Up all night! Let’s get weird and follow The Open first round from Carnoustie

The Open Championship is the most unique major championship in men’s golf. The style of play, the scenery, the courses, the overnight watch back in the States, and the history make it stand out from the others. There’s so much that makes up the identity of The Open and this year’s edition at Carnoustie is going to be especially distinct.

David Duval, an Open Champion who has seen some things at this major, said he could not remember anything like it in his 22 years playing in the championship. That’s because Scotland is in a drought. Carnoustie, the northernmost venue in the Open rota, has seen almost no rain in the last six weeks. The fairways are a crisp brown and running almost as fast as the greens. It looks different but if you can appreciate the history of this championship, and how a links should play, you’ll know that the look is not just different but it’s actually beautiful.

Duval is an authority to speak on the uniqueness of the conditions. The comparisons will immediately jump to 2006 at Royal Liverpool, where Tiger won on a baked out course by hitting just one driver all week. The strategies this week on the longest course the Open has to offer will vary. And that’s what makes it so interesting and fun to watch as the best in the world try to figure out how to attack a totally different challenge and play an entirely different style.

It may not have the bite of a typical Carnoustie Open, but it’s going to be fun as hell to watch. Follow along here all night and day.

1:35 a.m. — We’re up! Coffee is poured. Golf Channel is on ... and it appears a volunteer marshall is going to have the honor and lead things off at Carnoustie. Wait, no that’s actually Sandy Lyle in an official Open rain jacket and cap. Mr. Lyle is on-brand this morning and appears to have done some serious damage in the merch tent this week.

1:47 a.m. — Andy Sullivan gets on the board with our first birdie of the championship. Sullivan takes no time and just hammered a putt right into the heart of the cup on the first green.

1:53 a.m. — We’ve got our first budget-ass-looking reverse mortgage ad that really hammers home you’re watching middle of the night golf.

2:25 a.m. — The course seems gettable in this morning wave. While the fairways are running out like concrete, the greens are quite soft and receptive. We’ve seen players stop the ball on a dime and even spin it back some 15 or 20 feet. So firm fairways have it playing shorter, the wind is down, and the greens are holding. That seems like a recipe for a low round, especially if it stays this calm. This is not the Carnoustie of 2007 or 1999.

2:30 a.m. — Oh my Lyle also has an official Open golf shirt on too. I am dying. It’s an ungodly hour and I am delirious but this is the very early favorite oddity at this 147th Open. It’s probably his last Open now that he’s turned 60 and a past champion exemption runs out but he’s going out leaving his mark.

2:55 a.m. — Thomas Pieters drove the green on the 393-yard first hole. Pieters is one the biggest hitters in the world, but that should give you a sense of just how firm and fast this layout is playing right now. You have to thread one and roll it up near perfect but there are going to eagle and birdie chances out there on Thursday.

3:10 a.m. — Phil Mickelson is really our first big headliner and he’s off just after 8 a.m. local time. Phil should be licking his chops giving these conditions. He’ll get a clean course with not many players ahead of him trampling the greens, unlike Tiger, who plays at the very end of the day. His opening tee shot was an indicator of just how baked out this place is — we’re getting dust clouds instead of divots:

3:50 a.m. — Here’s the most dramatic story of the early portion of the first round. Per Todd Lewis on the Golf Channel broadcast, Jhonattan Vegas is in a race to make his tee time. Vegas had a visa issue — he discovered it was expired on the day he was scheduled to travel, and then an expedited one from the British consulate got lost by a courier. Vegas eventually got out of Houston and connected through Toronto, but he was separated from his clubs. He lands in Glasgow at 8:45 a.m. on Thursday and will then helicopter to Carnoustie to try and make his 10:31 a.m. tee time. His equipment company has put together a set of clubs for him when he arrives. Wild story! If he plays well with new clubs, no practice and never seeing the course, it will be the round of the day.

4:55 a.m. — Update to the previous update: Jhon Vegas has indeed made it to Carnoustie on time. Now he’s just got to play with new clubs having had no practice rounds on a course that’s a total departure from the usual PGA Tour setup.

5:10 a.m. — The marquee streaming group of Rahm, Rickie, and Chris Wood is now on the course. Streaming and media details below. A group ahead of them are Jordan Spieth and Justin Rose, so we’re starting to get a few more from the top of the world rankings joining Phil out there in the early half of the draw.

5:25 a.m. — We‘ve got a Danny Willett sighting. The 2016 Masters champ has barely been a competitive golfer since he won the green jacket, but after some injuries and swing alterations, he seems to be coming out of it. He showed well at the Scottish Open last week and now he’s hovering right around the top of the leaderboard and looking at a mid-60s round. This gave him a momentary share of the lead.

5:45 a.m. — Rahm drives the third green, some 350 yards out, with a tasty tee ball after watching his playing partners hang back from the trouble. We heard the bombers might let it rip this week and here’s a great example of the varying strategy that only some with the most power can execute. This will get you a tap-in birdie.

