Paul Mc Ginley (-1) at 600 looks a trade at least as next 2 holes are par 5,s.

With Jason Day pulling out Stateside, I added Hunter Mahan who missed out originally on poor course form.

He didn't get out of it,  what his early play looked set to deliver last week, but at 80-1, he looks worth forgiving here.

.4pt e.w Hunter Mahan 80-1

Hopefully Wood can beat Uihlein over the final 3 holes, land a nice touch. Though, will settle for a tie now.

Went with Garcia, Lowry, Fleetwood and Howell for afternoon interest.

Had backed Hoey for 1st rd leader. Two missed short bird putts, followed by a double bogey dampened my excitement!!

I want a pair of those shoes!!!

He can keep the putter.

GO ON POD,

I don't think its pressure apple. I just think Rory doesn't be quite in 'the zone' at home.

He appears to be in a more chilled out mode, not quite at fever pitch. No matter how good anyone is, they cant win not fully tuned into the task at hand.

You can be 100% sure that his prep, demeanour at, and focus, will be wholly different come the US Open.

So he wont want to play in the british open on a rubbish link course paulie in july?will you ever give it up and stop knocking this great event,

The game of golf originated on links.

Scotland and Ireland have the best links courses in the world ( probably why Mincer hates them)

The British Open is always played on a links.

Despite Mincers claim that its all luck all the great golfers have won the British Open.
The Americans came over after the Great War and took on what was to them an alien challenge,Bobby Jones,Walter Hagen and Gene Saraze all won it.
After the Second World War the next batch of great Americans came including who for me was the best Ben Hogan.
Ben Hogan didnt fly so took the long journey by boat in 1953,it was his only time playing the tournament.
It was in Carnoustie,he won by four shots,he had previously won every tournament he entered that year including the Masters and the US Open.
He missed out on the Grand Slam as he was sailing home whilst the PGA was held

South Africans Bobby Locke and Gary Player also came over and passed the ultimate test.
Peter Thomson the great Australian won it 5 times.

Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus came over in the sixties and both won it multiple times.
Lee Trevino and Tom Watson followed the well worn trail.

Greg Norman Seve Ballesteros and Ernie Els are three more great golfers who would have never played links golf til they played the open.

There is an element of luck yet all the good ones come through,its the ultimate test.

The only great golfer not on the Claret Jug is Christy OConnor and he was the greatest wind and links player of them all.

The multiple usernames discredit this thread

Gobshee, you discredit most threads ya imbecile. And please can ye stop comparing this horses pisss competition to the British Open. That's a major where everybody raises their game, in this garbage the big players don't want to be there

Come on Mincer don't be blinded by hate.

Christy OConnor won upwards of 50 tournaments in his career.
He was the first to ever win a four figure cheque,the first ever to win a five figure cheque.
He won the John Player Classicin 1970 worth 25 grand that years Open was worth five grand.

Christy OConnor never played in any other Major other that the British Open,I think he had 7 top 6 finishes.

At Royal Dublin in the Irish Open one year he was four behind with threeto play,he finished eagle birdie eagle to win.

There was a lot less tournaments.

Do you think Jack Nicklaus and Arnie Palmer were useless also or is it only Irishmen.

Christy OConnor was using old style clubs.woods were made of wood and still holds course records.

Ben Hogan would beat McIlroy if they could play each other in my opinion,come to think he would beat Tiger Woods also,the best and sure to be hated by Mincer as he was Irish.

A neighbour of mine but no relation.

Facts . Rory hits the ball high , death sentence when there is wind on a links course . The no brainer was to lay him instead of trying to pick a winner from the other 153 or so . Congrats to any who did , still cant understand how anyone would still want to back him at 130 or so .

First friend I met today out on the course had been following Rory and co early . His comment re the early starters was " virtually no one seems to be able to read the greens " . RCD greens are true , any good putter can figure out the lines , doing it is another thing though , even when the greens have slowed up like todays ( lots of serious showers ) . I watched 3 or 4 pairings through the 10th hole , 4 players in particular hit the green with their tee shots , all of them 3 putted probably the easiest pin position you could pick on the hole .

Everyone is going to have a bogey or two on their card , trick is to take advantage of the holes which are easily reachable in the current weather / wind conditions . First and twelfth were gimme birdies , both par 5's , Rory hit an enormous drive down the first , probably a 7 iron second to a 35 yard long green  with huge aprons, and bunkered his second . Really poor , all you have to do with that sort of drive is to poke the ball onto the green ( straight) and take your chance with your putter .  You cant overpower a course like RCD , you have to take what it offers you . Rory again hit an enormous tee shot down 13 , but today the play was a 4 wood otherwise you run out of fairway , one player I saw hit an iron off the tee to the perfect position for approaching the green . Strategic golf .

Great to see Padraig up there , busy too recently , he played Walton heath on Monday , but he knows how to craft out a score on a course like RCD .  Just hope he can keep up the gallop .

Eleven was an impossible birdie , pin position required a run in type shot ( down wind) to a pin posion essentially on a slope , 90% of current players on tour cant ( or wont) play that sort of shot -- which is easy if you know how but requires bottle and control . It is not all trust to luck , its how you play certain holes in certain conditions .

While there is no doubt that Christy O Connor was a fine wind\links player descriptions of him as the greatest links player ever are well wide of the mark.In an era where Peter Thomson won 5 Open Championships O Connor's record of two top 3s in 29 attempts is more deserving of the Timeform squiggle than any "greatest ever" tag.
I must admit though that I think Wildman is spot on about Ben Hogan though.His "veni vidi vici" win at Carnoustie in the 53 Open must rank as on of golf's greatest achievements.
On the subject of Mc Ilroy I think his career has been tarnished by rounds like today's. In his prime Tiger always dug deep during a mid round crisis to prevent embarrassing outcomes like today.However the inability to find a way to grind out a score is starting to become Rory's Achilles heel.

Difference between Christy and Thomson was that Thomson was a great putter .  That never applied to Christy , think he learned to putt with a 3 iron ( as did Fred Daly) .

Just turned it over to watch the "golf". 100 mph winds, rain like youve never seen in your life, crazy golf on grass basically.
Sergio going well, really delighted he came, same as McIlroy basically, and we will see how much Fowler wants it in the afternoon. Not too much i suspect.

If he was such a poor putter then the accolade of greatest ever is surely a misnomer.The facts of the matter are that in an era far less competitive than the modern era he failed to win an Open Championship in 29 attempts.It is quite frankly ludicrous to suggest that a player could possibly be the greatest ever links player when he never won the Claret Jug.