Conditions for the morning group on Thursday at the 2012 Open Championship were ripe after a light overnight rain and stagnent winds at Royal Lytham St. Annes this morning led to low scores. Many golfers took advantage, including Tiger Woods and current tournament leader Adam Scott.
Scott, the Australian native, came close to an opening round major championship scoring record before finishing with a 6-under 64, tying the lowest score shot ever at Royal Lytham.
After the round Scott had this to say about the conditions and his mindset this week:
"It's nice just to take advantage of the calm conditions today,'' Scott said. "It was surprising but very pleasing to go out and play some solid golf. It's what I haven't done the first rounds of the majors this year, and that was my goal here, really, starting the week was to play today like it was Sunday and there was no tomorrow."
As for Tiger Woods, he came out firing with four birdies in his first seven holes, finishing his round with a 3-under 67. Woods was on point off the tee and with his iron play, missing just one fairway while hitting 15 of 18 greens, but needed 30 putts on the day. Tiger spoke about the soft conditions after his round:
"It was pretty soft,'' he said. "The wind wasn't blowing, and we're backing golf balls up. That's something we just don't see. On the first hole is a perfect indication; I hit a 5 iron straight at it, and it rolled out 8 feet. I can't remember the last time it does that on links golf course.
As for the other morning players, Paul Lawrie and Zach Johnson each fired an opening round 65 to sit just one shot behind Scott. Bubba Watson, Graeme McDowell and Kegan Bradley all fired 67's to remain tied with Woods.
Full leaderboard can be found here.
For more on the 2012 Open Championship, make sure that you follow our StoryStream, as well as SB Nation's dedicated golf hub.
