The Open 2011 round one - live!

Sandy Lyle kisses the Claret Jug after winning the 114th Open Championship in 1985 ... at Royal St George's.

 

3.45pm: "I'm stuck on train to Scotland - Sandy's homeland (who mentioned Shropshire?) - and thus need an update on the big man's progress," demands Euan Hendrie. "By my reckoning he should be on about the 12th by now and thus around -3. Is he on for a 67 or settling for 68?" That's a wonderful guess. He's just through 12. Not quite there with the scoring: after a birdie at 8 the 1985 winner was level for the round, but bogeys at 9 and 10 have seen him fall back to +2. Two birdies and a hole in one, Dustin Johnson style, and he'll be in for that 68. On 6, Westwood sucks his cheeks in pensively as his birdie effort fails to drop, but at least he's stemmed the flow of dropped shots.

3.40pm: McDowell begins his recovery after that dreadful start - a double bogey at the 1st and another dropped shot at 5 - with two birdies on the spin at 6 and 7. He's back to +1.

3.30pm: Another lovely putt from Watson, a 15-footer breaking from the right on 4. This one's only for par, but the cheer that goes up is as big as anything we've heard today. Meanwhile, as is his wont lately, Westwood is starting a major very slowly indeed. He's just dropped his third shot on the bounce at the 5th; he's +3 already.

3.25pm: Bjorn and Jimenez apart, there's been nobody able to take a course playing very tough by the scruff of the neck. The result is that the tournament has yet to take much shape: there are 83 players currently between third place (-2) and +2.

3.20pm: Sorry, some technical issues at this end slowing things up. You deserve better. Come to think of it, I deserve better. What you've missed is the lovely news that Tom Watson has drained a monster on the par-three 3rd; he's -1.

3.05pm: A birdie for Bubba Watson on 5; he's -1.

3pm leaderboard:

-5
Bjorn (F)
-4
Jimenez (F)
-2
Dyson (F)
Campbell (11)

2.50pm: Some other notable bits of this and that. Darren Clarke opened with a bogey, but has responded with birdies at 2 and 4. Adam Scott has picked up a shot at 3; he's also -1 early in his round. The Masters champion Charl Schwarzel has also birdied 3; he's -1. And Peter Whiteford of Scotland, who finished tenth in his home Open last week, has gone out in 34 strokes, -1 for the championship so far.

2.40pm: Mickelson can't save his par on 1, but what a putt from Oosthuizen, who guides in a 20-footer, breaking gently left to right, from the back of the green. Up on 2, Lee Westwood is close to stroking in a 15-foot birdie effort, but the ball breaks right at the last.

2.30pm: Jason Day - second at Augusta, second in the US Open - is level par through the first three holes, having dropped a shot on the 1st and clawed it back on the 3rd. Mickelson is almost certainly going to drop a shot on the 1st, his second from deep rough well short and right of the green, his long putt in the Scottish style ending up 20 feet from the hole. Oosthuizen is making a similar meal of the opening hole of his defence, leaving a chip from the back of the green well short.

2.21pm: Here's the defending Open champion, Louis Oosthuizen. He pushes the first shot of his defence, a 3-wood, into the light stuff down the right. The reigning US PGA champion, Martin Kaymer, knocks his tee shot down the middle. And the four-time major winner Phil Mickelson - who is due a good Open, having only really featured at the business end of this tournament in 2004 - pulls his into slightly deeper stuff down Oosthuizen Country.

2.20pm: Donald taps in for par on 18, to sign for a one-over 71. Garcia didn't go out of bounds, but could only send his third shot to 12 feet. Needless to say, he fails to make the par putt, ending his round bogey-par-bogey and reaching the clubhouse in level par. "I'm with Gary Naylor on this one," writes Lizzy Ammon. "I love golf (not anywhere near as much as cricket but love it nonetheless). It's a sport that requires guile, guts, brains and a little bit of brawn. But I loathe everything that goes with it: inflexible rules, pompous middle age men running it, the undertones of misogyny and the BBC not quite working out that it's 2011."

