Golf Leaderboard and latest first round scores including Tommy Fleetwood and Scottie Scheffler

The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool gets underway today as the world’s best golfers come together for a final chance at a major in 2023 on the unique challenge that a links course provides.

Rory McIlroy, winner at this venue in 2014, enters the tournament confident of ending his nine-year major drought and he tees off in a marquee group at on Thursday afternoon, alongside Ryder Cup teammates Justin Rose and Jon Rahm.

McIlroy denied home favourite Bob MacIntyre the Scottish Open title last week by brilliantly birdieing the final two holes in appalling conditions and that links form could see him lift the Claret Jug come Sunday.

However, there are plenty of other contenders for the Hoylake crown including world No 1 Scottie Scheffler and in-form local favourite Tommy Fleetwood, who tee off together on Thursday afternoon. Defending champion Cameron Smith won’t give up the Claret Jug without a fight, while Viktor Hovland appears to be on the brink of a first major title and five-time major winner Brooks Koepka can never be discounted.

Follow live coverage of the 151st Open Championship at Hoylake below:

The Open Championship 2023 – live updates from Hoylake

• The 151st Open Championship gets underway at Royal Liverpool

• Rory McIlroy among the favourites to finally end his nine-year major drought and tees off at 2.59pm

• World No 1 Scottie Scheffler, local favourite Tommy Fleetwood and defending champion Cameron Smith among the morning starters

• Full list of Round 1 tee times

• -3 Lamprecht (a), Herbert

• -2 Cink, Reed, Jordan, Scheffler, Spieth

• -1 Pieters, Kanaya, Burns

• -1 Cantlay, Day, Straka, Lowry, Siem

The Open 2023

11:37 , Jack Rathborn

The Open 2023

11:33 , Jack Rathborn

Herbert has tumbled back down the leaderboard, from leading at -3, he’s now level.

So Lamprecht leads outright at -3, with Jordan, Reed, Pieters, Cink, Straka and Scheffler on -2.

The Open 2023

11:19 , Luke Baker

The par-5 5th already causing delays as groups on the fairway have to wait for the green to clear if they want to have a go in two, which then causes delays on the tee.

Scheffler and Co have about a five-minute wait on the tee and similar on the fairway. Playing behind a group containing notorious slowpoke Patrick Cantlay also doesn’t help…

The Open 2023

11:18 , Luke Baker

The par-5 5th already causing delays as groups on the fairway have to wait for the green to clear if they want to have a go in two, which then causes delays on the tee.

Scheffler and Co have about a five-minute wait on the tee and similar on the fairway. Playing behind a group containing notorious slowpoke Patrick Cantlay also doesn’t help…

The Open 2023

11:12 , Luke Baker

A dejected-looking Matt Fitzpatrick taps his putter on the ground in frustration as a shot slips away on the 7th green. Having missed the green left, an unusually mediocre pitch left him work to do for his par and he couldn’t save it.

Jordan Spieth on the other hand rolls in his birdie putt to go to -2 and strides over to the 8th tee

Jordan Spieth and Scottie Scheffler make moves at The Open 2023

10:59 , Jack Rathborn

Scottie in ominous form: He’s at -2 already, then a booming drive on five, it leaks out to the left, but that’ll work.

Spieth on seven, birdie putt from 10 feet, rattles it in, he moves to -2. Superb.

Lamprecht and Herbert lead The Open 2023

10:55 , Jack Rathborn

Shane Lowry enjoying himself, that short game wizardry on the third gives him a good chance to stay at -1.

Matt Jordan now at -2. Lamprecht comes back a little, he’s joined by Herbert at -3.

The Open 2023

10:45 , Luke Baker

It’s gorgeous conditions for golf currently. A slight breeze but nothing significant, and the sun has dried out the course.

Lots of support for Fleetwood, Scheffler and Scott as they walk down the 4th fairway.

Fleetwood raises his hand in appreciation to a young boy who shouts out “come on Tommy”.

The Open 2023

10:26 , Jack Rathborn

Jason Day with those magic hands from the bunker on the third.

Perhaps the best bunker player in the world? He splashes out of the deep bunker and has an easy par putt to stay at -1.

Koepka struggling early, still +1, some others off to a slow start include: Matt Fitzpatrick (+1) and Rickie Fowler (+1).

The 22-year-old South African amateur Lamprecht makes another! -4!

The Open 2023

10:20 , Jack Rathborn

Scottie into the red!

Scheffler with 20 feet more or less and it almost dies one rotation before the hole, but it’s in!

