Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau at wrong end of Open leaderboard on day one

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At the start of the 152nd Open, golf competitors Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau were both near the bottom of the standings.

One month after McIlroy's difficult end at Pinehurst assisted DeChambeau in winning his second US Open title, both players were struggling to stay in contention at the final major of the year at Royal Troon.

McIlroy was even through seven holes in his first round before scoring a double bogey on the iconic par-three eighth hole. His first shot out of a bunker on the Postage Stamp hole ended up back at his feet.

Following a mistake on the 10th hole, McIlroy hit his tee shot out of bounds on the challenging 11th hole, resulting in another double bogey and bringing his score to five over par.

DeChambeau has performed exceptionally well in the major tournaments this year, coming in sixth at the Masters and taking second place at the US PGA Championship. He then managed to defeat McIlroy at Pinehurst by making a fantastic par save from a bunker on the final hole.

He hasn't done well in the Open, only getting one top 10 finish in six attempts. The 30-year-old competed at Royal Troon for the first time because he just started playing professionally three months before the last time the Open was held there in 2016.

DeChambeau recognized during his warm-up session that the back nine, which is typically challenging because of the wind, was quite difficult. However, due to a change in wind direction, he struggled more with the front nine.

Following a disappointing three-putt on the first hole, DeChambeau's wayward drive on the third led to another dropped shot. He then bogeyed the fourth hole before encountering trouble on the par-five sixth, resulting in a challenging seven.

Even though DeChambeau displayed his power, he was only able to move his second shot a short distance from the thick rough. He then hit the ball onto the neighboring 13th fairway, failed to land on the green with his approach, and needed three more shots to complete the hole.

Another American golfer, Justin Thomas, took the lead early in the clubhouse with a score of three under par. He made birdies on the 17th and 18th holes, reaching four under after 10 holes. However, he had a setback with a double bogey on the 12th hole.

Alex Noren from Sweden did well in Scottish Open on Sunday, and he now has a place in the field. He is currently one shot behind Justin Rose and Nicolai Hojgaard, who are also on the Ryder Cup team.

Noren made four birdies and two bogeys in his round of 69, while his playing companion Calum Scott, a 20-year-old Scottish amateur, finished his round at par.

Ex-champion Justin Leonard started playing at 6:35 am. He won in 1997 at Troon and shot a nine-over-par 80, which was two shots better than his playing partner Todd Hamilton, who won in 2004.

"I have to say, the first shot off the tee was definitely the highlight of my game today," Leonard confessed.