Golf Talk Today: Best players in the world produce shockingly high scores at The Open

Windy conditions at Royal Troon turned the Open Championship into a bloodbath, as many top players posted high scores.

Welcome to Playing Through’s morning ritual — Golf Talk Today.

Each morning the crew will discuss various elements throughout the PGA Tour, LPGA, LIV Golf, and more.

Royal Troon has flexed its muscles and challenged the world’s best players thanks to the blustery conditions. Only 17 players finished under par on day one of The Open Championship.

High scores and carnage were everywhere on Thursday, and that trend continues into Friday’s round.

Brew a pot of coffee, grab some breakfast, and settle in while we examine the high scores at The 152nd Open Championship.

Notable players that shot high scores at The Open Championship

— Cameron Smith: +9, 80
— Rickie Fowler: +8, 79
— Tiger Woods: +8, 79
— Rory McIlroy: +7, 78
— Wyndham Clark: +7, 78
— Sahith Theegala: +6, 77
— Sungjae Im: +5, 76
— Tommy Fleetwood: +5, 76
— Bryson DeChambeau: +5, 76
— Tom Kim: +5, 76
— Max Homa: +5, 76
— Akshay Bhatia: +5, 76
— Ludvig Åberg: +4, 75
— Viktor Hovland: +4, 75

These are first-round scores; some players are midway through their second 18 holes or have already finished. However, these are crazy to look at because these are some of the best players in the world.

Links golf is wildly different than most of the tracks played on the PGA Tour, but the difficulty ramped up because of the challenging conditions. Carnage ensued.

To see the U.S. Open Champion, Bryson DeChambeau, come out and struggle felt odd. The same can be said for Rory McIlroy and Ludvig Åberg, as both players tied for fourth last week at the Genesis Scottish Open.

Golf is a wild sport because major championships bring out the worst in players. It makes golf fans relate to them more, a rarity given how good these players are.

So far, day two has also seen higher scores as the weather conditions continue to stymie the field.

Top stories across professional golf

Check out these stories from The Open:

John Daly withdraws from The Open, citing injury after another brutal round

Tyrrell Hatton gets his wish: Open organizers make subtle change to Royal Troon on Day 2

Xander Schauffele plots his way around Royal Troon, contending at another major

Tiger Woods stymied by Royal Troon, posts disastrous 1st round at Open Championship

Brooks Koepka’s competitive mindset of “go out and play” leads to under-par round

Scottie Scheffler lurking at The Open; watch out for World No. 1 this weekend

Adam Scott, Justin Rose turn back clock, contending at Open Championship early

British Open 2024: DP World Tour pro withdraws after 84-yard tee shot at ‘The Postage Stamp’

Shane Lowry’s scorching hot putter leads to career first at The Open

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.