It was a good day for the Americans on the first day of the 146th Open Championship, with three of the States’ golfers sharing the clubhouse lead.

Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka and Matt Kuchar finished the day on five under par, while Paul Casey is the highest-placed Brit on four under, on the eve of his 40th birthday.

At one stage it looked as though we were set to see a British leader at the end of day one, with Ian Poulter topping the leaderboard earlier on in the day following his round of -67.

But Spieth was the first to topple the Englishman, finishing with a score of -65. That score would soon be matched by his countrymen Koepka and Kuchar.

Elsewhere, Rory McIlroy remains in contention for the Claret Jug following a round of +1.

Though McIlroy sits six-shots off the pace, his recovery having struggled heavily on the front nine.

McIlroy found himself five over after the first six holes, so his scorecard at the end of day one demonstrates a remarkable recovery from the 28-year-old.

Meanwhile, Masters winner Sergio Garcia finished the day three over.

Here’s the top ten as things stand

Pos Player Nat Score Hole 1 Jordan Spieth USA -5 18 1 Brooks Koepka USA -5 18 1 Matt Kuchar USA -5 18 4 Paul Casey ENG -4 18 4 Charl Schwartzel RSA -4 18 6 Ian Poulter ENG -3 18 6 Justin Thomas USA -3 18 6 Richard Bland ENG -3 18 6 Austin Connelly CAN -3 18 6 Charley Hoffman USA -3 18

Play on the second day gets under way at 6.35, with England’s Andrew Johnston, Canada’s Adam Hadwin and Todd Hamilton of the USA the first group out at Royal Birkdale.