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THE 153rd OPEN: 13 - 20 July 2025 ROYAL PORTRUSH


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1st hole article...

British Open 2025: With controversial internal OB, is this the hardest tee shot in the Open rota?

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https://www.golfdigest.com/story/hardest-opening-hole-at-the-open 

 

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Ask any golfer and they will tell you the most nervous they get on a golf course is the first tee. The start of the adventure. Whether you’ve warmed up properly or not, the anticipation of what is ahead can be overwhelming.

For the pros, it’s exactly the same. At the 2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush, Rory McIlroy pulled his opening tee shot out-of-bounds and later admitted he was nervous and overwhelmed by the pressure and ovation he received that morning.

“I remember the ovation I got on the first tee on Thursday” he told media on Monday, “and not being prepared for it or not being ready for how I was going to feel or what I was going to feel.”

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McIlroy started his tournament that week with a quadruple-bogey 8, but he wasn’t alone in his struggles.

 

The first hole and specifically the first tee shot at Royal Portrush is possibly the most demanding in the Open rota.

Let me try and explain why that is.

The hole measures 421 yards from the Championship tee and is flanked by out-of-bounds on both sides. Whilst there is 70 yards of space between the O.B. lines, the lack of a “safe side” offers no bail out for opening tee shots. It was on the left that McIlroy missed six years ago, while the right side was once the boundary of the course.

The small, triangular plot of land to the right was originally not owned by Royal Portrush, but by a local man by the name of Hugh. When members would slice their balls on the first tee, they would say they were “hitting onto Hughie’s land.” The name stuck and thus, the hole is now named Hughie and the parcel of land is now used as a club practice area.

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Another factor in the challenge of the opening tee shot is the bunkers. Not necessarily their size or severity, but their positioning. When asked on Monday what he thought about the course, 2019 champion Shane Lowry was quick to point to the bunkers.

“I forgot how well bunkered it is,” he said. “There’s a lot of options off tees. You just have to go with what you feel. You’re going to see a lot of people hitting different clubs off different tees.”

And the first hole is a perfect example.

The first trap is 260 yards from the Championship tee, bridging the fairway and first cut of rough. The second bunker is on the left but not directly across from the other bunker. It’s 20 yards further on and measures 290 yards from the tee.

If a player chooses less than driver, they will favor the left-hand side of the hole and stare down this bunker, whilst also being aware of the out-of-bounds line McIlroy crossed in 2019.

If instead, they opt for driver, they will then look to skirt the right-hand side of the hole and have to avoid the right bunker and out-of-bounds line.

While 421 yards may not seem like a lengthy two-shot hole by modern standards, the hole does play uphill. In the final round in 2019, Lowry hit iron off the first tee, missed the fairway and had 216 yards. He made bogey, but luckily started the day with a four shot lead, ultimately winning by six.

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That year, it wasn’t just he and McIlroy who struggled on the first hole. There were 21 scores of double bogey or worse, with only the 475-yard 11th seeing more high numbers.

Pick up a course guide from the Royal Portush pro shop this week and you’ll note the tip written in italics above the opening hole. It reads “Unless against the wind, take a 3-wood or long iron for your opening tee shot.”

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It seems most of the field this week will follow that advice.

No doubt, all would happily take a 4.

Rory would.

Posted
18 hours ago, MrX said:

Spieth coming off an injury and a third kid?  Hope he proves me wrong but pass. 

Seriously. I was thinking "did a casino write that headline?"

Posted (edited)

Changing conditions all 4 days... might give some of the older players a better chance.  Reminds me of the year Darren Clarke won the Claret Jug...

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Cloudy, foggy, damp and cool.

That's probably what comes to mind when you think of weather at the British Open, and that's exactly what players and fans are in for at Royal Portrush this week for the latest rendition of golf's oldest major.

Let's take a look at the weather forecast for the 2025 Open Championship.

