TROON, Scotland -- One thing I love about The Open is how the tournament is always dictated by Mother Nature, and no matter how many players score well on benign days, there's never any panic or worry. Golf is never "easy", but for the best in the world on Thursday those friendly conditions meant there will be no curve in grades.
Grade: F
World ranking: No. 1
Score: 73 (+2)
Not quite sure what happened to his iron game, but for the best player in the world to have the worst score of everyone in the top 10 by two is not acceptable. He hit just 56 percent of greens in regulation and 31 putts in the best conditions we may see all week.
Grade: C
World ranking: No. 2
Score: 71 (E)
In most cases, even par should be an OK score, but not on days like today where scoring was possible. DJ only hit 8 fairways and had 32 putts; that's unacceptable for the new U.S. Open champion on a day as perfect as Thursday.
Grade: C
World ranking: No. 3
Score: 71 (E)
Just like DJ, but with one more putt (33). On a day with such little wind, it's hard to accept missing six fairways. Jordan has now put a lot of undue pressure on performing great in the coming rounds in what could be very challenging conditions.
Grade: C+
World ranking: No. 4
Score: 69 (-2)
I really wanted to give Rory a B, but the double bogey at the 13th hole prevents me from doing so. Five birdies on a day when he only hit 11 GIRs says his putter is in the right place. Now all he needs is the driver and irons to fall in line.
Grade: C
World ranking: No. 5
Score: 70 (-1)
This was the toughest grade to give because Bubba's day and momentum was ruined by one hole. It happened to be the shortest, most famous one on the course: "Postage Stamp." He was 5-under when he got there and 2-under when he left, and had to birdie the final hole to shoot a sub-par round.
Grade: B
World ranking: No. 6
Score: 68 (-3)
Everyone says at Royal Troon you better take advantage of the front nine; Stenson didn't. He made an eagle on the 6th hole, but that was it. Three birdies on the back to offset two bogeys seem good, but he can improve. Thirty one putts on the day let you know there were plenty of chances he let slip by.
Grade: B
World ranking: No. 7
Score: 69 (-2)
This was just a good, solid round of golf. Start with the 29 putts and factor in that Rickie only hit 12 of 18 greens yet recorded just one bogey. Only making two birdies on the front nine means he can score much better if the weather allows it.
Grade: B
World ranking: No. 8
Score: 69 (-2)
If only that putter would get hot. Adam only missed two greens all day yet could only manage one birdie on the simpler front nine. While a 2-under score looks/is good in the big picture of a major, the truth is it could have been much better.
Grade: C
World ranking: No. 9
Score: 71 (E)
The Masters champion would be forgiven for making a bogey at one of the toughest holes on the course during the stretch of 10-12. What I don't forgive is bogeying all of them! That hard work Danny did for the three birdies he made on the front nine was undone quickly. Righting the ship after those bogeys was definitely a major champion move. The question I ask is, which way will he go from here?
Grade: C+
World ranking: No. 10
Score: 70 (-1)
By leading the field in scrambles -- Grace got up and down eight times on Thursday -- he salvaged what could have been a very bad day like a top-10 player should. If I told you a player would only hit 50 percent of GIRs but would shoot under par for the day, you'd probably ask exactly how low Phil went.
Grade: A+
World ranking:19
Score: 63 (-8)
Bogey-free 63. Rhymes like the beginning of a good song about a course without a tree. Phil only missed three fairways and two greens all day while totaling only 26 putts! When Phil said last Sunday that he was "ready" for this week, he certainly wasn't lying. I'm still trying to figure out how the putt on 18 didn't drop for a major-record 62.
Grade: A
World ranking:83
Score: 67 (-4)
Look at the leaderboard and there are not many players who, even with good scores, were bogey free. This bogey-free round came from a guy who ranked third in driving distance at a whopping 330 yards, but he hit only eight fairways! When it mattered on the four greens he missed, he scrambled perfectly.
Grade: F
World ranking:25
Score: 77 (+6)
So much for any momentum built from coming off back-to-back runner-up finishes. Piercy got to the 9th hole (ranked 11th easiest) at 2-under and proceeded to go bogey-double-double-double-bogey. Seems the sun was shining on everyone on the course except Piercy. He just got on the Ryder Cup radar; Friday will be a big test to see if he can stay there.