Reporting from SOUTHPORT, England — Stuart Manley of Wales was atop the British Open leaderboard early, shooting a two-under 68 as part of the second group of the day.
His only bogey of the day came on No. 1, and he offset that with two birdies and an eagle.
Manley, 38, is making his debut in a major championship, having qualified with a second-place finish at the Johannesburg Open. He didn’t get a great feeling heading into his round Thursday morning.
“I didn’t feel like I had my game with me today,” he said. “I didn’t warm up too well. I had too many layers, waterproof from the rain. I didn’t get a rhythm on the range. … So I thought, `OK, this is the game I’ve got. I’m just going to have to plot my way around,’ and it seemed to work.”
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Jordan Spieth plays out of a bunker on the 17th hole during the third round of the British Open Golf Championship, at Royal Birkdale.
(Peter Morrison / Associated Press)
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Branden Grace after completing the 18th hole in the third round of the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Birkdale on July 22. Grace shot a 62.
(Andy Rain / EPA)
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Brooks Koepka plays out of a bunker on the 7th green during the third round of the British Open Golf Championship, at Royal Birkdale on July 22.
(Alastair Grant / AP)
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Rory McIlroy reacts to a missed putt during the third round of the British Open Golf Championship, at Royal Birkdale on July 22.
(Dave Thompson / Associated Press)
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Matt Kuchar misses a birdie putt on the 18th during the third round of the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Birkdale on July 22.
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Matt Kuchar is mobbed by fans as he makes his way to the next hole during the third round of the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Birkdale on July 22.
(Andy Rain / EPA)
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Jordan Spieth of the United States smiles in the rain during the third round of the 146th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on July 22.
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England’s Ian Poulter looks on from the 14th tee box during the third round of the British Open at Royal Birkdale on July 22.
(Dave Thompson / Associated Press)
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Jordan Spieth plays out of a bunker on the 17th hole during the third round of the British Open at Royal Birkdale on July 22.
(Peter Morrison / Associated Press)
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Gary Woodland takes a shot out of the rough on the 10th hole during the third round of the 146th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on July 22.
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Jordan Spieth and Matt Kuchar walk to the 14th green during the third round of the 146th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on July 22.
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Brooks Koepka plays out of a bunker on the 7th green during the third round of the British Open at Royal Birkdale on July 22.
(Alastair Grant / Associated Press)
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China’s Li Haotong fails to get out of a bunker on the 12th hole during his second round of the Open Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale.
(Oli Scarff / AFP/Getty Images)
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Matt Kuchar hits his second shot on the 3rd hole during the second round of the Open Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale.
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Rules officials help remove a signpost to allow Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland to play on the 15th hole during the second round of the Open Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale.
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Dustin Johnson plays from the rough on the 8th hole during the second round of the Open Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale.
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Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland chips onto the green during the second round of the Open Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale.
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Spectators watch play on the 10th green as conditions deteriorate during the second round of the Open Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale.
(Oli Scarff / AFP/Getty Images)
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Australia’s Jason Day, left, and Zach Johnson on the 2nd green during the second round of the Open Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale.
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South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel looks for his ball in the rough on the 5th hole during the second round of the Open Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale.
(Peter Morrison / Associated Press)
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Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland walks off the 14th tee during the second round of the Open Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale.
(Dan Mullan / Getty Images)
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Haotong Li of China hits a bunker shot on the 12th hole during the second round of the Open Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale.
(Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
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Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland chips onto the 11th green during the second round of the Open Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale.
(Dan Mullan / Getty Images)
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Rickie Fowler hits his tee shot on the 9th hole during the second round of the Open Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale.
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Dustin Johnson hits his tee shot on the 5th hole during the second round of the Open Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale.
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Sergio Garcia of Spain walks on the 1st hole during the second round of the Open Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale.
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Joost Luiten of the Netherlands falls back into a bunker after missing a putt on the 8th green during the second round of the Open Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale.
(Alastair Grant / Associated Press)
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Padraig Harrington of Ireland acknowledges the crowd on the 18th hole during the first round of the 146th British Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on Thursday.
(Dan Mullan / Getty Images)
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Si Woo Kim of Korea putts on the 12th hole during the first round of the championship at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England.
(Stuart Franklin / Getty Images)
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Jordan Spieth hits a bunker shot on the 15th hole at Royal Birkdale.
(Stuart Franklin / Getty Images)
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Matthew Fitzpatrick of England lines up his putt on the 18th green on Thursday.
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Brooks Koepka of the U.S. holes his third shot from the bunker on the 17th hole.
(Stuart Franklin / Getty Images)
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Jordan Spieth reacts after his approach from the rough on the 5th hole during the first round.
(Stuart Franklin / Getty Images)
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Tommy Fleetwood of England plays from a bunker on Thursday.
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Ian Poulter of England plays his third shot on the 17th hole.
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France’s Alexander Levy plays his approach shot from the 3rd fairway.
(Andy Buchanan / AFP/Getty Images)
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Spectators get a view of the 9th hole at Royal Birkdale.
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David Horsey of England hits his second shot on the 2nd hole during the first round of the British Open.
(Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
One reason he might have felt out of sorts is he didn’t get a great night’s sleep heading into the round.
“I tried to go to bed early last night, but I was maybe too excited,” he said. “I didn’t get to sleep until quite late then. I have a baby who’s 6 months old. He woke up at 3.”
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Manley was essentially up from that point on. It wound up working out for him, though.
It’s a long tournament, and a strong opening round is only one step in the right direction, but oddsmakers had Manley as a 1,000-to-1 long shot to win the Claret Jug. For the first day, at least, he didn’t play that way.
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his “long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football,” Sam Farmer has covered the NFL for 25 seasons. A graduate of Occidental College, he’s a two-time winner of California Sportswriter of the Year and first place for beat writing by Associated Press Sports Editors.