2.15pm: It's been a rollercoaster start for Padraig Harrington, albeit one you'd probably ask your money back from after the ride, on account of there being only two slopes: bogey, bogey, birdie. McDowell meanwhile drains a 25-footer on 2 just to save par. He's not started well at all. "Sergio is playing to form," notes Craig McEwan, "losing his mojo just when I start to watch. Maybe it is me and not him?"

2.10pm: Garcia wings his drive on 18 over some railings on the right. He'll get to pop that ball in the drop zone. From which he gets a flyer, dicing with out-of-bounds down the right. For God's sake, Sergio! I suppose he's getting it all out of the way early doors. He's really lost his equilibrium over the last few holes. Meanwhile McDowell leaves the 1st with a double-bogey six.

2pm: Donald birdies 17, to move back to +1. Here's what's going on up top:

-5
Bjorn (F)
-4
Jimenez (F)
-2
Dyson (F)
Hansen (16)

1.55pm: A poor start for Graeme McDowell, whose second shot takes a flyer through the back of the green and ends up tangled in a row of TV cables. He shifts the cables without disturbing the ball, and doesn't disturb the ball too much with his chip either, duffing it only halfway up the bank. That's not going to end well. Up on the 18th, his countryman and pal Rory McIlroy two-putts for par, signing for a one-over 71. He looks happy enough to get away with that after playing poorly by his high standards. Meanwhile there's an emotional press conference by Thomas Bjorn, whose father passed away recently. "He would have been very proud of me, that's all I want to say," Bjorn stammers quietly, doing the best he can, each word delivered with hesitation as he struggles to dam the tears ready to flood out. And a nice thoughtful touch from commentator Andrew Cotter as the BBC segues back to the action: "And that's all you have to say, Thomas." There's so much cheap sentimentality in sport, it's reassuring to see some real emotion now and then.

1.50pm: Here's a group leaving the 18th green with their tails between their legs: Paul Casey +4, Aaron Baddeley +7, the 2003 champion Ben Curtis +7. Baddeley is the only man to wing a drive out of bounds today. Curtis at least has the decency to look sheepish. What a year 2003 was, eh.

1.45pm: A birdie for McIlroy on 17. He's +1. It's far from perfect, but he's hardly out of it. Sergio can only splash out of the bunker to 10 feet, and can't hole the par putt; he's back to -1. I knew I shouldn't have said anything. Why does he keep doing this to us? What's in it for him?

1.40pm: And sure enough, Sergio has found the bunker at the back-left of the 16th green with his tee shot. "Far be it from my to be a pedant (oh, alright then) but as the British Open is on the 'A List' of so-called 'Crown Jewels' drawn up by the last government, then it can't be moved away from terrestrial TV," notes Guy Hornsby. "And while I'm sure it's making Larry Laffan's espresso shake uncontrollably, seeing as there's rain and wind down at Sandwich, it's a little different to following the target golf that much of Sky covers in Europe and the US, where everything's sunny, and pristine. The Beeb to a great job with the Open, and there'd be something wrong with the world without messrs Aliss, Brown et al not purring through their pink gins this week. It's probably a good opportunity to remember the peerless Alex Hay, sadly passed away earlier this week. Sky would be all 3D, adverts and slow-mo montages. No thanks." As it goes, Sky's golf coverage is nothing short of excellent, but you're right: the Open belongs on the BBC. Bugger about with these things at your peril. Look at the Cup Final.

1.37pm: Brilliant from Garcia on 15, who splashes to 12 feet, then knocks in a staunch par putt. His stroke is looking solid, and what's really interesting is the determined air-punch he executes after knocking in his par effort. He seems really in the mood for this, maybe even enjoying his golf again. Come on, Sergio, keep it going, don't upset us all again. He's going to upset us all again, isn't he. Oh Sergio!

