Rory McIlroy starts The Open 2022 with sweet 66 as Cameron Young takes early lead

Northern Irishman starts round with 55-foot putt for birdie and finishes two shots behind American

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  Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, right, and Collin Morikawa of the US shake hands after the first round of the Open Championship on the Old Course at St Andrew on Thursday, July 14, 2022. McIlroy shot a round of 66 to finish on six under par. AP

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  Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy tees-off the 16th hole. PA

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  Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy. PA

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  Tiger Woods shows his frustration as he makes his way to the second tee. PA

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  Tiger Woods of the US plays from the first fairway on Day One of The Open at the Old Course, St Andrews. His shot landed in the Swilcan Burn and he ended up shooting a double-bogey six. PA

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  Phil Mickelson tees off at the fourth hole. The American shot an even-par round of 72. PA

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  Phil Mickelson of the US climbs out of a bunker on the 17th hole. Getty

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  US golfer Cameron Young crosses the Swilcan Burn at the 18th hole on his way to an eight under par round of 64. EPA

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  US golfer Cameron Young tees-off at the 18th on his way to a round of 64. AFP

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  Australia's Cameron Smith tees-off the third hole. He shot a round of 67 to finish the day at five under par. PA

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  English amateur Barclay Brown reacts to making his birdie putt on the 17th green during his opening-round 68 to finish on four under par. AFP

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  Scottie Scheffler of the US tees-off at the third hole. Getty

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  Bryson DeChambeau of the US hits out of a bunker on to the 17th green. He finished the day with a round of 69 for three under par. AP

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  Bryson DeChambeau, right, shakes hands with John Daly of the US on the eighteenth green. Daly finished the day with a one over par round of 71. Getty

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  Ian Poulter of England walks with his caddie on the first hole. Poulter, who was booed on the first tee, shot 69 to end the day at three under par. Getty

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  US golfer Collin Morikawa during the first round. He shot an even-par 72. EPA

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  Tommy Fleetwood of England tees-off at the third hole. He ended the day with a round of 72 for even par. Getty

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  England's US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick plays from the fourth fairway. PA

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  Norway's Viktor Hovland watches his drive from the sixth tee on his way to an opening-round 68 for four under par. AFP

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  Spain's Jon Rahm crosses the Swilcan Burn. PA

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  England's Lee Westwood reacts after making par on the first. He finished with a four under par 68. Reuters

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  Brooks Koepka of the US looks for his ball in the rough on the second hole. He shot a round of 73. AP

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  Jordan Spieth of the US reacts with his caddie Michael Greller after teeing-off on the third hole. Reuters

Coming in as favourite even as he hunts a first major in eight years, Rory McIlroy promptly posted his best opening score at the Open since 2010.

The Northern Irishman went out mid-morning on Thursday at St Andrews in relatively benign conditions, and within minutes had laid down a hefty signal of intent. On the first, sank a 55-foot putt for birdie.

McIlroy, Open champion in 2014, picked up three more shots across three holes from the fifth to climb into contention at 4-under and, when his game unravelled ever-so slightly, rebounded from his solitary dropped shot of the day on 13 with a brilliant birdie at the next.

A couple of stellar par saves at 16 and 17 protected McIlroy's tally, with the world No 2 birding the final hole to finish with a 66. Subsequently, he sat second on the leaderboard, two back from American debutant Cameron Young.

“I played well, very solid,” McIlroy said. “Everyone knows on this golf course you have to make your score going out and I did that.

“Started off tremendously with a bonus on the first, birdied the par five, birdied a couple of the short par fours with wedges in my hand, and then on the back nine even though with the wind it got tricky, you pick off a couple on the 14th and 18th.

“I birdied the holes I should have and only made one mistake … the way this course is playing, with how firm and bouncy and tricky it is, it’s all about limiting your mistakes. And only one bogey out there today was good.”

McIlroy, a former world No 1, has enjoyed a fine run in the majors thus far this year. He was second at the Masters, eighth at the PGA Championship and tied-5th at last month’s US Open. His most recent triumph? That came the week before Brookline, when he reigned supreme at the Canadian Open.

However, it’s felt an eternity since McIlroy, 32, captured the last of his four major titles.

Asked how high his confidence is at present, given all facets of his game appear to be firing, he said: “Yeah, they are. I’m driving the ball well.

“Once I put myself in the fairways, I’m giving myself chances because my irons just that little bit better than it has been. I’m putting well, seeing shots well and thinking well, and I think that’s the most important part this week. If you do that you keep yourself in the tournament. I just need to keep it going.”

Meanwhile, Young excelled in only his sixth major appearance, with his blemish-free 64 now second only to McIlroy's 2010 effort for a first-round score at an Open on the Old Course.

Young, who has missed the cut in his two most recent starts, has performed admirably in his rookie season on the PGA Tour, with two runner-up finishes and another couple of thirds, including the PGA Championship.

“Got off to a great start [four birdies in opening six holes] and from there we just played some really smart. Yeah, we had a blast. Was a lot of fun out here.”

Elsewhere, Australia’s Cameron Smith carded a 67, while English amateur Barclay Brown signed off for a 68. His score was matched by three-time European No 1 Lee Westwood.