Names with a few more majors to their credit lurked not far behind. Scottie Scheffler, despite having little experience with links golf, is just a single stroke back at -3, along with Matthew Jordan, Tyrrell Hatton and Sadom Kaewkanjana, an ordained monk who’s bringing a bit of serenity to his golf game.

Rory McIlroy shot 1 under Thursday at Royal Portrush, a better start than the first time he played the British Open at the Northern Ireland course near home.

After 18 holes at the 2025 British Open, eyes tend to go to to the top of the leaderboard but also the projected cutline.

The Open Championship had a little bit of everything Thursday, from sunshine to rain, a breeze to strong gusts. And no surprise, it had Scottie Scheffler right in the mix.

Five players opened with rounds of 4-under 67 at Royal Portrush and the SI Golf team debates whether the major champion in the group has an edge.

Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player who has not finished out of the top 10 in the last four months, a stretch that includes another major among three wins.

Kaewkanjana has won three times on the Asian Tour and five times on the Thailand Golf Tour. He played in two PGA Championships and didn't make the cut. And he was T11 at the British Open in 2022. But the bigger story here is that he's an ordained Buddhist monk.

A brief look at the first round of the British Open at Royal Portrush (all times EDT): AT THE TOP: Matt Fitzpatrick, Harris English, Jacob Skov Olesen, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Li Haotong were tied at 4-under 67.