Stuart Grehan Silver Medal chances take tumble as British Amateur champ shoots 77 on day one

Elsewhere, it was an Open return to Birkdale which Padraig Harrington will want to forget 18 years after his major triumph on the same course

ROUGH START: Stuart Grehan plays from the rough on the 18th during an opening round 77 at Royal Birkdale. Pic: Jacob King/PA

British Amateur champion Stuart Grehan’s hopes of becoming the R&A’s first Silver Medal winner at The Open since 2023 took a tumble with a first-round 77 at Royal Birkdale on Thursday.

A month on from his triumph at nearby Royal Liverpool, the Irish international from Co. Louth was considered a strong contender to finish as the low amateur after 72 holes this weekend. Yet his race looks to be run after a deeply disappointing first 18 holes that featured a triple bogey at the par-four 13th. 

A birdie four at the penultimate hole, the par-five 17th will have brought minimal satisfaction for Grehan but the Baltray golfer has one more round to make amends, though it will take an extra special effort to climb high enough up the leaderboard to make the top 70 and ties necessary to survive the halfway cut.

Grehan (left) and Cameron Smith shakes hands at the end of their round. Pic: Jacob King/PA

Of the 10 amateurs in this year’s field at the 154th Open, France’s Lev Grinberg seems best placed to advance to Saturday’s third round and meet the Silver Medal criteria of playing all 72 holes. 

Grinberg finished the opening day in a tie for 59th at one over par following a 71, while Ireland’s other amateur, Fota Island qualifier David Howard, will begin his second round at four over.

Grehan is not alone in facing an early exit. It was an Open return to Birkdale which Padraig Harrington will want to forget 18 years after his major triumph on the same course. The two-time Champion Golfer, who successfully defended his US Senior Open crown a fortnight ago, had admitted his chances of becoming golf’s oldest major champion at the age of 54 were slim after struggles off the tee at last weekend's Scottish Open and that was borne out by a 10-over-par 80 on Thursday.

Harrington got off to the worst possible start, double-bogeying the opening 500-yard, par-four first after finding left rough off the tee and then a greenside bunker with his second. Bogeys followed at the second and third holes and his day did not improve from there.

Fellow former Open winner Darren Clarke, the 2011 champion at Royal St George’s, shot a three-over 73 to give himself a fighting chance of making the halfway cut, while Holywood golfer Tom McKibbin fared well as the first Irishman out on the course at 8:03am on Thursday, returning to the clubhouse with a one-over 71.