The putter was the story for the Canadians in the opening round of the Open Championship at Royal Troon. So goes the flatstick, so goes the scoring.
Mackenzie Hughes rolled in a tidy final-hole birdie to get to 2 under for Thursday at the final men’s major championship of the season and is just four back of the lead held by unheralded Englishman Daniel Brown, who birdied his final hole of the day to get to 6 under.
Nick Taylor, meanwhile, had a preferred destination for his putter after Thursday.
“I might throw my putter in the ocean or go work for three hours,” Taylor told reporters in Scotland. “We’ll see.”
While there was no confirmation either way about the 36-year-old’s post-round plan, it was a jarring day on the greens for Taylor. He had nine birdie looks from inside 21 feet and made just one (a tap in from about two feet on No. 16). He had zero three-putts, but the frustration stemmed from being fifth in strokes gained: approach but 154th in strokes gained: putting – almost dead last in the field.
“Hit some nice shots, just wasn’t able to make anything today. That was frustrating,” Taylor said. “Just can’t make the putts today.
“With some of the wind, you’ve really got to hit it. Just slight misreads […] I don’t think I was necessarily hitting a lot of bad putts, just nothing went well on the green.”
Taylor knows what it takes to make putts when the pressure is on. His recent RBC Canadian Open-winning stroke from last summer may go down in history as this country’s greatest-ever putt.
But It’s been a weird run for Taylor – a multi-time PGA Tour winner and until last week, Canada’s top-ranked male golfer for most of 2024 – at majors. He hasn’t made a cut at a major championship since the fall Masters of 2020, and his second-best result in a major came when he was an amateur, in 2009.
Taylor’s run of major struggles continued Thursday at Troon, shooting a 4-over 75 – tied with fellow native of Abbotsford, B.C. Adam Hadwin – and prompted Taylor to shrug his shoulders with confusion about what he’s going to try to do to rectify his effort on the greens for Friday.
With Taylor and Hadwin in the house at 4 over, Corey Conners was his usual steady self and shot an even-par 71 to start his Open Championship. Conners was 125th in strokes gained: putting on Thursday, but his incredible ball-striking was firmly on display again – as it has been over the last few months. He sits 19th in strokes gained: around the green and 17th in strokes gained: approach. Conners’ elite tee-to-green game allowed him to tame the Troon winds through Thursday but knew there were some missed opportunities in the opening round.
Still, he’ll be just a handful of shots back of the lead into Friday.
Hughes, to his credit, managed to put together an impressive round through a tricky afternoon at Troon as the last of the first-day light faded.
In one of the final groups of the day, Hughes made three birdies in his first nine holes. Despite two bogeys on his back nine, he knocked in a 12-footer for a final circle on his card to put a bow on one of just 17 under-par rounds Thursday.
“I love this type of golf. I feel like it kind of throws the rule book out the window. It’s not about playing perfect golf. It’s just about kind of managing your way around and hitting golf shots. I think that’s why I’ve always loved coming over here,” Hughes said. “It’s nice to get off to a good start.”
Hughes sits eighth in strokes gained: putting for the season on the PGA Tour and was second in that statistic on Thursday. It made for a jarring difference between the Canadian contingent at the Open Championship.
“It definitely had a nice feel with the putter. The greens are a speed where you feel like you can putt them pretty aggressively,” Hughes said. “I think that’s a bit of freedom there for me. It kind of freed me up from that 30-foot range. I had a pretty good feel for the speed and had some nice looks today. It was nice to see a few go in.”
Hughes has the best result at The Open amongst any Canadian over the last few years, finishing tied for sixth in 2021 – his Open Championship debut.
He’s tied for fourth through 18 holes with, among others, PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele. Justin Thomas, a two-time major champion, held the clubhouse lead for most of the morning at 3 under and is third, while Shane Lowry is second at 5 under with Brown holding a one-shot lead.
The last time Lowry was under par after the first round of The Open, he won. He took the 2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush, eventually winning by five shots.
“Lucky I watched a lot of golf this morning and I saw that the golf course was not playing easy,” Lowry said. “Just tried to go out and play my game and hit some good shots and hole a few putts, and I did that, and I’m pretty happy.”
Brooks Koepka and Scottie Scheffler were also part of the under-par group, both shooting 1-under 70s in the opening round.
Among the strugglers were Rory McIlroy, who shot a 7-over 78, and last month’s U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau who shot a 5-over 76. Tiger Woods stumbled home with an 8-over 79.
“I didn’t do a whole lot of things right today,” Woods said.