Unpredictable Weather Tightens British Open Cut Line at Portrush
The tension is already bubbling at Royal Portrush after just one round of the 2025 British Open. Golfers are battling not just a world-class field but also stubborn links conditions that refuse to offer any easy shots. The projected cut line—essentially the golfer's magic number to stick around for the weekend—has drifted higher than people expected, now expected to land somewhere between +1 and +3.
If you’re comparing notes to 2019, when Shane Lowry was making his hometown triumph, back then the cut line settled at +1. This year? It's looking a lot steeper. That kind of rollercoaster isn’t new for Portrush—a quick glance at 1951 shows a jaw-dropping +10 was required to play the weekend. While that number feels ancient, even more recent cuts have crept up: +6 at Royal Troon in 2024 and +3 at Royal Liverpool in 2023. Portrush just doesn’t hand out birdies the way some other Open venues do.
Leaderboard Surprises and the Battle for Accuracy
Thursday’s action saw a tightly bunched pack at the top. Matt Fitzpatrick, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Haotong Li, Jacob Skov Olesen, and Harris English led the way, each carding a 4-under start. They didn’t exactly run away with it—right behind, Scottie Scheffler finished at 3 under after a round full of scrambling and calm putts, and Jon Rahm negotiated bouncy lies and gusting winds for a strong 2-under finish. If round two gets any windier, even those numbers might look golden by the weekend.
And then there’s Rory McIlroy. Sentimental favorite, former champ, and always a headline, Rory came in at 1 under par. He wrestled with some wayward drives and a few awkward positions, but his short game kept any potential disaster at bay. There’s no question he expected more, but with fairway accuracy such a big decider at Portrush, he’s still well within reach if he can reign in his driver.
Weather played its part as usual—porous clouds, the constant threat of rain, and winds that grew stronger as the day wore on. These are classic links conditions, turning even short irons into guessing games and making every bunker shot nervy. More than a few big names found themselves hacking out of the thick rough and praying just to save par.
As the second round looms, all eyes are on that shifting cut line. Will it settle closer to +2 or stretch to +3 as conditions worsen? Plenty of golf’s household names still need to grind just to stick around through Sunday. With no sign of the weather letting up and Royal Portrush proving its teeth, the drama is just getting started.
July 18 2025 0
Write a comment