Leon Osman
Former England midfielder on BBC Radio 5 Live at Royal Birkdale

I would love to see Tommy Fleetwood win. A local guy and this place will be electric if he wins.

Andy Stevenson
BBC Radio 5 Live reporter at Royal Birkdale

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I've just interviewed Argentina amateur Mateo Pulcini, who watched the World Cup semi-final victory over England last night before getting up early to be ready for his 08:25 tee-time this morning.

He got a few boos on the first tee but was smiling and said he loved it and that it was good natured.

He then celebrated a birdie on the 18th by doing the Enzo Fernandez goal celebration against England, with his hands behind his ears, which was again received in a good-natured manner.

Three decent knocks off the first tee, but Xander Schauffele and Matt Fitzpatrick miss the green, with the Englishman's approach scuttling into the greenside bunker.

He splashes out of the sand to five feet and nudges his putt in for an opening par.

Schauffele takes the putter from off the green. It's a bit short on pace but he makes no mistake with the seven-footer for par.

Rory McIlroy's approach leaves him 25 feet but his birdie effort never threatens the hole. Par for the 2014 champion, too.

After squirting his ball out of the rough, Bryson DeChambeau finds himself behind the green. He clips back on and leaves himself seven-and-a-half feet for par. He's missed it - and away he drops from the lead.

Oof, so close for a bounceback birdie for Scottie Scheffler as his ball holds up inches from the cup with his 30-footer. He'll tap in for a round of -2, perhaps a tad disappointing after being four under through six.

A disappointing finish for Tyrrell Hatton after finding the fairway bunker off the tee. He ends up dropping a shot and carding a one-under 69.

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Back-to-back birdies for Laurie Canter at the 12th to add another English flag up there near the top of the leaderboard.

Not quite the ones we expected though with Canter joining Dan Brown and Jordan Smith while Tommy Fleetwood is just behind and Justin Rose has really struggled.

US Open champion Wyndham Clark finds trouble down the left of the first hole and his second shot finds a greenside bunker.

He leaves his par putt from 15 feet or so about two inches short, so it's a bogey to start for the American.

Pars for Ludvig Aberg and Cameron Young.

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We've seen the adulation for Tommy Fleetwood today in his hometown of Birkdale - a little enclave tucked away on the Merseyside coast.

But who is the most famous person from your local town?

Think lights switch-on at Christmas or opening the new civic centre.

The more random the better, please!

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That bogey on the par five has got under Scottie Scheffler's skin, who is convinced his ball was trodden on in the rough.

When I'm in my own head, my golf swing is all over the place. Scheffler takes aim down the 18th with his three wood and splits the fairway. Maybe that's why he's world number one and I, erm, am not.

Co-leader Bryson DeChambeau is off line and will be taking his second shot from the rough.

Jonathan Jurejko
BBC Sport golf reporter at Royal Birkdale

Tommy Fleetwood looks up to the clear blue skies.

He thought that eagle putt - from below the green on the slightly longer stuff - was going to drop. So too did the Birkdale barmy army.

Despite the initial disappointment, Fleetwood and his fans - 99% of the crowd - will be happy to get back into the red.

Rahm and Spieth continue to chunter as they head off to the 18th tee.

Catriona Matthew
Captain of Team Europe at the 2019 & 2021 Solheim Cup on BBC Radio 5 Live

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What a fantastic putt from Tommy Fleetwood. A great way to get to one under par.

You would nearly think it was a Sunday with this match as the crowds were so big.

Jon Rahm has had so many chances and he has played the best golf out of this three ball.

Another big roar at Birkdale as the crowd try and cheer Tommy Fleetwood home under par, which is where he is now after a birdie on the 17th.

It's the easiest hole on the course so far today so no real surprise that Fleetwood is just short of the green in two, then just misses his eagle try to leave the ball dangling near the hole for a tap-in birdie.

Rahm smacked a huge drive here 366 yards! He leaves 20 feet for an eagle but it just fails to drop so he too has a tap-in for birdie.

• Bryson DeChambeau is in a three-way tie for the lead with one hole of his opening round to play. The two-time US Open is on four under, alongside England's Dan Brown and Sungjae Im of South Korea.
• Scotland's Robert MacIntyre and former champion Francesco Molinari are a shot off the clubhouse lead after carding three-under 67s.
• World number one Scottie Scheffler has started solidly, although a bogey on the 17th has dropped him back to two under alongside England's Tyrrell Hatton, with Tommy Fleetwood a shot further back on one under.
• Among those just starting their rounds are Rory McIlroy, Aaron Rai, Shane Lowry and Matt Fitzpatrick.

Sarah Mulkerrins
BBC reporter at Royal Birkdale

These were the crowds around the practice putting green watching Matt Fitzpatrick and waiting for Rory McIlroy to appear.

Punters were three or four deep to catch one final glimpse of this stellar group before they begin their Open quests.

Not in position once on that hole. But Shane Lowry, the 2019 winner makes par away by draining a 12-foot putt.

He'll take that and joins his playing partners, five-time major champion Brooks Koepka and the recently crowned US PGA champion Aaron Rai in making solid starts.

Not sure your average recreational golfer would agree with those Rory comments about Royal Birkdale being less penal.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

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It's been scorchio hasn't it over the past few weeks in the UK and both Rory McIlroy and reigning champion Scottie Scheffler reckon that has transformed conditions at Royal Birkdale.

Players who can lag behind their rivals for distance off the tee will likely benefit from extra run on the fairways, while Northern Ireland's McIlroy reckons the rough may not quite be as penal as it was a few weeks back.

"I think it's a double-edged sword," said McIlroy, who is aiming to win his second Claret Jug this week, 12 years on from his first.

"All this dry weather and sun and a little bit of wind is obviously great for the course in one way, but when I was here a couple weeks ago the rough was a lot more penal than it's going to be this week. It's definitely burnt out a lot.

"The big thing, especially off the tee here, is avoiding the fairway bunkers. You might see some guys being more aggressive off the tee, taking driver, trying to take the fairway bunkers out of play. It might be in the rough, but it's not that penal, so you get a wedge in your hand and you can figure it out from there."

Collin Morikawa won the Open on his debut in the event at St George's back in 2021, but bizarrel he's missed the cut in three of his four Opens since!

Interestingly it was pretty firm and fast when he won down in Kent and we've not had anything like those conditions since, so may this week will suit.

It hasn't started well for him with a three-putt bogey to start the day. Nicolai Hojgaard also makes a five on the opener - I only know it's Nicolai because we've already had Rasmus out today. I think...

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist at Royal Birkdale

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England's Matt Fitzpatrick is enjoying a strong season with three wins already on the PGA Tour along with second place at the Players.

He finished in a tie for fourth at Portrush last year but vast improvements in his approach play may mean he is aiming even higher at Birkdale.

Two years ago, the 31-year-old ranked outside the top 100 on the PGA Tour for strokes gained in approach play. Last year he was still outside the top 70.

This year so far? He's first.

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With 66 set as the early target, a fast start will be key for Rory McIlroy.

His first rounds in this year's majors have been a mixed bag. He opened with a 67 en route to retaining the Masters, but a 74 put him on the back foot at the US PGA Championship.

A 69 was a solid opening at the US Open before he faltered over the weekend.

He'll certainly be keen to avoid a repeat of his last visit to Birkdale when he was five over through his first six holes.

McIlroy is out with 2024 champion Xander Schauffele and England's Matt Fitzpatrick, who's been as good as anyone this year.

Three wins and three other top-threes for Fitzy. His best major finish this year was tied 14th at the US PGA, but his form suggests he is a serious contender here this week.