Johnson and Kapur make early running and Tiger is on the prowl at The Open... but McIlroy and Donald have a nightmare

American Zach Johnson carded a five-under-par 66 to hold the first round lead at The Open, one shot ahead of Rafael Cabrera-Bello and Mark O'Meara.

India's fourth-ranked player Shiv Kapur briefly held the lead after birdies at six of his opening seven holes but a late slip left him with a 68. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were a further shot behind.



Two-time Major winner Rory McIlroy and former world No 1 Luke Donald saw their hopes of winning crushed by a nightmare first round at Muirfield.

McIlroy had a meltdown and shot a 79, while Donald, who's short game was expected to suit the links course, signed for nine-over-par 80.



Early leader: Zach Johnson of the United States

Surprise: Shiv Kapur made a stunning start

Open Championship officials promised to listen to complaints from players about conditions at Muirfield after Ian Poulter labelled some of the pin positions for the opening round as 'a joke.'

Poulter was two under par with five holes to play but carded four bogeys and a birdie to return a one-over 72 on a course playing extremely hard and fast.

The Ryder Cup star then took to Twitter to complain, writing: 'Unfortunately the guys this afternoon will struggle with a few pin positions. 8th hole is a joke, 18th needs a windmill & clown face.'

Lee Westwood felt one or two pin positions were 'a bit iffy,' but joked: 'Poults is always moaning.'

Four-time major champion Phil Mickelson, winner of the Scottish Open on Sunday, fell victim to the fast greens as he three-putted the 18th in a round of 69 and said: 'Number eight is probably the worst one that you'll see. It won't stop until it collects in a little level area about eight feet away.

'Playing early gave us at least a fighting chance. I love the fact that I shot under par, because it's a very challenging course out there. Hopefully they (the R&A) will let go of their ego and set it up reasonable (tomorrow), but you just never know.'

One to watch: World No 1 Tiger Woods chips during a solid start to his first round

Feeling the heat: Walking down the fairway, McIlroy adjusts his cap

Tough day: McIlroy and his caddie look on during the opening round at Muirfield

R&A chief executive Peter Dawson said comments from players would be taken on board, but insisted the course was "far from unplayable".

'We do have some fantastic weather. We have the conditions here we really like to have, hard, fast, running conditions and we've set up the course to test the players' course management strategy as much as anything,' he told the BBC. 'It is part of the links course's defences in this type of weather, the course is playing very short.

'We are obviously very conscious of player comment and we will take it into account tonight when we decide our greenkeeping strategy overnight, just how we are going to set the course up tomorrow.

'We are very happy with the scoring, it's about what we would expect. Five under par is currently leading with a good number of players under par. I do understand that some players get very frustrated. Ian Poulter I know bogeyed three of the last four holes, hardly likely to be in the best of moods, but Ian's comments will be noted and we'll have a look at it.

'We are still very satisfied that the course is playable but very testing. (It is) far from unplayable.'

Poulter later continued the debate with his followers on Twitter and when Tiger Woods putted from the front of the 14th green off the back, wrote: 'Enough said the best putter that's ever played the game just putted it off the green. I rest my case....'

Rare relief: Rory McIlroy takes a break during the opening round

Uphill struggle: Struggling on the fifth, McIlroy plays out the bunker

All yellow: Lee Westwood brightened up the course on Thursday afternoon at Muirfield

Strong man: Amateur Matthew Fitzpatrick plays out of the rough

Rory McIlroy had also putted from the 15th green into a bunker in his 79, but 2001 Open champion David Duval, who shot 76, wrote: 'Hard but fair at Muirfield today. Stop complaining.'

Former Masters champion Zach Johnson, who carded a five-under 66 to set the clubhouse target, said: 'You feel like in the morning it's going to be a little bit easier just because there's less traffic, specifically around the hole.

'And so this afternoon it's already getting a little dicey on some of the pins. A couple of the pins were pretty tough, but you know that coming into it. It's not like they were on a crevice or on a tier. They certainly were playable.

'Eight was dicey. Thomas Bjorn knocked it 10 feet by. If I hadn't seen that, there's no way I would have hit it to a foot. I would think they're going to have to use some water on those greens tonight...if they want to keep that grass, because it's getting very baked, very, very baked.

'The only course that comes to my mind that was this dry was Hoylake (in 2006). It's playable, but you've got to really, really pay attention around the pins, around the hole.'

Lucky break: Luke Donald enjoyed one bit of good fortune when his ball hit the hospitality stand and bounced on to the fairway

It's getting busy: Justin Rose putts on the 10th as the stands start to fill up at Muirfield