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British Open golf 2016: Jason Day struggles as rest of Big Four fail to shine

The much-heralded 'Big Four' of golf failed to make an impression in the first round of the British Open on Thursday.

Young guns Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy were unable to find their 'A games' and were eclipsed by 'golden oldie' Phil Mickelson who powered to the top of the Royal Troon leaderboard with an eight-under 63.

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British Open 2016: 'Mickelson storm'

Five-time winner Phil Mickelson races to the lead during the first round of the British Open.

None of the 'Big Four' scored as well as little-known Belgian Thomas Pieters who is appearing in his first major championship and carded a 68.

Only one of the elite quartet matched the 69 of triple major winner Vijay Singh of Fiji who is 53.

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McIlroy, 27, equalled Singh's score. The Northern Irishman appeared briefly on the leaderboard when he got to four-under after four birdies and five pars on the front nine.

But a double-bogey on 13 and a bogey on 14 ended his run. A lone birdie on 15 was the only bright spot on his back nine.

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"If I would've stepped on the first tee and someone would have given me a 69 I probably would have taken it but if somebody had given me that score on the 10th I probably wouldn't have," McIlroy told reporters after a calm day on the Ayrshire coast.

"I knew today was a day where you had to make the most of the conditions because I don't think we're going to see the course like this for the rest of the week."

Facing an uphill struggle: Jason Day.
Facing an uphill struggle: Jason Day. Photo: Getty Images

Johnson and Spieth went round in 71 -- eight shots behind the 46-year-old Mickelson -- and the same score as former US Masters and British Open champion Mark O'Meara, 59.

Day toiled his way to a two-over 73. The high points of his round came early, when he birdied three and six, but they lost their lustre as he accumulated bogeys on five, eight, nine and 18.

"It's good to know you can contend and play": Adam Scott.
"It's good to know you can contend and play": Adam Scott. Photo: Getty Images

That was the same number of birdies and bogeys compiled by Mark Calcavecchia, another former British Open champion who is 56.

"The next three days are going to be pretty difficult," said world number one Day. "I've got a lot of work to do.

"Hopefully ... I can just slowly inch my way back into the tournament."

Meanwhile, Adam Scott shot out a dogged first-round two-under-par 69 to emerge once more as Australia's brightest British Open hope.

Clutch under pressure, Scott produced a series of scrambling par saves to complement birdies at the ninth, 16th and 17th holes, where he buried a 30-footer to ignite his otherwise scrappy round.

After so many near misses at the Open, Scott admitted to being nervy and unable to calm down during his first half-dozen holes.

"It felt horrible out there for me. My rhythm was really poor and nothing was really on point," Scott said.

"But I did well coming into actually hit a few better shots in the last four or five holes and, ironically, my only dropped shot came from a three-putt after hitting so many poor shots today.

"That's what you've got to do on the days you're not feeling good and I'm happy with my score after all of that.

"I just could have played my way out of it today."

The 2013 Masters champion trails record-setting first-round leader Phil Mickelson by six strokes in his ongoing quest to finally get his hands on golf's greatest prize.

Scott's 27-under-par aggregate total over the past four years is six shots superior to anyone in the world - yet the former world No.1 has fallen agonisingly short on all four occasions.

Runner-up after squandering a four-shot lead with four holes to play at Royal Lytham in 2012, Scott also led deep in the final round at Muirfield the following year and again at St Andrews last year.

"I just take confidence from it," said the world No.8.

"Of course I analyse what I think I did wrong coming down the stretch, but I do so much right to get to that point every time and keep doing that, and then I have to just get better at closing the golf tournament out and stop making those errors.

"It's just a good feeling coming to the Open knowing that I can play Open championship golf.

"I feel like I've done everything but win it over the last four years and it's just the last little hurdle we've got to get over.

"It's good to know you can contend and play. I've been doing that for four years straight.

"So, again, that's what I want to do the next two days. Put myself in with a chance come Sunday. It will be fun."

He faces a battle trying to reel in the runaway Mickelson, whose course-record eight-under 63 matched the lowest round in British Open history - an honour shared by nine players including Greg Norman.

But, in reality, Scott and Matt Jones - also sitting at two under - look to be the only two hopes of breaking Australia's 23-year Open title drought since Norman won the second of his titles at Sandwich.

Reuters/AAP

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