Contrasting fortunes for Irish at The Open

Darren Clarke made an ideal start to the Open Championship today with a 15ft birdie on the first, the only one on that hole all day.

He missed from more than half the distance for another on the second, however.

However, with Glover dropping a shot at the first and Thomas Bjorn dropping a shot at the fourth after a birdie on the second, Clarke found himself with a two-shot lead as the rain eased and wind dropped.

In contrast, compatriot Rory McIlroy’s chances looked to have suffered a potentially fatal blow when he drove out of bounds on the 14th – where Gregory Havret ran up a 10 earlier – and carded a double-bogey seven.

At four over for the tournament, McIlroy was nine shots adrift of his good friend Clarke and his hopes of becoming the youngest Open champion since 1893 look to be all but over.