The world No 1 and joint-favourite with McIlroy moves to -1.

Fleetwood’s effort, from much closer, is too hard, he stays at even.

Brooks Koepka (+1) looking to get back to level, has about 20 feet for birdie on three.

The Open 2023

10:14 , Jack Rathborn

A nice punched iron from Fleetwood on the second, it rolls to within eight to 10 feet. Lovely. A birdie try for the local favourite.

Cam Smith birdies the first! What a start for the champion.

Scheffler now, on the second, 20 feet for his birdie coming up.

The Open 2023

10:10 , Jack Rathborn

The Open 2023

10:01 , Jack Rathborn

Cameron Smith is off, the champion plays a tidy fade and avoids the dreaded rough on the left side that has proven a popular landing spot.

And the US Open champion Wyndham Clark is underway too: It’s a baby fade and lands softly on the first fairway. Lovely start.

The Open 2023 odds

09:57 , Jack Rathborn

Odds via Betfair

Rory McIlroy – 7/1

Scottie Scheffler – 15/2

Jon Rahm – 12/1

Cameron Smith – 16/1

Brooks Koepka – 20/1

Rickie Fowler, Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland – 22/1

Tyrell Hatton, Patrick Cantlay – 25/1

Collin Morikawa, Shane Lowry, Xander Schauffele – 28/1

Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth – 33/1

Matt Fitzpatrick – 40/1

Tom Kim – 45/1

Justin Rose, Max Homa, Min Woo Lee, Wyndham Clark – 50/1

The Open 2023

09:51 , Jack Rathborn

Our man out on the course, Luke Baker, is already picking up a trend off the first.

“Everyone is going left off this 1st tee, Scheffler, Fleetwood and now Adam Scott have all just done so.

“Although Matt Jordan was able to save par from there despite then going into a bunker.”

It’s the group of the first wave and we’ll have updates throughout the morning.

The Open 2023

09:48 , Jack Rathborn

Spieth’s second shot into the third is tidy, the 2017 Open champion will hope to be in the mix this week.

Now then, the world No 1, Scottie Scheffler, takes driver and it’s a big swinging draw down the left, it’s in the rough.

The Open 2023

09:44 , Jack Rathborn

Stewart Cink is also in the red, the 2009 Open champion at Turnberry birdies the fifth, a clean start through six holes.

The big names are starting to venture out onto the course now too, Brooks Koepka is underway alongside Patrick Cantlay and Hideki Matsuyama.

The Open 2023

09:40 , Jack Rathborn

My word, the South African amateur Christo Lamprecht is pulling clear early on.

He’s -3 and has a two-shot lead after six holes in his opening round.

Jordan, Herbert, Larrazabal, Reed and Pieters all at -1 and starting nicely on this fine morning in Hoylake, it’s beautiful golf weather and a very low round is surely out there for somebody.

The Open 2023

09:23 , Luke Baker

Some fun groups are out on the course now as we enter the crux of the morning’s action. Jordan Spieth (USA), Matt Fitzpatrick (Eng), Jason Day (Aus) have just completed the first hole.

It’s bad news for former US Open champion Fitzpatrick, who makes an early bogey to drop to +1. The Englishman has been pretty scathing about both the course and links golf in general during the build-up to this tournament, so it’s not a surprise to see him struggling already.

Pars for fellow major champions Spieth and Day on the first, while Padraig Harrington (Ire), Seamus Power (Ire) and Talor Gooch (USA) are in the group behind.

The Open 2023

09:18 , Jack Rathborn

Matthew Jordan has been joined at -2 by Lucas Herbert and Christo Lamprecht (a).

We have three more players in the red too: Pablo Larrazabal, Thomas Pieters and Louis Oothuizen, an Open champion in 2010 at St Andrews of course.

The Open 2023

09:03 , Jack Rathborn

The Open 2023

08:56 , Jack Rathborn

It’s a tough start for former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel. The South African is +3 through six holes so far. While former Open champions Henrik Stenson (+1) and Darren Clarke (+2) are also out on the course.

It’s still Matthew Jordan out in front (-2), the local lad leads by one.

Ryan Fox (-1) is also worth monitoring, the New Zealander has enjoyed a fine season in each of the first three majors.

The Open 2023: Amateur champion makes strong start at Hoylake

08:52 , Jack Rathborn

Rory McIlroy convinced he has the secret to finally crack major code

08:46 , Jamie Braidwood

Rory McIlroy has worn plenty of labels in recent times. World No 1, best ball-striker on the planet, FedEx Cup winner, loyalist leader in golf’s civil war. But the one he wants most desperately of all, major champion, still eludes him.

