Rookie Takes Surprise Lead at the British Open

This made Suber the only player at Royal Birkdale Golf Club, north of Liverpool, to finish five strokes under the course par of 70. South Korean Im Sung-Jae and Englishman Daniel Brown each finished one stroke over par.

Defending champion and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler of the U.S. opened the historic tournament—one of the four most important of the season—with a round of 68. Six-time major champion Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, on the other hand, fell short of expectations. The world No. 2 carded a 72 on the dune course and is now worried about making the cut.