1.35pm: Ian Poulter isn't far from knocking in a long birdie putt on 18, but has to make do with par for a one-under 69. He'd have taken that at the start of the day. Every player not out yet would grab that with both hands. He looks quietly content with his day's work. Playing partner and one-man Keystone Kops film Dustin Johnson drops a shot at the last, to card a level-par 70. His last five holes: birdie, birdie, hole in one, birdie, bogey. God almighty, he's one of the most inadvertently entertaining men on the planet.

1.30pm: Miguel Angel Jimenez is asked for his opinion of his 66. "Is nice, no?" He's only really interested in getting his cigar on, isn't he.

1.25pm: Sergio is in all sorts of bother on 15, having sliced his tee shot into heavy rough down the right. He gives the ball, and all the tousled grass around it, a mammoth smash, ending his follow-through hopping around on one leg like a cartoon character who's just overshot a corner. It's a brilliant effort, and looks like he's powered the ball onto the green in spite of all the odds, but it takes a kick left and rolls into a bunker. If he gets up and down from here, it'll be some escape.

1.15pm: And then on 17, Poulter knocked his approach to the back of the green, Jimenez-like, letting the slope send the ball back towards the pin. He knocks in his birdie effort to move into red figures for the first time today, -1. Which is also the mark his playing partner Johnson moves to, having birdied the hole too. He's picked up five shots in the last four holes, including that hole in one. He really is a very good player indeed, a major winner in waiting - if he can eradicate those inexplicable implosions.

1.10pm: The Dustin Johnson pyrotechnics at 16 obscured the fact his playing partner Ian Poulter birdied the hole; he's level par. Nothing's dropping for Luke Donald; a birdie effort on the par-five 14th stays up on the high side. He's still +1. "Re the BBC and golf," begins Gary Naylor, "their Seve programme earlier this week was a missed opportunity. Far too much of Bruce Forsyth and not enough Jose-Maria. Incredibly, there wasn't enough Seve either, with too many context-free party piece shots on unidentified courses and not enough on how he actually won those Majors and built that Ryder Cup record. As usual these days - unless it's Sky - celebrity-led puff pieces swamped the actual sport." Just like their Wimbledon coverage, and much of the racing these days. Not sure when it was decided that the public can't concentrate on any given subject unless there's a celebrity yakking away in the foreground, but the BBC Sport department certainly received the memo.

1pm: Sandy Lyle's parred the 2nd, too. That's all you need to know. But if you want to dig a bit deeper, Miguel Angel Jimenez has parred 18 to sign for a 66, a stroke behind the leader Thomas Bjorn. On the hour, here's how we stand:

-5
Bjorn (F)
-4
Jimenez (F)
-2
Dyson (F)
Ikeda (16)
Sergio!!!!!!!! (13)

12.57pm: HOLE IN ONE! On the 14th tee, the always entertaining Dustin Johnson was four over par. Three holes later, he's back level for the tournament. Back to back birdies came first, but to hell with those: he's leathered a tee-shot wedge into the centre of the par-three 16th green, and sent the ball bouncing along an arc to the left and clattering into the cup! That would have been halfway to Dover had the flagstick not got in the way. He takes his cap off in celebration, then throws the ball into the crowd. Someone will have a very nice souvenir of their day at the golf (unless it crumps into their teeth, in which case they'll have a whole range of trinkets). For a man who so often suffers meltdowns in the majors, it's nice to see him experience an anti-meltdown. A reconstitution? A freezing? Probably best left, this.

12.55pm: Sandy Lyle, in news to warm the cockles of Euan Hendrie (11.15am), has parred the first.

12.50pm: Back to back birdies for Sergio, who rattles a putt straight into the back of the cup on 13. He's -2 and only three off the lead. And - whisper it - his putting stroke is looking more solid than it did at Congressional for the US Open (where he was much improved on the greens, but still prone to missing many short efforts). Alongside him, the world number one Luke Donald is going the other way, sad to say, dropping his second shot on the back nine so far, missing an eight-footer in a manner that can only be described as Sergioesque. Most unlike Donald.

