The Open 2016: Leaderboard, live updates, scores from Thursday’s round at Royal Troon

After a year on the bench, NBC returns to major championship golf and for the first time ever, its sister network (Golf Channel) will also join the major party. The Open Championship moves from its longtime American broadcast partner (ABC and ESPN) over to the network that covers the game more than anyone else. They’ve never had an Open, however, and that means we’ll get some familiar faces in a new spot. Scotland, here comes Johnny Miller.

Miller and Dan Hicks are the longest-running duo in golf, and now they’ll have The Open for the next four days, with NBC newcomer Mike Tirico also joining in as the “host” in his debut with the peacock. Miller may make mention of that 63 he shot at Oakmont when he won the 1973 U.S. Open a month before he came in second to Tom Weiskopf in the British at Royal Troon, site of this week’s third major on the men’s docket. To wit, this from last week’s teleconference in advance of the tilt that starts Thursday in Scotland:

At age 46 and on the down slope of his career, you’d be hard-pressed to find too many calling Phil Mickelson a favorite heading into this year’s Open Championship. Sure, he’d won this tournament just three years earlier — but Mickelson had missed the cut twice in both previous major championships in 2016. Add to that he’s now settled off-course issues with the SEC’s insider trading probe, spectacular recent play from the game’s younger stars, and the fact that Mickelson hasn’t won since taking home is first Claret Jug in 2013? No, this wasn’t supposed to happen.

But in recent years, age hasn’t been much more than a number at the Open Championship. And in near-perfect scoring conditions in Ayrshire, Mickelson was exactly that himself. Known for his more-than-aggressive nature over the course of his career, Phil reigned back the driver to set up approaches to Royal Troon’s minuscule greens -- hitting 79 percent of his fairways and 89 percent of greens en route to a mistake-free 8-under-par 63.

We have our first eagle of the 145th Open Championship, thanks to Patrick Reed. After missing two birdie chances on his first two holes, Reed pulled a wedge at the shorter third hole and ran it right it the damn cup.

The eagle put Reed at 2-under and inside the top 10 on what is shaping up to be a perfect morning to post low scores. And some of the superstars, like Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, are coming to the 1st tee shortly with this gettable front nine as a juicy appetizer to start their championship.

Colin Montgomerie earned a spot for his home event the old fashioned way, going low at Final Qualifying to play his way into The Open. Monty grew up just a few houses down from Royal Troon, and the R&A gave him the honor of leading the championship off on Thursday morning. It was about 1:35 a.m. back in the eastern United States and 6:35 local in Scotland.

Monty’s championship started well enough off the tee, but it got ugly up around the green when he found one of Troon’s deadly pot bunkers. The penalty was a double bogey.

Play at The Open tees off on Thursday, at Royal Troon in Scotland and you’ll be able to watch from the very first shot -- a first for a major championship.

For Americans, this will require the usual adaptation but should be a cool viewing event. Troon, in Scotland, is five hours ahead of the East Coast, and that means the tournament starts at 1:30 a.m. around those parts. That’s a good 2.5 hour expansion from the start time when ESPN telecast it. This is Golf Channel’s first foray into major championship golf and they’re going to do it big. You just need to be up early.

The Open Championship is upon us with the 145th edition of golf’s oldest major set to begin at Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland on Thursday. Players will start off the first tee in the wee hours of the morning on the East Coast.

The 156-player field features 12 Open champions, including defending champion golfer of the year Zach Johnson, who won last year’s tournament at St. Andrews, as well as newly minted major champion Dustin Johnson. This is the ninth time The Open has visited Troon since 1923, tying it for seventh-most in the rota.

Open Championships always provide golf fans with plenty of names you’ll know at the top of the leaderboard -- and many you won’t. The unique nature of the R&A’s choice to not only make the event Britain’s Open tournament -- but the rest of the world’s too -- means even those that obsessively follow the PGA Tour will find more than a name or two they don’t recognize.

That’s why we’re here to help.

Rory McIlroy got up close on Tuesday with Royal Troon’s Postage Stamp hole, and particularly, the front right “Coffin Bunker” -- one of five deep sand traps that protect the green.

In fact, the 2014 Open Championship winner needed six shots to dig his way out of the sand on the par-3 8th that plays just about 120 yards -- an episode he recounted during his press conference following a practice round with Andy Sullivan, Bernd Wiesberger and Matthew Southgate.