – to indicate a wayward drive to the crowds standing near the beach, the alarm bells were ringing.

A triple-bogey eventuated, but the former world No. 2s day only worsened in an erratic display that left him looking bewildered as his hopes of contending again were dashed by a round where he also scored nine bogies, just five pars and three birdies.

“If you ask Shaneo, it is probably a different story, but no, it’s hard, mate,” he said.

“There was a lot of crosswinds and it was hard to keep the ball on the fairway and then, when you landed in the rough, you (are) kind of guessing when you land something short with the bounces you are going to get, so yeah, it was brutal.

“It really was a good test of golf and you needed to be on your A-plus game to be under par and I witnessed it.”

TROON, SCOTLAND – JULY 16: Cameron Smith of Australia talks with Adam Scott of Australia during a practice round prior to The 152nd Open championship at Royal Troon on July 16, 2024 in Troon, Scotland. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

Scott enjoyed the most favourable conditions early in the day, but even the morning test was particularly tricky, with a heavy burst or rain that struck Royal Troon shortly after 7pm signalling a brief summer reprieve in Scotland was over, at least for now.

A small portion of hardy souls in the crowd wore shorts, no doubt hoping the mild conditions from earlier in the week would hold after the day broke looking reasonably bright.

On Wednesday evening the hills on the Isle of Arran proved eye-catching but by mid-morning they were shrouded in cloud, though the weather cleared slightly towards 6pm.

But by the time Min Woo Lee, who broke even with the card after a late flurry of birdies, teed off, the ripples in the nearby Firth of Clyde were rolling in flatter and faster, with some fury.

Scott, 44, is one of three Australians within range of Lowry alongside Lee, who rallied late with three birdies in the final four holes to square the card, and Jason Day, who battled well in the afternoon wind to finish at +2.

“To be honest, I feel like it’s to be expected at The Open. I feel it can be unpredictable,” Scott said.

“Even teeing off in a fairly strong wind on the first, I still felt like that might be the best conditions of the day, so I should take advantage of it.”

McIlroy started to unravel when missing the green at The Postage Stamp, where he shot a double-bogey, before scoring another one when he hit out of bounds on the 11th.

A seven-over 78 was his worst score in a major in five years and follows the disappointment of the US Open, where he missed short putts on the 70th and 72nd holes to finish second.

“Your misses get punished a lot more this week than even last week or even, geez, any weeks, whether you miss it in a fairway bunker or even the rough,” McIlroy said.

“The rough, the balls that I hit in the rough today, the lies were pretty nasty. I think it’s more you just get penalised more for your misses.”

TROON, SCOTLAND – JULY 18: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland lines up a putt on the 18th green on day one of The 152nd Open championship at Royal Troon on July 18, 2024 in Troon, Scotland. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

It was a theme shared by all those who failed to adapt to a change in wind from recent practice days, with many unable to adapt to the different clubs and shots required.

Woods, for example, started brightly with a brilliant birdie on the 3rd but ended at 8-over and lamented he “didn’t do a whole lot right”.

A runner-up last week in Scotland, Scott was pleased with his swing but said the altered conditions along with slower than anticipated greens made Troon taxing.

“I think we’re all a little timid with our putting. The greens are so much slower than we’re used to, and it’s a major,” he said.

“You don’t want to start racing putts by, but it’s hard to even get it to the hole. I think today is about finding your feel for the week and maybe (there will be) better scoring after this.”

Others were less enthusiastic. Recent US Open champion Bryson de Chambeau boosted his hopes of making the cut when eagling the par 5 16th hole, but still scored 5-over.

“It’s a completely different test. I didn’t get any practice in it and I didn’t really play much in the rain,” he said.

“(It’s) something I’m not familiar with. I never grew up playing in it and, (this is) not to say that that’s the reason – I finished eighth at St Andrews – but I can do it when it’s warm and not windy.”

Defending champion Brian Harman described the day as “tough, really tough” after finishing alongside Tyrell Hatton, who lamented that his “ball striking day was pretty awful”, at 2-over.

“It was not a fun experience,” Hatton said.

Australian debutants Elvis Smylie, who finished at 5-over, and amateur Jasper Stubbs, who shot 9-over 80, also found the going tough, though both rallied late in their rounds.

US golfer Tiger Woods chips onto the 16th green on the opening day of the 152nd British Open Golf Championship at Royal Troon on the south west coast of Scotland on July 18, 2024. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USESource: AFP