12.45pm: A birdie for Jimenez to move him to -4 on 17. That was an amazing birdie, because he was in some trouble on the left with his drive, only to hit his second to the back of the green, the ball reaching the top of the slope then rolling back down towards the hole, leaving him a six-footer for his birdie. What an old-school leaderboard we have: the 40-year-old Bjorn followed by the 47-year old Jimenez. Gotta love golf.

12.40pm: Els steers a low, long iron into the 13th, a proper links golf shot to 15 feet. But he can't knock the birdie putt in, and stays at +3. McIlroy drops back to +2, leaving a very weak eight-footer short. And Fowler's dropping a shot there too, moving back to level par. "The sooner Sky get the open the better," suggests Larry Laffan. "The BBC camera work is atrocious. They lose the ball in the air and fail to show the ball where the ball lands. They also missed a pitch to green shot by McElroy and instead showed Ernie Els standing in the bunker waiting for McElroy to play. Lousy coverage for a great event."

12.30pm: A birdie at 12 for Ishikawa, but he's still +5 after a disastrous front nine. Garcia knocks in his one-foot birdie putt. I shouldn't need to tell you that, but you know exactly why I have.

12.25pm: On 12, Sergio clips a wedge to two feet. That's a certain birdie, even taking into account his ridiculous putting; it'll move him to -1. "The Lyle Extrapolation sounds like a great title for a Robert Ludlum novel," suggests this report's co-author Dennis Mumby. "Sandy could be the Bourne-like protagonist out to expose the corruption at the heart of the bastion of male hegemony that is Royal St. George's. I have way too much time on my hands today."

12.20pm: A lot of short putts missed so far today. Donald is the latest victim/culprit, dropping back to level par for his round on 10. The wind and rain are picking up - so much for professional weather forecasters, who have been getting away with murder for years now - so despite Bjorn's five-under heroics, anything around level par will be a decent score.

12.10pm: Thomas Bjorn was the sixth reserve, incidentally, only making it to Sandwich this week after Vijay Singh dropped out injured. That is some round of 65, and an amazing story. He's unlikely to keep it up, you'd think, but then that's what they said about Greg Norman and Tom Watson in recent years. The rain's beginning to pour down now, with the wind still blustering away. There's a small cloud over the head of Rickie Fowler, too, as he's just missed an idiotic short par putt on 11, dropping back to -1. "46?" splutters Dennis Mumby, of the Lyle Extrapolation (11.50am). "Do you mean on the front nine?"

Midday: Bjorn can't save his par on the last - a poor chip followed by a very average par putt - but he'll still sign for a 65. If only he could have done that on the last day eight years ago. Here's how we stand, then, on the leaderboard:

-5
Bjorn (F)
-3
Jimenez (14)
-2
Dyson (F)
Moore (16)
Cink (13)
Fowler (10)

11.55am: The rain is coming down properly now. Not too heavy yet, but it's wet and cold enough. On 18, Bjorn sets himself a puzzle by pulling his approach into Lyleland to the left of the green. On 14, Jimenez sends a pitch straight through the green and onto the apron, but knocks the putt back dead to save his par. He's card is very tidy today indeed - three birdies, no bogeys - and that won't be changing any time soon. Meanwhile here are a couple of points on women members from Matt Emerson: "Firstly, read Dawson's quotes, but replace the word 'boys' with 'whites' and 'girls' with 'blacks' and see how outraged you get. It's ridiculous and reflects terribly on both the organisers and the silence of the multi-millionaires who play in it. Secondly, introduce a piece of legislation that states that no TV coverage will be allowed for any sporting event held in the UK at a members-only club that restricts its entry by sex. That should do it."

11.50am: A few specks of rain at Royal St George's now. Fowler is one or two turns of the ball away from moving to -3, but his birdie effort on 10 is dead straight but never quite enough. Els and McIlroy tap in for pars too, staying at +3 and +1 respectively. "I was at the Scottish Open last week for the Thursday/Friday rounds and saw Bjorn and Lyle playing a two-ball behind Ernie Els' group," writes Dennis Mumby. "Two players less interested in being there you could not have wished to see. I think Sandy was 13 over with a few holes left to play, and Bjorn was 3 or 4 over. Makes Bjorn's round today all the more remarkable." So if Bjorn - one par away from a 64 - is anything to go by, Sandy could be on for a round of 46 or less. Is that what you're trying to say?