It has now been nine years since McIlroy stormed his way to a fourth major title in 40 months by winning the 2014 US PGA and, having just turned 25, it felt like only a matter of time until he jumped into the top five most prolific men’s major winners of all time.

Sure, you would have needed to be the biggest of Rory believers to genuinely think he could match Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 or Tiger Woods’s then 14 (later 15) majors but certainly joining Ben Hogan and Gary Player in joint-fourth on nine, or even catching Walter Hagen’s 11 felt if not inevitable, then at least very possible.

Instead, an inexplicable drought began and, almost a decade later, he’s still stuck on four and his inability to get over the line in the biggest four tournaments of the year has definitely become “a thing”.

The Northern Irishman has repeatedly won everything else there is to win and achieved everything else there is to achieve in golf, yet the majors have equalled nothing but disappointment and often outright heartbreak.

Read Luke Baker’s preview of a huge week on Merseyside for McIlroy:

Rory McIlroy convinced he has the secret to finally crack major code

The Open 2023: Hoylake in action

08:15 , Luke Baker

Some early morning pics from Royal Liverpool.

The Open 2023: Matthew Jordan tees off

08:00 , Luke Baker

Here was Royal Liverpool member Matthew Jordan getting us underway a little earlier.

The Open 2023: Notable afternoon tee times

07:40 , Luke Baker

The afternoon wave also has a number of marquee groups, including a certain Rory McIlroy. Here are some names to look out for later today.

1448 Viktor Hovland (Nor), Tony Finau (USA), Justin Thomas (USA)

1459 Rory McIlroy (NIR), Jon Rahm (Esp), Justin Rose (Eng)

1510 Collin Morikawa (USA), Max Homa (USA), Tyrrell Hatton (Eng)

1521 Phil Mickelson (USA), Nick Taylor (Can), Adam Schenk (USA)

The Open 2023: Notable morning tee times

07:20 , Luke Baker

There are some big names heading out on the course this morning. Here are some of the notable tee times in the first wave of players.

0903 Jordan Spieth (USA), Matt Fitzpatrick (Eng), Jason Day (Aus)

0947 Scottie Scheffler (USA), Tommy Fleetwood (Eng), Adam Scott (Aus)

0958 Cameron Smith (Aus), Xander Schauffele (USA), Wyndham Clark (USA)

1009 Shane Lowry (Ire), Rickie Fowler (USA), Robert MacIntyre (Sco)

1020 Cameron Young (USA), Si Woo Kim (Kor), Bryson DeChambeau (USA)

The Open 2023: Tee times and schedule for Round 1 including Rory McIlroy

07:01 , Luke Baker

The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool promises to provide plenty of drama as the world’s best golfers come together for a final chance at a major in 2023 on the unique challenge that a links course provides.

Rory McIlroy, winner at this venue in 2014, enters the tournament confident of ending his nine-year major drought and he tees off in a marquee group at 2.59pm on Thursday, alongside Ryder Cup teammates Justin Rose and Jon Rahm.

The groups either side of McIlroy’s trio will also garner plenty of eyeballs as Viktor Hovland and Tony Finau hunt their first major from 2.48pm with two-time US PGA champion Justin Thomas alongside them, while the blockbuster threesome of Collin Morikawa, Max Homa and Tyrrell Hatton are out at 3.10pm.

The morning wave of players also includes plenty of genuine contenders for the title as world No 1 Scottie Scheffler, in-form local favourite Tommy Fleetwood and likeable Aussie Adam Scott tee off at 9.47am, 11 minutes before defending champion Cameron Smith, US Open winner Wyndham Clark and perennial major top-10 finisher Xander Schauffele.

Here are the tee times for the first round at Royal Liverpool:

The Open 2023: Tee times and schedule for Round 1 including Rory McIlroy

The 151st Open is underway

06:49 , Luke Baker

The first group are out on the course and we’re underway at Royal Liverpool for the 151st Open. It’s Hoylake member Matthew Jordan, who came through qualifying, given the honour of the opening tee shot this year.

His heart must be pounding, even though it’s a shot he’ll have hit hundreds of times in his life here, and his drive drifts into the left rough with a packed grandstand watching.

He’s playing alongside Richie Ramsay and Branden Grace incidentally. Four days of world-class sporting theatre have started.

The Open Championship 2023

06:41 , Luke Baker

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the 151st Open Championship from Hoylake.

What a four days we have in store at Royal Liverpool as Rory McIlroy tries to win a first major for nine years. Stick with us for live coverage of the entire tournament.