WATCH: Mark O'Meara hits the first shot at The Open...and makes a real hash of it
Last Updated: 20/07/17 12:37pm
It was supposed to be a special moment for former Open champion Mark O'Meara.
The American, who won the Claret Jug at Royal Birkdale in 1998, was given the honour of getting the 146th Open Championship underway in breezy and generally grim conditions.
The nerves must have been jangling and his first swing didn't go to plan as he sent his tee-shot down the right, into the rough and out of bounds.
It didn't get much better from there, either. O'Meara ended up making a quadruple bogey after finding the bunker and then three putting the green.
"My day was toast after that first tee shot, but I still had to play," said the 60-year-old after signing for an 11-over 81. "I was a little bit nervous, but I wouldn't say I was overly nervous. I would have thought I would've been more nervous, but I was not pleased when I hit that shot. I don't think anybody would be.
"My name is on my golf bag, I've won the Open Championship, I'm in the Hall of Fame, and when you hit one straight right off the first tee out of bounds, it would be like standing on the first tee on the Ballybunion and hitting the graveyard."
Sky Sports golf analyst Nick Dougherty said: "He's going to be walking to the second tee thinking 'I'm glad I've already got a Claret Jug' - it's just the worst possible start. From the moment you step onto that first tee - it's an emotional hole. You're already nervous and then you add that horrible wind into the mix. It's a very difficult hole."
Hit play on the video at the top of the page to watch O'Meara's first hole nightmare.