11.45am: Garcia knocks in a ten-footer for birdie on 9. He's out in a level-par 35.

11.40am: Ben Curtis is +5 through 10. Todd Hamilton has shot 77. What a couple of years those were.

11.35am: McIlroy rolls in a very tricky downhill left-to-right par putt on 9. He's out in one-over 36, which is not a total disaster since he's had to scramble a couple of times. Alongside him, Fowler rolls in a much easier uphill ten footer, and his is for birdie: he's -2 for this championship so far. "Ryan Moore's wearing a hoodie," tuts Rich Graveling, "which would get him thrown out of several UK shopping malls and industrial estate entertainment complexes, yet presumably Peter Alliss's Colonel has turned a blind eye. A precedent-setter for the weekend golfer, maybe." First Alliss's Colonel was "bashing one off" (9.40am), now he's turning a blind eye. I can't cope with these mental images.

11.30am: Bjorn strokes his birdie putt straight into the cup. He's -6. The course hasn't been expected to give up many shots this morning, so this is quite an outstanding performance. "So it's women-only as members of Royal St George's with the R&A pretending it doesn't matter, adapting the strategy that's worked so well for News
International recently," writes topical satirist Gary Naylor. "Is it possible to like a sport but dislike almost everything about it - as I do re golf? And wouldn't it be great if one of the golfers were to stand up and tell St George's committee and the R&A to grow up? (And before anyone says that it's a private club and they can do what they like, they can't as there are laws that would stop them doing a great many things - through planning regulations for example. How the law allows them to exclude women in 2011 is beyond me)."

11.25am: Bjorn revisits 16, the scene of his meltdown in 2003. Partial catharsis could be on the way, as he's clipped his iron to ten feet. Meanwhile a couple of moves just behind him: Cink birdies 11 while Jimenez birdies 12, the pair moving to -3.

11.20am: Els sheds two strokes on 8, dropping back to +2. His playing partner McIlroy moves the other way, with his first birdie of the day. That was a tricky ten footer, but one that deserved to drop, so good was his approach. Meawnwhile Simon Dyson rakes in a huge left-to-right monster on 15. He's -2. And three strokes behind the leader Bjorn, who pops in yet another birdie to move to -5. How well he's responded to missing that dribbler on 9. Given what happened to him here in 2003, and the fact he only knew he was playing here pretty much at the last minute, this is turning into an amazing story.

11.15am: Calcavecchia drops a shot at the last, with an apologetic prod towards the hole from ten feet, but will still sign for a one-under 69. That's very nice work indeed from the 1989 champion. Speaking of winners from the 1980s, it's only one hour and 11 minutes until a certain Alexander Walter Barr Lyle MBE takes to the tee. "Time for the now traditional COME ON SANDY!," writes Euan Hendrie, getting over-excited nice and early (though I should point out that I fully agree). "I noticed last night that Alexander Walter Barr Lyle MBE is flat last in Paddy Power's odds for the Open at 2000-1 to win – a total insult to the big man. Still hits it great, knows the track inside out, has won here before (even if it was 26 years ago) and has learned how to win again on the Seniors Tour of late. I reckon a fiver on him each way is mandatory. Sentimental? Me??"

11.10am: Els hooks his tee shot at 8 into horrible deep rough. He elects to take his medicine and chip out, but he can't even manage that, so knotted is the filth. He bumps his second effort out, but only into some more rough between the fairway and the green. Much will depend on his lie. How quickly things can spiral out of control in links golf. McIlroy, meanwhile, sends a gorgeous second into the green, using the bank on the left to keep the ball on the green, and send it back to within ten feet of the hole. Birdie chance.

