It was not the typical first day of an Open Championship in terms of scoring. The lack of rain and strong winds were in big favor of the players and 73 of them played Royal St George's on par or better. There was no drastic change in the weather in the afternoon but definitely the players from the morning session posted more scores in the red numbers than the afternoon starters. There is plenty of golf to be played before the end of the 149th Open and it will be interesting if these three surprising contenders after day one can keep the moment in the next rounds.
Mackenzie Hughes - T4 after day one (two behind the leader)
Mackenzie Hughes at the 149th Open © Getty Images
Mackenzie Hughes is playing his first Open Championship, but it looks like he quickly found the secret how to deal with the sloppy links courses. The Canadian sits 64th in the world and he hasn't posted a top 10 finish in a full field event since the Vivint Houston Open last November. Mackenzie Hughes has won only once on the PGA Tour. He did it in 2016 at the RSM Classic. Hughes missed the cut in five of his last eight starts so seeing his name at the top of the leaderboard at The Open is quite a surprise.
Dylan Frittelli - T4 after day one (two behind the leader)
Dylan Frittelli at the 149th Open © Getty Images
Dylan Frittelli arrived in Scotland after three straight missed cuts on the PGA Tour. In his last seven tournaments Frittelli made the weekend only once - at the U.S Open where he finished tied for 46th. The South African won the 2019 John Deere Classic which is his lone victory so far in his career. Fritelli missed the cut in two of his three Open appearances. The only exception was in 2019 when tied for 32nd.
Marcel Siem - T9 after day one (three behind the leader)
Marcel Siem at The 149th Open - Day One © Getty Images
Marcel Siem is not an unknown name for those who follow the European Tour. The German has four titles from the oldest circuit, but hasn't won since November 2014. Siem, ranked 302nd in the world, has been struggling in the last few years and didn't post any impressive results. He even lost his playing rights for the main tour and spent the last couple of seasons on the Challenge Tour.
Live scores from the 149th Open here
