The interminable first day at the 2012 British Open is in the books and Aussie Adam Scott maintains his one-shot lead at 6-under par. Some of the treacherous weather forecasted for Royal Lytham held off on Thursday and the field took advantage of the favorable conditions by posting plenty of red numbers.
After wandering for a lengthy stretch of his twenties, Scott's game has re-emerged over the past two seasons. While a lot of the headlines have been made by his caddie, Scott has consistently been in contention, including at the major championships. He's been knocking on the door of his first career major win, but has yet to break through. He carded eight birdies on Thursday in an early round that finished with a bogey on the "sea of sand" 18th hole.
A trio of players stand one shot back of Scott at 5-under. The one American in that group is Zach Johnson, who fired a 5-under 65 fresh off his win at the John Deere last week. Johnson is another player who spent the first half of the season on fire, clinching two wins and several top-five finishes. Nicolas Colsaerts and Paul Lawrie join him at 5-under. This is just the second major appearance for Colsaerts, but he's also been hot this season, picking up a win in the Volvo World Match Play Championship in May. Lawrie has had a relatively quiet career since he captured the '99 Open Championship as the benefactor of the Jean van de Velde catastrophe. The Scot did have a good showing at this year's Masters, however.
Royal Lytham historically produces a champion who is one of the game's greats, or at least one of the top-ranked players in the world at the time. That could be the case again this year, as the leaderboard is littered with superstars in the top 10 at 3-under. Tiger Woods headlines that group, joined by fellow major champions Ernie Els, Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy and Bubba Watson.
For a complete live leaderboard, visit Golf.com.
For more on the tournament, stick with our 2012 British Open StoryStream. For more from around the world of golf, head over to SB Nation's golf hub page.