11.07am: Donald responds to his bogey at 6 with birdie at 7. But he's lucky to do so, hitting his putt far too hard, the ball clattering into the centre of the cup and dropping. A millimetre either way and that would have whipped out. Donald covers his face, fully aware that he's got away with one there. He's back at -1, and very nicely placed at this early stage thank you.

11.05am: On 7, Garcia's second tips into the front of a bunker down the left, 60 yards from the green. He's got the sort of shot that would give any weekend hacker palpitations, but gets his club up and down almost vertically, clips the ball out, and finds the front of the green. That was amazing. On 10, 2009 happiness slayer Cink cards his third birdie of the morning; he's -2 for the tournament. But he's two behind the leader Bjorn, who opens up a gap at the top with another birdie, this time on 14.

11am: Els strokes in his birdie effort, though, a lovely putt, set out to the left and rolling into the cup serenely. He moves back to level par. Fowler follows him in, and is back at -1. McIlroy can't make his birdie, and stays +2. It's just not happening for him so far today. Sandwich is no Congressional. On 17, Calcavecchia clacks a ten-foot par effort right into the back of the cup. So here's the leaderboard on the hour:

-3
Bjorn (13)
-2
Calcavecchia (17)
Jimenez (10)
-1
Willett (F)
Storm (17)
Jacobson (14)
Dyson (13)
Moore (12)
The dreamwrecker Cink (9)
Fowler (7)
Noren (2)

10.55am: McIlroy, Els and Fowler all give themselves makeable birdie putts on 7, the Big Easy's bunker shot to six feet a particular thing of beauty. That'll not be a gimmie for him, though, given he's started faffing around with that belly putter.

10.50am: He doesn't, though, leaving his chip a good eight feet short of the hole, and failing to hole the par putt. He's back to level par for the tournament.

10.45am: Donald makes his first mistake of the day, pushing his tee shot at 6, but though his ball teases with a greenside bunker, it stays out and gives him a very good chance of getting up and down.

10.40am: Another par for McIlroy on 6, a par for Donald on the tricky 5th. There's not much in the way of movement going on; today will be all about not falling out of contention, rather than making the running. The weather's set to improve tomorrow, only to get worse again at the weekend. Oh, hold on, Miguel Angel Jimenez has just carded his second birdie of the day, this one on 9, to join Calcavecchia in second place.

10.35am: A birdie from Thomas Bjorn on 12, to give him the sole leadership. Calcavecchia is the only man still at-2. The course isn't giving away much today. The weather's expected to ease off a bit in the afternoon, which will be music to the ears of Lee Westwood (2.10pm), Graeme McDowell and Bubba Watson (1.43pm), Martin Kaymer, Louis Oosthuizen and Phil Mickelson (2.21pm) and perhaps even SANDY LYLE (12.26pm).

10.30am: Ishikawa is having something of a nightmare so far. He's +2 through 4, and has just sliced a long iron into pure rubbish on the next hole. On 5, McIlroy requires a ten-footer to save his par. He's escaped bogeys on the last two holes now.

10.20am: Donald had more than 12 feet to go, to be fair, and so his birdie putt didn't drop. That's a par, though; he's -1 through 4. Garcia can't save his, sending a hot first putt a good eight feet past the hole, then failing to save his par. And so it begins. He hit a wonderful tee shot, only to overcook his wedge approach, and bugger it up from there on in. How many majors would this guy have if he could putt? He'd have challenged McIlroy for the US Open last month, for a start.

10.15am: Donald has started very nicely indeed; another lovely iron, to 12 feet or so, into 4. Garcia looks to have followed him, but his ball bites at the front of the green and stays put. He'll have two putts for par, but there's some distance to travel. Neither McIlroy nor Els can find the green on 5.

10.10am: Trying to keep the ball on the 5th fairway is like attempting to land a block of ice halfway up a wall made of salt. Els and McIlroy see their drives take idiotic kicks into the right-hand rough after landing their balls pretty much in the middle of the fairway. Donald makes his birdie putt on 4; Sergio has to settle for par. As for Britain's Martin Laird - you'll see why in a second - he's just double bogeyed 9 to fall off the top of the leaderboard in spectacular style.

