Towering amateur Christo Lamprecht has roared to the top of the leaderboard, alongside local favourite Tommy Fleetwood, after the opening morning of the 151st British Open as the unlikeliest of early contenders for Cameron Smith's crown.
Smith launched his defence of the title he won at St Andrews in grand manner at Royal Liverpool with an immaculate birdie at his opening hole, but then had to negotiate some adventures in the rough and finished with a disappointing one-over par 72 in what looked like the most benign of conditions after a wet and windy week.
Meanwhile, 22-year-old South African Lamprecht, a Georgia Tech student who qualified by winning the Amateur Championship 30 miles north at Hillside last month, was walking tall on Thursday, shooting a five-under par 66 to lead the early wave with Fleetwood, the English favourite born 30 miles away in Southport.