*All forecasts courtesy of AccuWeather

Thursday weather forecast at Royal Portrush

Thursday will be the windiest day of the week, according to forecasters, who are calling for cloudy conditions with winds at 15-25 mph from the southeast. Expect temperatures in the upper 60s and rain showers for most of the day.

 

Friday weather forecast at Royal Portrush

Widespread showers in the morning become scattered in the afternoon on Friday, but forecasters expect a much lighter wind of 5-10 mph coming from the southwest with a high temperature around 65 degrees.

 

Saturday weather forecast at Royal Portrush

Much of the same Saturday. Cloudy with off-and-on rain, high temperatures in the mid 60s and winds from the southeast at 5-10 mph.

 

Sunday weather forecast at Royal Portrush

With the smallest chance of rain all week (40 percent), Sunday might be the most pleasant day. A mix of sun and clouds is expected, but showers could still move in for the closing stretch of the final round. Forecasters are calling for a high temperature in the upper 60s and a northwest wind at 10-15 mph.

 

 

Edited by LTtxfan
Posted

The Open Championship: First-round tee times, groups

All times Eastern; (a) amateur

1:35 a.m. — Padraig Harrington, Nicolai Hojgaard, Tom McKibbin

1:46 a.m. — Louis Oosthuizen, Guido Migliozzi, K.J. Choi

1:57 a.m. — Cameron Smith, Marco Penge, Justin Hastings (a)

2:08 a.m. — Jason Day, Taylor Pendrith, Jacob Skov Olesen

2:19 a.m. — Phil Mickelson, Daniel van Tonder, Ryan Peake

2:30 a.m. — Max Greyserman, Byeong Hun An, Niklas Norgaard

2:41 a.m. — Jordan Smith, Haotong Li, Dustin Johnson

2:52 a.m. — Darren Clarke, Davis Riley, Lucas Herbert

3:03 a.m. — Kevin Yu, Julien Guerrier, Mikiya Akutsu

3:14 a.m. — Thomas Detry, Chris Gotterup, Lee Westwood

3:25 a.m. — Patrick Cantlay, Cameron Young, Mackenzie Hughes

3:36 a.m. — Thorbjorn Olesen, Matthew Jordan, Filip Jakubcik (a)

3:47 a.m. — Henrik Stenson, Stephan Jaeger, Sebastian Soderberg

4:03 a.m. — Kristoffer Reitan, Martin Couvra, Adrien Saddier

4:14 a.m. — Takumi Kanaya, Justin Walters, Bryan Newman (a)

4:25 a.m. — Hideki Matsuyama, Ryan Fox, Matt Fitzpatrick

4:36 a.m. — Sepp Straka, Ben Griffin, Akshay Bhatia

4:47 a.m. — Sam Burns, Aldrich Potgieter, Brooks Koepka

4:58 a.m. — Xander Schauffele, J.J. Spaun, Jon Rahm

5:09 a.m. — Scottie Scheffler, Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa

5:20 a.m. — Corey Conners, Wyndham Clark, Tom Hoge

5:31 a.m. — Denny McCarthy, Nico Echavarria, Patrick Reed

5:42 a.m. — Matt Schmid, Ryggs Johnston, Richard Teder (a)

5:53 a.m. — Dylan Naidoo, Darren Fichardt, John Axelsen

6:04 a.m. — Justin Suh, Oliver Lindell, Jesper Sandborg

6:15 a.m. — Sadom Kaewkanjana, Riki Kawamoto, Sampson Zheng

6:26 a.m. — Stewart Cink, Matteo Manassero, Marc Leishman

6:47 a.m. — Francesco Molinari, Jesper Svensson, Connor Graham (a)

6:58 a.m. — Zach Johnson, Daniel Hillier, Daniel Brown

7:09 a.m. — Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler, Ethan Fang (a)

