Scottish Open: Justin Thomas leads as Rory McIlroy begins well in title defence

Scottish Open initial round rankings - Scottish Open opening round standings Golfers participating in the Scottish Open have completed their first round, and here is how they stand on the leaderboard after the initial day of play: Players at the Scottish Open have finished their first round, and here is where they stand on the leaderboard after the first day of competition: Leading the pack is [Player Name] with a score of [Score]. Trailing closely behind are [Player Name] and [Player Name], both tied for second place with scores of [Score]. In the top spot is [Player Name] with a total of [Score]. Close behind are [Player Name] and [Player Name], who are both tied for second place with scores of [Score]. The competition is heating up as players gear up for the next round. Stay tuned for more updates on the Scottish Open leaderboard. Things are getting interesting as the golfers prepare for the next round. Keep an eye out for more updates on the standings at the Scottish Open.

-8 J Thomas (United States); -7 S Im (South Korea); -6 T Detry (Belgium), L Aberg (Sweden), M Kieffer (Germany), H Li (China), J Lower (United States); -5 R McIlroy (Northern Ireland), T Fleetwood (England), D Brown (England), Y Paul (Germany), U Coussaud (France), D Thompson (United States), C Conners (Canada), A Noren (Sweden), A Fitzpatrick (England), BH An (South Korea), B Todd (United States), A Rozner (France), C Morikawa (United States), B Griffin (United States), N Taylor (Canada)

Other players in the mix include R MacIntyre from Scotland, V Hovland from Norway, A Scott from Australia, and B Harman from the US. Also in contention are W Clark with a score of -2, X Schauffele and P Harrington from Ireland with scores of -1 and even, respectively. H Matsuyama from Japan and J Spieth from the US are slightly trailing behind with scores of +1.

Rory McIlroy bounced back from his disappointment at the US Open by starting his title defense at the Scottish Open strongly. However, Justin Thomas took the lead with an impressive score of 62 without any mistakes.

McIlroy played in his first tournament since struggling at Pinehurst last month and not winning a major in 10 years. He shot a strong opening round of five-under 65 at the Renaissance Club.

The Northern Irishman was trailing Thomas by three shots, with Thomas holding a lead of one stroke at the top of the leaderboard after making eight birdies.

Sungjae Im from South Korea was leading the competition with a score of seven under par, with Thomas Detry from Belgium and Ludvig Aberg from Sweden both two strokes behind. Detry made an impressive eagle on the fourth hole by holing from 119 yards.

The golfers from England, Tommy Fleetwood, Alex Fitzpatrick, and Daniel Brown, had a good day on the golf course in North Berwick. They were in a good position alongside McIlroy with a score of five under par. The weather was mild and the scores were low, making it an ideal day for golf.

Scottish golfer Robert MacIntyre, who was the second-place finisher in the previous year, was doing well at three under par, just like his compatriot Grant Forrest.

Previous top-ranked golfer Thomas, wearing plaid pants, mentioned that he was considering shooting under 60 after playing the first 13 holes in eight under par.

The golfer from America, who teed off later than others, made a 13-foot putt to start with a birdie. They then made four consecutive birdies from the fifth hole to the ninth, finishing the front nine in just 30 strokes.

Three additional birdies occurred in the following four holes, including a remarkable 42-foot putt on the par-three 12th. However, his streak of successful shots came to an end just as he was getting close to scoring a 59.

"Actually, I believed the par was 71, but when I checked and saw it was an even-par 70, I thought to myself, 'If I can get a couple more birdies, I could shoot a 59,'" Thomas remarked.

Next, unexpectedly, I achieved five pars consecutively.

I really wanted to score a 59, and maybe even a couple points lower. But as they say, it's not always a good idea to get too ahead of yourself.

Previously, McIlroy teed off on the 10th hole and got a birdie. However, he quickly lost a stroke after hitting the ball into the thick rough twice.

Mistakes on the 14th and 16th holes were followed by a birdie on a messy front nine for the second-ranked golfer in the world. He only hit three out of six fairways during that portion of the round.

However, he sprang to life after making the turn, scoring a birdie on the first hole and then impressively sinking a chip-in eagle from the right side of the third hole.

He took another shot at the next hole, but missed opportunities for more birdies from within 11 feet on holes five, six, and nine.

"Surely the previous time I competed, I performed strongly. Despite not achieving the desired outcome, I still believe in my skills," McIlroy remarked.

Today, I played really well and scored a high score. I had many opportunities to do well on the second half of the course, but I also feel like I could have done even better.

The golf course was fairly easy to navigate today. Let's hope for dry weather in the coming days and some more wind to make the course more challenging.

McIlroy's golfing buddy MacIntyre delighted the local fans when he made a unique par save on the 12th hole. He chipped over a wall after hitting his tee shot onto the 14th green. The crowd went wild with excitement.

After scoring three birdies in a row, he continued to play well, finishing the front nine with a score of two under par despite a bogey on the 18th hole. He had two more bogeys and one more birdie to end his first round in a satisfactory manner.

"I started off strong and had a good score at first, but in links golf, if you're not in the right places, you can end up with some tough shots and putts," explained MacIntyre, age 27, in an interview with BBC Sport.

Fellow Ryder Cup player Fleetwood's patience was rewarded when he was one stroke under par after 11 holes, and then went on to make birdies on four of the remaining seven holes.

Aberg, who came in second place at this year's Masters and will be participating in his first Open at Royal Troon next week, bounced back from a stroke of bad luck on the eighth hole to move up the standings.

The 24-year-old hit his shot close to the hole but unfortunately right on top of Collin Morikawa's ball, causing both to roll off the green.

Aberg couldn't make par, but he made a strong comeback on the last nine holes with three birdies and an eagle on the sixteenth hole, which is a par-five.

"I thought I hit a good shot on the eighth hole, but the ball ended up veering off course," he explained.

I haven't seen it before. I probably won't see it again for a while.