The Open

The 150th British Open is under way at the Home of Golf, the Old Course at St. Andrews. Follow here all day for updates.

Rory McIlroy is the betting favorite as he tries to end an eight-year major drought, though +1000 seems like a short number with such a stacked field. He gave a shot back at the 8th. His best finish in the Open is second in 2008, four shots behind winner Padraig Harrington. Xander Schauffele, a winner in his last two starts on the PGA Tour, is the second favorite at +1400. Here's a quick look at the favorites and notables, according to the SI Sportsbook: Here are some other notable groups (all times eastern): The 2012 U.S. Open champion finished T19 at last year's British Open and his best finish in the championship is a T12 in 2018.

Overflowing with history and crowds for its 150th anniversary, this British Open at St. Andrews also might have a few ghosts strolling the fairways.

There’s history in that, of course — Nicklaus won here twice, in 1970 and 1978 — just as there’s history everywhere except maybe the “glampground” near the course, what with “glamping” relatively new. Otherwise, it all goes back to Allan Robertson, whose death in 1859 led to the birth of the Open concept beginning in 1860. “It wasn’t long after that,” he said, “that the stands went up. When the sunshine comes and the TV presenters describe it with the mandatory adjective “glorious,” everyone might nod. Out at No. 13 not far from the little marsh with the mud and the gulls next to tee No. 12, the marshals come from Ladybank, about 20 minutes away. He comes from nearby Lundin — not that other London — and because local clubs such as Crail and Leven manage certain holes, the Lundin Links club members will keep things sane this week at No. 3. “I can see how the course can play a million different ways, depending on the weather,” said defending Open champion Collin Morikawa, making his St. Andrews debut. What surprised me most is all the space off the tee where you’re trying to play into other fairways or just weird stuff like that.” It’s everywhere and everything, or as golf philosopher Eldrick T. Woods put it, “It feels more historic than it normally has, and it’s hard to believe that.” Otherwise it might not look all that much different from previous Opens here, with 2015 the most recent, but it certainly feels like a whole lot of more. Now that the Open has reached No. 150, its celebrated sesquicentennial, it’s more evocative than ever to view the grave of “Young Tom,” a sculpture of whom stands ready to hit a ball that looks somewhat buried. The Open has come back here, and the town of 16,800 with its university students from the world and its craggy golfers from nearby has gone into a mighty festival.

Tiger Woods has teed off at St. Andrews. Tracking his first round at the British Open as he seeks his fourth title.

Tiger hit the fairway to the left off the tee. Tiger save the hole for par Tiger hits the tee shot and it lands on the left side of the fairway.

Scoring has been good. Just over 50 players are under par. Cameron Young remains the leader after his 64 in his Open debut. ___. 5 p.m.. Rory McIlroy ...

They also decided on a new trophy — the claret jug. There it was Thursday morning on the first tee at St. Andrews as golf's oldest championship began. Meanwhile, Justin Rose and Alex Noren are both out of the British Open, but only one of them will be playing this week. The flamboyant Englishman began his round by coming within a few yards of going out-of-bounds. With a third-place finish at the Scottish Open last week, Kim underlined his liking of links. He was promoted to first alternate after Rikuya Hoshino replaced Justin Rose, who withdrew because of a back injury just before he was due to start his round. The American missed the cut in five of his first six majors. Cameron Smith of Australia is in the clubhouse after a 67. Young two-putted for birdie at No. 18 to complete a clean card in his first competitive round at the home of golf. After his double bogey on the opening hole, Woods made another double bogey on No. 7 after hitting into a bunker on an adjacent fairway. McIlroy says he feels in control of his game and that gives himself a little more freedom. He still went out in 5-over 41 and already was 13 shots out of the lead.

Tiger Woods skipped the U.S. Open to make sure he was ready for The Open at St. Andrews. We have you covered for Round 1.

His first putt, a 35-footer for birdie, proved his struggles with speed on the greens are ongoing. He knew he missed it when he hit and started to walk after it as he went by on the low side. Woods could not help but laugh as he walked off the ninth green. And he had the one-handed follow-through at the seventh. He has done that a lot to start The Open. Another poor iron shot was followed by another poor lag putt. His approach shot settled forever from the hole. Instead of a legitimate chance at getting a shot back, Woods had to play defense and safely navigated a two-putt par. He had just 109 yards in and missed the green short and right. On the hard ground, it spun back and settled 24 yards from the hole. But Woods had a club too much and flew the flag by 50-60 feet. Then his opening tee shot, a trademark stinger, landed in a divot in the middle of the miles-wide fairway at the first hole. He then chunked his second shot from the tough lie into the burn in front of the green.

In the first round of the 2010 Open Championship at the Old Course at St. Andrews, McIlroy shot 9-under 63, matching the lowest score ever in a single round at ...

Now, he has a chance to let his game do the rest of the talking. McIlroy was the defending Open champion the last time the tournament was played at St. Andrews in 2015. He was eighth at the PGA Championship at Southern Hills after shooting 65 in the first round; he shot 67 in the opening round and tied for fifth at the U.S. Open. It's one of the highest achievements that you can have in golf." At the U.S. Open in June, McIlroy said he was taking a hard line against LIV Golf because "it's the right thing to do." "I don't know if a golfer's career isn't complete if you don't, but I think it's the holy grail of our sport," McIlroy said. He has been able to block out the noise when it mattered most. He finished second at the Masters and shot 8-under 64 in the final round. "I believe that my best days are still ahead of me, and I think theirs are too," McIlroy said before the U.S. Open. "So that's where it feels like you're taking the easy way out. McIlroy, 33, has won twice on tour -- the CJ Cup at Summit in October and the RBC Canadian Open in June -- to climb to No. 2 in the world. While McIlroy seemed to understand why aging players, including his friends and former Ryder Cup teammates Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell and Lee Westwood, left the tour to accept multimillion-dollar signing bonuses from LIV Golf, he has been more critical of younger players who have jumped. McIlroy shot 8-over 80 in windy conditions the next day and ultimately tied for third, but those remarkable opening 18 holes were the beginning of his stardom.