354: Open Championship Day 1: Leaderboard, Conditions & Cut Line Predictions On-Site at Royal Birkdale

The Smylie Show

Charlie Hulme and Smylie Kaufman break down Round 1 of the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, where Jackson Suber leads at 5-under and Englishman Daniel Brown sits T2 at 4-under. Smylie, who walked all day with the Cam Young–Ludvig Åberg–Wyndham Clark group, dives into how the course shifted from a calm, receptive morning to tough northwest crosswinds in the afternoon, and compares the end-of-day green conditions to Poa annua.

Plus: the variety and firmness of Birkdale's turf on display through Tommy Fleetwood, Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy's approach shots, a parallel between Rory and Bryson DeChambeau's rough putting days, Cam Young's near-63 that got away, why the course rewards precision but still leaves room for aggressive drivers, Scottie Scheffler's 93%-fairways 2-under start, Bryson's driver edge in the firm conditions, and the guys' cut line and 36-hole leader predictions.

Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, and follow us on socials @thesmylieshow!

Chapters

0:00 Round 1 wrap: Jackson Suber leads, Daniel Brown T2
1:21 Smylie's flushed wedge on No. 7
2:52 Morning calm to afternoon crosswinds: how Birkdale played
5:34 Course variety and firm turf 
7:51 Morning vs. afternoon scoring — Cam Young
9:24 Who the course favors: precision, aggression, and spinny fescue
11:47 Scottie Scheffler's 93% fairways and 2-under start
13:26 Bryson's driver advantage and conditions in his favor
14:31 Bryson's approach game: the real test comes Friday afternoon
15:21 Preview picks recap, cut line and leader predictions

#theopen #golf #smylieshow #royalbirkdale

More description

Charlie Hulme and Smylie Kaufman break down Round 1 of the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, where Jackson Suber leads at 5-under and Englishman Daniel Brown sits T2 at 4-under. Smylie, who walked all day with the Cam Young–Ludvig Åberg–Wyndham Clark group, dives into how the course shifted from a calm, receptive morning to tough northwest crosswinds in the afternoon, and compares the end-of-day green conditions to Poa annua.

Plus: the variety and firmness of Birkdale's turf on display through Tommy Fleetwood, Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy's approach shots, a parallel between Rory and Bryson DeChambeau's rough putting days, Cam Young's near-63 that got away, why the course rewards precision but still leaves room for aggressive drivers, Scottie Scheffler's 93%-fairways 2-under start, Bryson's driver edge in the firm conditions, and the guys' cut line and 36-hole leader predictions.

Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, and follow us on socials @thesmylieshow!

Chapters

0:00 Round 1 wrap: Jackson Suber leads, Daniel Brown T2
1:21 Smylie's flushed wedge on No. 7
2:52 Morning calm to afternoon crosswinds: how Birkdale played
5:34 Course variety and firm turf 
7:51 Morning vs. afternoon scoring — Cam Young
9:24 Who the course favors: precision, aggression, and spinny fescue
11:47 Scottie Scheffler's 93% fairways and 2-under start
13:26 Bryson's driver advantage and conditions in his favor
14:31 Bryson's approach game: the real test comes Friday afternoon
15:21 Preview picks recap, cut line and leader predictions

#theopen #golf #smylieshow #royalbirkdale

2026-07-16 17 min
Listen elsewhere

Available Results

Generated results are saved to your library for reuse and search.

No generated results are available for this episode yet.

Transcript

No transcript is available for this episode yet.
Sign in to generate a transcript for review.
Sign in

Chapters

No chapters available.