7:05 a.m. — This kind of play from Spieth is why we love links golf. You don’t get these kind of options and creativity just about every other week of the year. You’re also not going to get many players with the courage to run it so close to that pot bunker but the play paid off for Spieth.

7:30 — Erik Van Rooyen and Kevin Kisner appear to be the early pacesetters. Van Rooyen got into the house first with a 4-under 67, and then Kisner rolled in about a half-hour later with a 66. Given the conditions, it’s a little surprising we haven’t seen more mid-60s rounds but there are still plenty of players to roll in across the afternoon.

9 a.m. — Tiger Woods has arrived for his extremely late tee time and he’s ... uh ... got some KT tape on his neck, which is something we’ve never seen in public before. That’s not the most comforting feeling as the Big Cat gets ready to go for what is a realistic shot to win a 15th major. Not great!

9:30 a.m. — Uh, you can relax for a moment, I guess. Tiger’s camp said it was just to loosen up a stiff neck and now all is well. We’ll see. That camp has said things were no big deal in the past only to have serious injuries emerge later.

10:12 a.m. — My pick to win, Patrick Reed, posted an opening round 75 and is tied for 127th place. Reed hit it in the Barry Burn at the 18th to cap a crappy round. But it wasn’t as poor a finish as Jordan Spieth, who made a double on the 15th and played the final four holes in 4-over. Spieth went from the first page of the leaderboard standing on the 15th tee to a tie for 70th when he was done.

10:30 a.m. — We are off and running and Tiger has opened up with birdie. The neck seems fine and it looks like he’ll keep the KT tape on there throughout the round.

11:30 a.m. — Justin Thomas is our afternoon charger. He’s moved all the way to 4-under, one back of Kevin Kisner, who remains the pacesetter from the morning session. Tiger, meanwhile, is 2-under through his first four and appears dialed in with his approach shots.

The baked out conditions may yield some low scores here on the first day, where the wind is minimal in the early going. While the fairways are as firm and fast as it gets, the greens have obviously been watered and kept much slower so they’d remain playable should some high links winds start beating on Carnoustie. The greens are running around 10 on the stimpmeter and playing quite receptive. Birdies may be out there all day. Here’s your leaderboard:

One tradition of The Open is that all 156 players roll off No. 1 tee during an interminable first two days. The daylight in Scotland this time of year covers some 17 or 18 hours. You can play deep into the night, past 10 p.m. The Open never utilizes a two-tee start like the other two majors with full 156-player fields. They just don’t have to and it’s an Open and links tradition to start only on No. 1. Only once, and because of a dire weather forecast, have they used a split tee start in the 147-year history of The Open.

The forecast is clean this week so everyone will roll off No. 1 and have the starter announce their names, whether that’s well before breakfast or as dinner approaches. The tee sheet runs from 6:35 a.m. local to 4:15 p.m. It’s an amazing spread and only at The Open could Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods tee off a whopping seven hours apart. Here are some of your marquee groups and times for the first round (all times ET):

3:03 a.m.: Phil Mickelson, Satoshi Kodaira, Rafa Cabrera Bello

4:58 a.m.: Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, Kiradech Aphibarnrat

5:09 a.m.: Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler, Chris Wood

5:20 a.m.: Louis Oosthuizen, Paul Casey, Patrick Reed

7:31 a.m.: Henrik Stenson, Tommy Fleetwood, Jimmy Walker

7:53 a.m.: Rory McIlroy, Marc Leishman, Thorbjorn Olesen

8:04 a.m.: Dustin Johnson, Alex Noren, Charley Hoffman

8:26 a.m.: Justin Thomas, Francesco Molinari, Branden Grace

9:48 a.m.: Padraig Harrington, Bubba Watson, Matt Wallace

9:59 a.m.: Ian Poulter, Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka

10:10 a.m.: Sergio Garcia, Bryson DeChambeau, Shubhankar Sharma

10:21 a.m.: Tiger Woods, Hideki Matsuyama, Russell Knox

A newish tradition of The Open is also the wall-to-wall watch. Since Golf Channel and NBC acquired the rights to this major, they’ve put on a monster 14.5 hour broadcast for the first two rounds. They go live for the very first tee shot at 1:30 in the morning back in the eastern U.S. and then just let it run all night and day. It’s an amazing, hefty broadcast that is now in its third year.

In addition to the TV coverage, there will also be the usual menu of stream offerings if you’re stuck at work and want to watch from your desk. Tiger Woods will be out late and in the marquee groups stream during the U.S. work day on Thursday. That stream is also free and doesn’t require a cable account login. Here are your media options for Thursday at the British Open:

1:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. — Golf Channel

1:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. — Golf Channel broadcast simulcast stream

1:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. — “Spotlight” coverage

4 a.m. to 3 p.m. — 3-hole stream focusing on Nos. 8 to 10

Marquee groups stream

2 a.m. to 3 p.m. -- Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio (Ch. 92/208)