Southport, England — Few in the packed galleries lining the dunes of Royal Birkdale expected to see an unknown American rookie atop the British Open leaderboard when the first round wrapped up Thursday. But that is exactly where Jackson Suber landed after a blistering 5-under-par 65 that turned the 2025 Open Championship on its head, capping a meteoric rise that has brought the golfer to Europe for the first time in his career, just days after he first played links-style golf for the first time ever.
Suber’s rapid ascent up the leaderboard came together in a flash of exceptional play: the 29-year-old sank back-to-back birdie and eagle in quick succession to surge past a field of 36 golfers who finished the opening round under par, clinching a one-shot lead heading into Friday’s second round. It is a story for the ages in major golf: not only had Suber never teed off on a links course until three days before tournament play began, this week marks his first ever appearance at the British Open, and his first trip to the European continent at all. Even adjusting to local driving customs has been a new experience; Suber joked Thursday that he has refused to get behind the wheel on the right-hand side of the car, saying “I’m trying to make it here for four days.”
The opening momentum carried into Friday’s early play, with Suber picking up another birdie on the second hole to hold his position near the top. Wind picked up across the Birkdale links as the day went on, however, and the American dropped three strokes off his lead by the middle of the round. Currently ranked 115th in the Official World Golf Ranking and 81st in the PGA Tour FedEx Cup standings, Suber has notched three top-10 finishes on the Tour this season, including a tied-fourth result at the Canadian Open that earned him his spot in the Royal Birkdale field. This week is just his third appearance at a major men’s professional championship.
Suber’s surprise run is far from unprecedented in the history of major golf. Over the decades, unheralded players have repeatedly stepped into the opening round lead, sending fans scrambling to search up their biographies. In the 2003 British Open at Royal St. George’s, South African Hennie Otto, then ranked 200th in the world, opened with a 6-under 66 to claim the first-round lead. More recently, Andrew Landry made his major debut at the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont and shot a 4-under 66 to hold a one-shot lead over eventual champion Dustin Johnson after 18 holes. Amateurs have even claimed a share of the first-round lead twice in the last 25 years, most recently Christo Lamprecht at Hoylake in 2023. In 1981, Nick Job, a journeyman who never finished higher than 25th on the European Tour Order of Merit, claimed the opening-round lead and held his position through the first two days before a 75-74 weekend dropped him down the standings.
Despite his lack of links experience, Suber has expressed steady confidence in his game ahead of the remainder of the tournament. “I feel like I’ve just been playing good the last few months,” he said Thursday. “Just knowing that good golf is going to take care of everything, and really trusting my caddie to figure out where we’re going to hit it.”
While Suber grabbed headlines, other top contenders got off to uneven starts at Royal Birkdale. Four-time major champion Rory McIlroy, one of the early starters on Thursday, carded an opening round 2-over 72, dragged down by six bogeys and a series of missed short putts that left him seven strokes off Suber’s pace. Defending Open champion Scottie Scheffler fared better, finishing the afternoon opening round at 3-under 68, four strokes ahead of McIlroy and within striking distance of the lead. Local favorites also had a slow start: England’s Tommy Fleetwood mounted a late rally to climb the leaderboard, while Justin Rose faltered, leaving the home contingent with work to do over the remaining three rounds.