7:20 a.m. — Laurie Canter, Elvis Smylie, Sergio Garcia

7:31 a.m. — Andrew Novak, Matthieu Pavin, Matt Wallace

7:42 a.m. — Davis Thompson, Dean Burmester, Rikuya Hoshino

7:53 a.m. — Si Woo Kim, Shugo Imahira, Sebastian Cave (a)

8:04 a.m. — Michael Kim, Bud Cauley, John Parry

8:15 a.m. — Matt McCarty, Shaun Norris, Angel Hidalgo

8:26 a.m. — Keegan Bradley, Sungjae Im, Daniel Berger

8:37 a.m. — Rasmus Hojgaard, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Romain Langasque

8:48 a.m. — Aaron Rai, Sahith Theegala, Harry Hall

9:04 a.m. — Justin Leonard, Thriston Lawrence, Antoine Rozner

9:15 a.m. — J.T. Poston, Chris Kirk, Carlos Ortiz

9:26 a.m. — Brian Harman, Maverick McNealy, Joaquin Niemann

9:37 a.m. — Russell Henley, Tyrrell Hatton, Min Woo Lee

9:48 a.m. — Robert MacIntyre, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose

9:59 a.m. — Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland

10:10 a.m. — Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood

10:21 a.m. — Harris English, Nick Taylor, Tony Finau

10:32 a.m. — Lucas Glover, Jhonattan Vegas, Tom Kim

10:43 a.m. — Brian Campbell, John Catlin, Frazer Jones (a)

10:54 a.m. — Nathan Kimsey, Jason Kokrak, Cameron Adam (a)

11:04 a.m. — Daniel Young, Curtis Luck, Curtis Knipes

11:16 a.m. — Younghan Song, George Bloor, OJ Farrell

 

 

Posted

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Golf fans flocking to Northern Ireland's north coast to watch The Open will be hoping to see more than a fair share of birdies and eagles.

But it is a team of birdies of the feathered variety that are working hard to protect the golfing public over the coming days.

A cast of Harris hawks has been drafted in by tournament organisers to keep hungry seagulls away from the course.

Falconer David Trenier told BBC News NI the hawks are making sure golf fans can enjoy their food in peace.

"They are very, very sociable, used to working with large crowds and are big enough to spook the gulls enough to move them off," he said.

Four hawks have been on the course "morning and night" since the gates opened to the public on Sunday, Mr Trenier said.

The birds - named Aurora, Belle, Caine and Cheyenne - will rotate in shifts throughout the tournament.

The team from Clear Skies Falconry Pest Control is specifically tasked with patrolling the skies over areas where food is served.

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Hawks Cheyenne (left) and Caine (right) and their handlers are part of a team that patrol the skies over the Portrush golf course

 

Situated on the north Antrim coast, Portrush is a familiar haunt for seagulls.  Often, Mr Trenier said, the gulls can have "an aggressive nature for food".

"When they come in, the presence of the hawk on the course puts them off, they make sure the gulls don't come down" he said.

They are the ideal bird for the job, Mr Trenier added, and a "clean and green method of pest control".

It is a method used frequently at other major sporting events.

Previous Open Championships at Troon and St Andrews have similarly called on birds of prey, while Rufus, an American Harris hawk, has been scaring pigeons at Wimbledon for more than 15 years.

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Rufus first patrolled Wimbledon in 2008, when he was only 16 weeks old

 

The tournament-going public seem to love them, Mr Trenier said.

"It is so lovely to see the public reaction, they want to talk and they want to ask questions.

"The kids want to have a picture taken and know more about them."

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Pilgrim, a 24-year-old bald eagle, will be at The Open this weekend

 

The Harris hawks will be joined over the weekend by Pilgrim - Clear Skies Falconry's 24-year-old bald eagle.

"He will definitely disturb the gulls," Mr Trenier said.

He added that Pilgrim's presence also tips a cap to the large contingent of American golfers playing at Portrush because the species is the national bird of the United States.

More than 275,000 spectators are expected during the eight days of practice and competition, making it the largest sporting event held in Northern Ireland.

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