Live Open Updates

Derek Clements takes us inside the Open and offer up regular news, insights and action from the day.

Update: 11:06

Jordan Spieth is fast turning into the big story at The Open. The 19-year-old is a two-time US Amateur champion and on Sunbday he became the youngest winner on the PGA Tour for more than 80 years when he came out top in a playoff at the John Deere Classic.

He is already 11th in the FedEx Cup standings in what is his first full season. Spieth is from Dallas, which means that if the wind gets up he is going to know how to handle it.

He got his challenge under way with a 69 in the trickiest conditions yesterday, and has continued the good work today. He reached the turn in level par and birdied the 11th to move to three under overall, just two off the lead.
Spieth is the real deal and he will not be afraid to win if he remains in contention.

Update: 10:40

Lee Westwood is the big early mover at Muirfield. The Englishman opened with a 72, although he played much better than that.

The 40-year-old has slipped in under the radar this year, with few people giving him much of a chance. But birdies at the first, second and fifth took him to two under par, just three behind overnight leader Zach Johnson.

Tiger Woods hit such a wayward tee shot at the first yesterday that he had to take a penalty drop. There were no such problems this morning, and when he birdied the third he had moved to three under par. The general feeling is that he will never have a better chance of winning that elusive 15th major than this week.

Woods is putting beautifully, and if he can keep the ball in play then he will be hard to beat.

Update: 08:44

Another glorious day dawns over Muirfield, with all the talk revolving around Rory McIlroy's extraordinary press conference following his horrific opening round of 79.

There will be some executives at Nike who must be feeling very nervous about the comments made by their No2 player.

Ever since signing for the brand, McIlroy has struggled, but they should take some heart from the fact that his 79 is not his worst round at The Open - he had an 80 in the second round at St Andrews!

Derek Clements is a sports journalist with a particular passion for golf with over 12 years of experience covering golf and other sports including Chief Sub-Editor on the sports desk of The Sunday Times. To contact Derek email direct via [email protected]

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