10.07am: Par for McIlroy on 4; he's +2 through the hole. He dealt with a tricky situation very calmly there. Maybe that'll give him some positive momentum.

10.05am: Ha! John Daly's out on the course, in a ludicrous luminous orange hat, compensating for the fact that his egregious breeks are currently covered by some sober-coloured waterproofs. He rakes in a Fowleresque right-to-left breaker from off the back of the green, to open with a birdie. John Daly!

10am: McIlroy drives his ball into deep rough down the left at 4. But from a terrible position, and with a crosswind making a nuisance of itself, he knocks perhaps the shot of the day so far to 12 feet. He's left with a fairly straight putt up the green, though it's by no means a nailed-on birdie. Even so, to get out of trouble from there was very decent work. Here's the leaderboard on the hour:

-2
Calcavecchia (13)
Storm (13)
Bjorn (9)
Laird (8)
-1
Jacobson (10)
Dyson (9)
Moore (9)
Jimenez (7)
Goosen (2)
Hansen (2)

9.57am: On 3, great tee shots from Garcia, to 20 feet, and in particular Donald, who knocks his 5-iron pin high, leaving him a ten-foot birdie chance. Todd Hamilton's dropped another shot; he's now +5. Your rescue club isn't going to get you out of this one, Todd, is it.

9.55am: Scottish golf is in a bit of a state at the moment, even if Paul Lawrie remains the last home winner of this championship. But here's Martin Laird, the only Scot on the US tour, who follows up a birdie on the par-five 7th with a majestic approach to 8; he knocks in a three-foot birdie putt to join the leaders on -2.

9.50am: From the back of 3, McIlroy leaves himself a good 12 feet short of the hole. He can't make the par putt; he's +2. This is a rocky start from the US Open champion. Speaking of hopeless starts, here's 2004 champion Todd Hamilton. Remember him? Of course you don't. He's +4 after 10, having gone out in 39 strokes. Meanwhile Bjorn's Sandwich nightmares begin again: the leader misses a two-foot tiddler on 9 to drop back to -2.

9.45am: McIlroy's tee shot into the par-three 3rd lands reasonably close to the pin but takes a hard bounce and springs off the back of the green. He'll do well to save par. Fowler and Els aren't too close either. Donald looks in the mood, though; despite pushing his tee shot into heavy rough down 2, he's found the middle of the green, getting a surprising amount of spin from that filth.

9.40am: Fowler has to knock in a testing ten-foot par putt on 2. He's due a proper tilt at a major championship. Being paired with McIlroy, very much his contemporary, will concentrate the mind. Rory and Ernie pop in for pars too. Calcavecchia has responded to his bogey on 11 with a birdie at 12; he's back on -2. On the BBC - and I'm very happy to say I only caught the second half of this snippet of commentary - Peter Alliss has just mentioned "a Colonel in the clubhouse bashing one off". There are generational issues at play here, I am sure of it. I have to convince myself that's the case.

9.35am: Garcia makes par on 1. Donald gets up and down from the back without much fuss; he'll be in the mood after a superlative show at Castle Stuart in the Scottish Open. Ishikawa bogeys, though, after making a pig's lug of his pitch from the right of the green, the ball barely getting up onto the putting surface. These greens are lightening fast, incidentally. Graeme Storm has drained one from off the front of the 12th; he's -2.

9.32am: Bjorn is doing his level best to chase those demons away: he birdies 8 for sole ownership of the lead. On 1, Garcia chips marvellously from off the back of the green to a couple of feet. A sure knock-in par for anyone else; anything between par and quadruple bogey for Sergio and his Special Putter.

9.30am: The breeze is picking up. Garcia's approach to the 1st is down in Fowler Country. As is Donald's. Ishikawa attempts to bounce in a Scottish wedge, but his ball takes a huge kick to the right and rolls off the green. They'll all have tests to save par. On 7, Alvaro Quiros joins Bjorn on -2, reaching the front of the par-five hole in two, then rolling in a huge right-to-left breaker that takes an age to drop, but eventually sneaks in. His playing partner Ryan Moore picks up his second birdie of the day to join him. Calcavecchia isn't leading any more, however, having dropped a shot at 11.

