Chief among those is Koepka, who is just two shots off the lead. With McIlroy out of contention already, Koepka has become the clear favorite, with William Hill now posting him as a 7\/2 pick to win the tournament heading into Friday\u2019s play.<\/p>\n
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The second choice is now Jon Rahm (13\/2), who is also sitting at 3-under par. Tommy Fleetwood (12\/1), Justin Rose (14\/1), and Lowry (16\/1), all of whom are below par after Thursday, round out the top five favorites according to William Hill.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nFriday will be a critical day both for those fighting for the lead and those far down in the standings. After the second round, only players who are in the top 70 (including ties) will make the cut and continue on to the final two rounds over the weekend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
J.B. Holmes shot a 5-under-par 66 to take the early lead after the first round of the Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. Holmes holds a one-shot advantage over Ireland\u2019s Shane Lowry, with more than a dozen players including betting favorite Brooks Koepka tied for third at 3-under. Holmes Has Previous Open Championship […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":109560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Open Championship: Holmes Shoots 5-Under, Grabs First Round Lead<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n