There is a logjam at the top. And by logjam, we mean the Friday evening traffic on 5th Avenue in NYC. Five players are tied for the lead — a first since the 1938 Open Championship at Royal St. George's (more on that later).

A few surprise names sit at the top 4-under. Jacob Skov Olesen. Haotong Li. Joining them in the lead is also Matt Fitzpatrick. The Englishman has had more than a couple of top-10s this year, and this week he’s looking to convert that into a win.

Fitzpatrick started strong yesterday. He picked up an eagle at the 2nd hole itself. And then minutes later, he fired this spectacular slam-dunk hole-out at Calamity Corner.

Within just a few shots of the leader are a bunch of yesteryear’s heroes — Lee Westwood (-2), Justin Rose (-2), Lucas Glover (-2), Phil Mickelson (-1), and Sergio Garcia (-1). In case you didn’t notice, Rickie Fowler has also sneaked in with a 2-under 69, laced with five birdies and three eagles!

The element of little surprise?

Erratic weather. And Scottie Scheffler.

The World No.1, switching between a Nike sweatshirt and a rain jacket, and occasionally a cap, and an umbrella, made five birdies and two bogeys, carding a round of 3-under 68. Looks like he’ll be contending on Sunday (knock on wood)!

Early Friday morning, as we report from Portrush, Fowler finished the day at 1-over. Whereas, your 2023 champ, Brian Harman, is firing on all cylinders (4-under thru 12). Scheffler and Fitzpatrick are yet to tee off.

Now, back to that 1938 Open:

If history is an indicator (and the weather), it’s going to be a dramatic four days at Portrush!

Cold wind, little sunshine, and heavy rain. A perfect concoction for players to lose their minds. And boy, did they! Let’s look at the five moments from R1 that you missed, including John Rahm snapping at a fan, The Open’s revenge, Bryson’s blunder, and more:

Sloth: Guess how much time Rory and JT’s group needed to reach the 12th? Let’s just say some of us have played an entire 18-hole round in that time.  

Fury: Jon Rahm was in the zone. Ready to hit the fairway. And then this fan decided to whistle right in the middle of the Spaniard’s backswing. What followed was pure Rahm rage like you’ll see here.

Winded: Scheffler ripped an approach on the 17th yesterday. And guess what? Some fan decided to let one rip just at that very moment! The broadcast picked it up, loud and clear, and the commentators had the next few seconds of pure comedic gold like you’ll watch below:

Whiff: At the par-4 4th, Bryson DeChambeau found his ball stuck in some thick grass on a slope. He had to play his club like a baseball club… but that wasn’t even the highlight of those few seconds. Neither was his first chunk. It was this shot that would even embarrass us amateurs. 

Tit-for-tat: Tired of players taking frequent drops and evading penalties for bad shots? R&A were too. So, they cooked up a wicked plan. Just look at the terrifying drop zones at Royal Portrush.

Today’s cut will bring more drama. So, stay tuned for our Lite edition (soon after the round ends) to catch up on the most important news from the day.

At this point, the word ‘spotlight’ and Jason Day probably go hand in hand. Remember, last year when he was literally asked to take off a sweater mid-round at Augusta? He was also put on a ‘short list’ of golfers who needed outfit pre-approval like some sorta fashion criminal.

Well, that’s not what happened this time around. In fact, just the opposite.

You see, the Open has minimal dress code restrictions, so Day is having the time of his life on the course. Yesterday, he donned a $435 ‘king-of-cards sweater’ that had everyone talking about him. Look at the outfit here and tell us, do you like it?

Rain, wind, cold, and gloom.

Welcome to the Open Championship. Just about as perfect a weather you’d want for a tournament where natural elements have always been the rival to beat. The inhospitable conditions — what else would you call it? — may have felled the players, but failed to make any impression on the grit of the crowd. By the time we were there for the first tee shot, the stand on the tee was full. The fairway, at least five deep.

The story of the morning, though, was Denmark’s Jacob Skov Olesen… and his dad, who gave a heartfelt interview. The 26-year-old won the British Amateur Championship last year and could have played the Masters this year if he had stayed an amateur.

But he decided to turn pro (and occasionally caddie for his girlfriend on the LET).

So, the trip to Augusta National never happened. But if the left-hander can sustain his opening-day brilliance, it will not be long before he is driving down Magnolia Lane in the second week of April next year.