ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Ryan Brehm made his Alfred Dunhill Links Championship debut with a 63 on the only course he didnâ€t play in practice to share the lead. Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood and a Ryder Cup quartet of stars played on fumes and held up quite nicely Thursday.
The other surprise from the opening round was Dustin Johnson with a 64 at Carnoustie that left the former world No. 1 just one shot out of the lead in his return to this tournament for the first time in 13 years.
The pro-am held over three links — Scotlandâ€s version of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am — was just the right tonic for the four Team Europe players who went from the euphoria of beating the Americans at Bethpage Black to amateur partners like Bill Murray and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Hatton and Robert MacIntyre at 66, and Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick at 67, all received a rousing cheer at Carnoustie to celebrate Europeâ€s fifth road victory in the Ryder Cup, this one the most taxing given the obnoxious New York crowd and a U.S. comeback that fell short.
“It was brilliant. Iâ€ve never see the first tee like this at the Dunhill before,†said MacIntyre, who grew up on the other side of Scotland in Oban.
“This week Iâ€m trying to enjoy myself. Iâ€m trying not to be that stressed out about it, that overly focused, kind of just take the rough with the smooth,†MacIntyre said. “It was a decent start.â€
Brehm is a big hitter from Michigan whose lone PGA Tour victory was in the Puerto Rico Open three years ago. He is playing under a category for five PGA Tour players who finished from Nos. 126 to 200 in the FedExCup last year.
Arriving with wife Chelsey, they walked Kingsbarns when they landed and played practice rounds at Carnoustie and St. Andrews. Then he had seven birdies and an eagle at Kingsbarns to share the lead with Matthew Jordan (63 at St. Andrews) and Darius Van Driel (63 at Kingsbarns).
“This is my first time over here, and I was pretty much in awe on every fairway — and I hit a lot of fairways, which is kind of rare for me,†Brehm said.
The conditions were ideal, though rain and wind more typical of Scotland in October was expected over the next few days. Brehm wasnâ€t sure what to expect from his own golf. He heads to the Old Course on Friday, a tougher test in nasty weather.
“Whatâ€s interesting is I wish I didnâ€t play any of them now because this is the only one I didnâ€t play,†Brehm said of Kingsbarns.
Johnson, one of 17 players from LIV Golf in the field, has been playing more out of the Saudi league although he had not been to the Dunhill Links since 2012. He played with his father-in-law, hockey great Wayne Gretzky, who used to be his regular partner back in the Pebble Beach days. His score was nearly five shots below the average at Carnoustie.
“Generally havenâ€t played that well around here, so itâ€s nice to get a good score in,†said Johnson, who missed the cut at Carnoustie during the 2018 Open when he was No. 1 in the world.
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