A beast in hiding

A morning of calm has helped produce some superb scores on Thursday at the Open. With soft greens and no wind the best players in the world have defeated the great Old links.

Rory McIlroy, Open tip
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published

Just 24 hours ago the weather in St Andrews made the Old Course unplayable. Torrential rain and strong winds showed how difficult this golf course can be. The early morning starters must have breathed a sigh of relief when they ventured out this morning. With soft greens and no wind whatsoever this is as easy as the Old Course gets. There is no need to manipulate ball flight from the tee and players can fire shots straight at flags in the knowledge that the ball will stop dead. If you can avoid fairway bunkers there are some very low scores to be found.   The birdie barrage that ensured this morning has produced a mouth watering leaderboard with everyone's favourite young talent leading the way. After his stunning frist round Rory McIlroy can sit back, relax and, as the wind begins to pick up, watch the rest of the field try and catch him.    The forecast for tomorrow suggests that it will rain in the morning and gradually improve throughout the day. This mornings starters look like they will play in the best of the weather on both Thursday and Friday. Expect to see a very similar leaderboard by the end of play on Friday.

Paul O'Hagan
Paul joined Golf Monthly in 2006 in a junior role and has since worked as senior staff writer and now as technical editor. He writes equipment and instruction content and tests the vast majority of golf clubs that are introduced every year.
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