American Jackson Suber Takes Early Lead at The Open 2026 After First Round at Royal Birkdale
American Jackson Suber leads The Open Championship at 5-under after shooting a 65 in his Open debut at Royal Birkdale, with Daniel Brown and Sungjae Im one shot back at 4-under.
Jackson Suber holds a one-shot lead at The Open Championship after the first round at Royal Birkdale, shooting a 5-under 65 in his Open debut.
Suber, an American, carded six birdies and an eagle to reach 5-under. England's Daniel Brown and South Korea's Sungjae Im are tied for second place at 4-under, one shot back. Nine players sit at 3-under, including Bryson DeChambeau, while defending champion Scottie Scheffler is two shots off the pace at 2-under.
Thirty-eight players finished under par in the opening round, though only six of those with major championship wins cracked the top group: DeChambeau at 3-under, Scheffler and Collin Morikawa at 2-under, and Jon Rahm, Keegan Bradley, and Shane Lowry at 1-under.
Brown's round featured seven birdies and three bogeys, with three consecutive birdies starting at the eighth hole jumpstarting his day. Im posted four birdies and no bogeys on the back nine after a more moderate front nine of one birdie, one bogey, and seven pars.
Notable underperformance came from some of the field's biggest names. Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, and Matt Fitzpatrick all finished over par. Schauffele's round ended with a double bogey on the 18th hole for a 71, while McIlroy and Fitzpatrick both shot 72.
Cameron Young closed his round with a particularly strong finish, making 132 feet, 11 inches of putts—significantly more than his average of 68 feet per round over his last 20 rounds since winning the Cadillac Championship. Young's final-hole save for par gave him a 3-under 67.
The unusual conditions at Royal Birkdale, shaped by England's record heat wave, have made course preparation difficult. Sean McLean, the course manager, noted that wind patterns shifted unexpectedly throughout the day, swinging back toward the sea. Tom Mackenzie, co-founder of the design firm that renovated the course ahead of this year's Open, stated: "You can't plan for these conditions. You just absolutely can't."
Historically, each of the last 26 Open champions was within five shots of the lead after the first round, suggesting the field remains relatively compact heading into Round 2.
