Strong start

Golf: Straka in the top field at the British Open!

Sepp Straka

(Bild: Associated Press)

Golf ace Sepp Straka finished among the leaders on Thursday at the opening round of the 152nd British Open at Royal Troon GC in Scotland! Austria's number 1 fought his way to a strong round of 70 (1 under par) in a poisonous wind. This puts the Olympic starter in 11th place, five strokes behind the leading Englishman Daniel Brown, who managed a dream round. "It was one of those days when you have to keep your head down and get a result," said Straka.

Wrapped up in a thick sweater, the native of Vienna braved the cool, windy and damp conditions. "It was blowing strongly all day. At the beginning it was quite difficult with the wind off the tee. I kept missing the ball on the left. I saved a few pars early on and then adjusted and played really good golf for the rest of the day," explained Straka.

Excellent starting position for Friday
The 31-year-old was tied second after the first nine holes with three birdies and one dropped shot. Straka came under pressure on the back nine and made bogeys on holes 11 and 12. In the final round, he once again put on a great performance, making a birdie on the 17th and narrowly missing another stroke gain on the final hole. "It's almost more fun when the conditions are like this, of course only if you play well," said Straka, who finished second at last year's Open Championship in similarly difficult weather.

"I'm concentrating on implementing the game plan day by day!"
The starting position for Friday in the battle for the cut is now excellent. "I think that if I play my game, I have a good chance," said Straka, for whom this is only his third British Open appearance. "But it's Thursday, so I'm concentrating on taking the game plan one day at a time."

Only 17 of 156 players remained under the course standard of 71 strokes on Thursday. Top favorite Scottie Scheffler, like Straka, finished in 11th place, while some stars were unable to cope with the challenging conditions. US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau from the USA needed 76 strokes to reach the clubhouse and was 96th. Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy only played a round of 78, is 129th and will be fighting to stay in the tournament on Friday. Tiger Woods is only in 139th place with a round of 79. The coming days promise to remain difficult, with persistent rain forecast for the weekend.