Dan Brown and Sungjae Im share early Open lead as Royal Birkdale bares its teeth

Verified key facts

• Dan Brown and Sungjae Im shot matching 4-under 66s to share the clubhouse lead after round one, CBS Sports reported
• Brown made seven birdies in his final 11 holes against three bogeys, having also led the Open after round one in 2024
• Im carded five birdies with his only dropped shot at the 6th, statistically the hardest hole on day one
• Thomas Detry, Robert MacIntyre, Francesco Molinari, Alex Smalley and Bryson DeChambeau sat one back at 3-under
• The 154th Open runs 16-19 July at Royal Birkdale, with Southport local Matthew Baldwin hitting the opening tee shot at 6:35am

Brown and Im set the pace in Southport

The 154th Open Championship began on Thursday at Royal Birkdale, and two morning playing partners set the early target. England's Dan Brown and South Korea's Sungjae Im signed for matching four-under-par rounds of 66. CBS Sports reported that the pair, drawn together in the same Thursday morning group, held the clubhouse lead as the afternoon wave rolled out onto the Southport links.

The PGA Tour's live coverage captured the traditional rhythm of an Open Thursday, with every player sent off the first tee in threesomes. Southport local Matthew Baldwin struck the championship's opening shot at 6:35am local time. That honour handed the home galleries an early moment to savour before the scoring began in earnest along the famous dunes.

Brown's seven-birdie burst

Brown's 66 was built on a remarkable mid-round surge. CBS Sports reported that the Yorkshireman made seven birdies, all of them arriving inside his final 11 holes, offset by three bogeys. It was a round of patience rewarded, with a slow start giving way to a charge that carried him to the top of a congested leaderboard.

There is history here, too. Brown was the outright leader after the first round of the 2024 Open before eventually finishing tied tenth. That earlier experience offers both encouragement and a warning. Leading a major on Thursday guarantees nothing, but Brown has now proved twice that his game travels well to the sport's oldest championship.

Im's clean card on a brutal course

Im's route to 66 looked rather different. The Open's official website reported that the South Korean carded five birdies and dropped only one shot, a bogey at the 6th. That hole played as the most difficult on the course during day one, which softens the blemish considerably. Im's control from tee to green stood out on a layout that punished loose approach play all day.

Im has long been regarded as one of the most consistent iron players on the PGA Tour. Links golf asks different questions, though, and his composed Thursday suggested he has answers. A first major title would be a landmark moment for Korean men's golf, and his opening round put him squarely in the conversation.

A crowded chasing pack at three under

The leaderboard behind the leading pair carried genuine pedigree. CBS Sports reported a cluster of players at three under, including Belgium's Thomas Detry, Scotland's Robert MacIntyre, former Open champion Francesco Molinari, American Alex Smalley and LIV Golf's Bryson DeChambeau. That mix of major winners, home hopes and long hitters promised a compelling Friday.

• Thomas Detry (Belgium) - 67, chasing a first major top-five
• Robert MacIntyre (Scotland) - 67, carrying strong home-nation support
• Francesco Molinari (Italy) - 67, the 2018 Open champion rolling back the years
• Bryson DeChambeau (USA) - 67, adapting his power game to the wind

Smalley's presence was among the day's quieter stories. The PGA Tour reported that the American spent much of the early afternoon on top of the leaderboard, showing the same form that put him in contention at this year's PGA Championship at Aronimink. For a player without a major pedigree, back-to-back big-stage showings suggest something more than coincidence.

Birkdale rewards precision over power

Royal Birkdale is hosting the Open for the first time since 2017, and its reputation as perhaps England's fairest links held up on day one. Scoring was possible, but only just. Four under led the way, a reminder that flat-bottomed fairways between towering dunes still demand precise driving. The 6th hole, playing as the toughest on the course, became the round's defining examination.

Golf Channel reported that coverage began before dawn for American audiences, reflecting the global pull of the year's final men's major. The forecast for the weekend will now dominate conversation. Wind off the Irish Sea can transform Birkdale within an hour, and every player within five of the lead knows the championship remains wide open.

What Friday holds

For Brown, the task is to avoid the fade that followed his fast start in 2024. For Im, it is to keep bogeys off the card while the biggest names accelerate behind him. DeChambeau and MacIntyre, in particular, will fancy their chances of overhauling a one-shot gap if conditions stay calm on Friday morning.

The Open runs through Sunday 19 July, and history says first-round leaders at Birkdale rarely convert. The last three champions crowned here all came from off the Thursday pace. Brown and Im have earned the spotlight, but with 54 holes remaining and weather incoming, this championship has barely begun to reveal its shape.

Sources

• CBS Sports - Open 2026 leaderboard, round one scores and standings (16 July 2026)
• PGA Tour - British Open round one live updates from Royal Birkdale (16 July 2026)
• The Open - Who is leading the 154th Open at Royal Birkdale (16 July 2026)
• Golf Channel - British Open 2026 tee times and how to watch round one (16 July 2026)