22 July, 2017
The biggest question after a long day on the links was what was in store for Friday, when high wind and occasional showers were in the forecast.
Spieth hit just five of 14 greens in regulation, but he made up for that issue by honing in on the flagstick with his approach shots.
Koepka was playing for the first time since winning the U.S. Open last month.
After a two-putt birdie on the par-5 17th, McIlroy holed a 30-footer for birdie on the final hole, one that was punctuated by an enthusiastic fist pump.
And he promptly found himself in desperate trouble as he slipped to five-over-par after bogeying five of the first six holes.
He should still make the cut, which is projected at +5.
Spieth, though, defied a torrential downpour - which led to ground staff needing nearly half an hour to sponge the rain-soaked greens - to assume control with his eagle on the par-5 15th.
By that time he had made six bogeys and been overtaken by Rickie Fowler, who picked up a shot at the hard 6th and then holed a magnificent 60ft-plus putt for a birdie two from a swale besides the 7th, where his ball finished to a chorus of groans after his tee shot pitched at the edge of green and stayed there for a few seconds.
"I didn't get angry out there at all, " he said. That was right up there with my best Open rounds.
But he is now set up perfectly to be one of the contenders for the Claret Jug heading into the weekend, while Spieth and Koepka were among those left to face the prospect of more unpleasant weather later on. Hoffman shot 69 and was in a group that included Ian Poulter and Rafa Cabrera Bello. It was his best start in a major since he shot 66 at the Masters a year ago.
Spieth, one of three joint leaders overnight on five-under, had dropped back to -4 at the turn on a wet and miserable afternoon at Royal Birkdale. "And he definitely said the right thing yesterday when I needed it". Johnson was done before the rain, but like Kuchar he played in the strongest wind.
The 62 also broke the course record at Royal Birkdale, set by Jamie Mudd in the fourth round of the British Open in 1991.
Handed the honor of hitting the first shot of the tournament, the veteran American sent his drive out of bounds before running up a quadruple-bogey eight on the way to an ugly 81. And this wind, it felt like every hole was a crosswind hole and you had to play for so much curve on the ball. But the weather settled down a few hours later, and the scorecards filled up with plenty of birdies and eagles.
"And I'll be feeling it this weekend a bit". So don't let the Day 1 scores fool you, it's going to get ugly quick and the next three days are going to be extremely trying. "If I can go out and play a good quality round of golf in the morning and try to get in the clubhouse somewhere around even par, under par, I'll still be around for the weekend", he added.
