Bookmark this play if Rory McIlroy is in the mix this weekend for the claret jug. McIlroy overcame a shaky driver to turn in a one-under 70 Thursday at Royal Portrush and opened his second round with a birdie.

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Royal Portrush showed its teeth on Thursday as the 2025 Open Championship field got the full links golf experience. The weather shifted and changed throughout the first round to create challenging scoring conditions, and some handled it better than the rest as the first 18 holes concluded in Northern Ireland.

How many golfers make the cut at The Open Championship? Here's what to know about the cut line rules for the British Open.

The season-ending event at East Lake doles out what the PGA Tour calls "bonus money" and is not counted towards a player's official earnings on the money list.

Spieth entered Portrush with four straight top-25 Open finishes, so there should be plenty of confidence that he turns in a much better round on Friday. Making up a six-shot deficit will be tough, but if Spieth can get to even-par, or even one-under, he'll have a shot to get into the top 10 before the weekend.

The British Open on Thursday at Royal Portrush ended with a five-way tie atop the leaderboard. Here are highlights and scores from the first round.

The Open Championship had a little bit of everything Thursday, from sunshine to rain, a breeze to strong gusts. And no surprise, it had Scottie Scheffler right in the mix.

Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player who has not finished out of the top 10 in the last four months, a stretch that includes another major among three wins.

According to BBC weather, Portrush is projected to have light rain and a gentle breeze. The rain is projected to start at 4 a.m. Eastern and ending around 4 p.m. If rain does fall, The Open is not expected to delay tee times or stop play on the course.