Jul
16
Posted By: Chris Garrett ยท
With relatively calm playing conditions on day one, several players with Open Championship experience took full advantage. 59-year-old Tom Watson owns five Open Championships, including the 1977 "Duel in the Sun" at Turnberry. Watson kept the ball in the fairway, rolled in five birdies and bailed himself out the few times he got into trouble, including a testy 6-footer at the final hole to preserve a bogey-free 65 that has him tied for second with another former champion. Ben Curtis "shocked the world" six years ago when he won the Open Championship. He appears ready to contend once again, having finished in the top 10 the last two years. On Thursday, Curtis overcame a pair of bogeys with an eagle at the par-5 seventh and birdies on four of his last six holes. He finished with a routine two-putt par at No. 18 to match Watson with a 5-under 65.
Click on the images below to hear from Watson and Curtis as well as Mathew Goggin and John Senden who are tied for fifth at 4-under.
Tom Watson (-5, T2)
Ben Curtis (-5, T2)
Mathew Goggin (-4, T5)
John Senden (-4, T5)