The Open 2010: Masterful Rory McIlroy makes hay and history

Genius declared itself at the earliest opportunity today as Rory McIlroy, 21 years old with a savant's touch, played himself to the top of the leaderboard after the opening round of the 2010 Open Championship at St Andrews. A nine‑under‑par 63 gave the young Ulsterman a two-shot lead over the field and a foothold in the history books. Before today 23 players had scored 63 at a major championship, but perhaps none of them came closer to doing even better than that. After (another) wonderful approach shot to the green McIlroy was facing a four-foot putt on the 17th hole for yet another strike against par when his remembrance of things past intervened. "It went through my mind that 62 might have been the lowest round in a major," he said afterwards. "That's probably why I missed." The disappointment lasted for as long as it took him to walk to the next tee and play the final hole in three shots, the last of seven birdies in a round that also included an eagle, at the short 9th. McIlroy has now played nine competitive rounds at the Old Course and has never shot worse than 69. "I have played so well around here before that I really felt if I could come into the golf tournament in good form I would have a great chance," he said afterwards. "Great" can now safely be upgraded to something even more tantalising, although the Lord Mayor of Holywood, McIlroy's home town, would be wise to hold off a while yet on any public proclamations. After all, this is the Open Championship, the biggest show in golf, and this is the Old Course, the game's ultimate test, and these are the greatest players in what is beginning to look suspiciously like a great era for golf. As the day drew to a close, 40 players had signed for a score of 69 or better – an indication of weather conditions that were benign for most of the day. The later starters were caught in heavy rain, although Lee Westwood, one of the unlucky ones, still put together a round of 67, five under par. "It was tricky out there," he said. "This morning was a piece of cake, you could have kicked it round in a decent score." Such scoring was also confirmation of the quality of players in the field and the depth of their desire. No one should expect to be gifted the Claret Jug. Closest to McIlroy was the talented South African Louis Oosthuizen, on seven under par, with a phalanx of leading players piled up behind him, including a pair of past Open winners at St Andrews. It was no surprise to find Tiger Woods tucked inside the top 10 after an opening 67, but there was a palpable giddiness in the early morning air as John Daly reached the turn in 31 shots, five under par, and started the journey home with a pair of birdies. Alas nerves, or perhaps the admiring gasps from the growing galleries, took a hold of Big John, woke him up from his trance and dumped him back to reality. He lipped four putts over the last seven holes, including one that cost him a bogey at the 17th hole and another than cost him a birdie at the last. He finished with a six‑under‑par 66, three behind the leader. The popular American has been through enough in recent times to appreciate that trouble comes in far bigger packages than a few putts that fail to drop. Alcoholism, domestic problems, money problems – you name it, Daly has endured it. Six months ago he announced he was quitting the game for good. Not now. "I'm 44, I've learned a lot. I have never run from my mistakes but, you know, it is how you come back that counts," he said with typically raw honesty. It is, and on today's evidence, both on the course and away from it, he is acquitting himself well. Perhaps Daly should give a couple of lessons to Woods, whose journey back from personal problems has woven a more convoluted, or at least a more terse, route. The world No1 has always chosen golf as his only form of self-expression but, even there, he has lost his voice in recent times. Yet the Old Course has healing powers, even for the most tortured soul, and there was something of a swagger about the world No1 as he put together his five‑under round. St Andrews is his kind of town, the place where he has won two Opens, and it goes without saying he will not hand over the keys without a fight. "I felt like I did a pretty good job today. I let the round mature. Most of the guys were under par early, and I wasn't. But I just keep hanging in there, and kept plugging along. It could have been a pretty good round," Woods said. Pretty good? It was better than that, and Woods will have known as much. Nor will it have escaped his notice that his playing partner Justin Rose, the man who just cannot stop winning on the PGA Tour, finished with a two-under‑par 70. "I haven't played myself out of the tournament, that's the main thing," the Englishman said afterwards. That was arguable on a day of such low scoring. What was not up for debate was that today was something of a victory for Woods – a small one, yes, but then the American was been around long enough to know that great triumph is nothing more than the inevitable outcome of the minor skirmishes that have gone before.