The Open Championship is underway at Royal Birkdale, and the early leaderboard is a delightful mess of familiar faces and surprise packages. Jon Rahm, who hasn't broken 70 on an Open Thursday since 2019, is currently -2 through 13 holes and hitting greens like they owe him money. Alex Smalley, a six-time top-three finisher on the PGA Tour who has yet to win, is tearing up the course at -5, because apparently, the fiery, bone-dry links are supposed to be a tricky test. Ha.

Scottie Scheffler, the defending champion, is making a solid start at -3, his flat stick on fire. Robert MacIntyre, after a brief standoff with a drone on the 1st tee - "I'm not hitting until that drone is out of the way," he said, because even birds have to respect his pre-shot routine - finished with a 67. Meanwhile, Bryson DeChambeau put a new driver in play this week, requiring four tweaks to make it go straighter. He's -3 and on track to make his first cut in a major in 2026, cautiously noting, "I still have to crack the code when it's raining and windy."

The weather is benign, with only a breeze to inconvenience the afternoon starters, which is great news for the golfers and terrible news for anyone hoping for dramatic collapses. Tommy Fleetwood, the local hero, is level-par and looking a bit down, because emotional pressure is apparently a thing. And Dan Brown, asked about his smoking habit amid the fire risk, confessed to seven or eight cigarettes a round, adding, "Sorry, mom." The clubhouse lead is currently -4, shared by Sungjae Im and Dan Brown, though Alex Smalley is lurking at -5 with four holes to play. It's all very British, with two Americans loving the links conditions.