9.25am: Back up on the tee, Luke Donald and Ryo Ishikawa clack booming tee shots down the middle. And here comes Sergio! What special nonsense awaits today from our slapstick hero? He starts as he probably won't go on, creaming a perfect 3-wood straight down the fairway. Meanwhile on the green, McIlroy prods an uncertain par putt at the hole, the ball staying high on the left. He opens with a bogey five, which wasn't in the script. But then the young man from Holywood rarely bothers to follow scripts.

9.20am: What a birdie putt on the 1st from Fowler, who rakes in a 20-yard monster from just off the back of the green! What a start to his tournament. McIlroy's ball was just in front of Fowler's, but he doesn't learn much from the schooling, setting his putt out to the left, where it stays. He'll have a tester coming back.

9.15am: Fowler and McIlroy both find the middle of the green at the 1st, but they're not getting much in the way of spin from their positions in the rough, and their balls bounce through the green and fall off the back. They'll both do well to get up and down from there. Els, from the middle of the fairway, can get a bit of bite with his approach and gives himself a birdie chance from 15 feet or so. On 7, Bjorn sends his third to eight feet, and rolls the birdie putt in; he's got a share of the early lead with Mark Calcavecchia at -2. Memories of 2003 for Bjorn? If so, they'll pretty much all be bad ones.

9.10am: "On the tee from Northern Ireland, Rory McIlroy." A huge cheer, pretty much as you'd expect. His first shot in competitive golf since rolling the ball into the cup on the 18th at Congressional, a 3-wood, is clapped down the track, only taking a kick right off the undulating fairway and into the semi-rough. He'll be fine from there. His playing partner Els - who towers over him as they walk down the hole chatting warmly - is straight down the middle. Rickie Fowler completes the group, and he's hit a screamer that's just leaked a bit left.

Conditions today: Blustery, but not preposterously so. Unlike 2003, the rough is said to be perfectly playable. Sandwich should offer the field quite a test, but nothing beyond reason.

So, some of the notable early tee off times. Paul Casey and Ben Curtis have just gone out. Luke Donald, Ryo Ishikawa and Sergio Garcia are off at 9.20am. John Daly will begin his charge to -6 by the turn, before finishing the day +8, at 9.53am. And, of course, Ernie Els and Rickie Fowler are just about to tee off, along with a certain young lad from Holywood.

The Open: It is on!

The last time the Open was held here, Thomas Bjorn should have won. Should have, but didn't. He held a three-shot lead on the 15th tee; four holes later, all hope was gone, the centrepiece of his meltdown a thundering nervous breakdown in a bunker at 16. Curtis was the champion, having only dropped 978 strokes over the last nine holes. What a hero. Anyway, Bjorn has started well this year; a late qualifier, he's birdied the 2nd and after six holes is -1, a shot behind the early leader, the 1989 champ Mark Calcavecchia. So, then, a very early leaderboard at 9am:

-2
Mark Calcavecchia (9)
-1
Thomas Bjorn (6)
Simon Dyson (6)
Ryan Moore (5)
Hiroyuki Fujita (3)

Welcome to the Guardian's coverage of the 140th Open Championship, from Royal St George's, Sandwich, Kent. Arguably the four greatest days in the entire sporting year lay ahead of us. Which will only be spoilt at the very end when a US journeyman comes ambling out of the pack at the very last minute and makes off with the spoils. You know how this works. I've still not quite recovered from 2009 yet, when Stewart Cink ruined everyone's dreams, and by definition, their lives.

Welcome to the Guardian's coverage of the 140th Open Championship, from Royal St George's, Sandwich, Kent, where some of the greats of the game have lifted the Auld Claret Jug. Harry Vardon. Walter Hagen. Bobby Locke. Sandy Lyle. Greg Norman. Bill, er, Rogers. Ben Cu... let's start again.