McIlroy grabs two-shot British Open lead with 63

Rory McIlroy fired the lowest first round in British Open history, a nine-under par 63, to seize a two-stroke lead on Thursday and outshine top-ranked Tiger Woods at the famed Old Course.

Magical McIlroy equalled the low round in any major, becoming the 22nd man to fire a 63, and only the eighth player in British Open history with a 63, the second at St. Andrews after Englishman Paul Broadhurst in 1990's third round.

Had the 21-year-old from Northern Ireland not botched a five-foot birdie putt at the 17th, the fabled Road Hole, he would have stood alone in major golf history at the sport's birthplace, where he has never fired worse than a 69.

"It sort of went through my mind at the 17th tee that 62 would be the lowest round in a major. Probably why I missed the putt," McIlroy said.

"I don't think I can come off feeling let down. I'm leading the Open Championship."

McIlroy took full advantage of ideal wind-less conditions on the defenceless Old Course to stand two ahead of South African Louis Oosthuizen and three atop Scotsman Andrew Coltart, England's Steven Tiley and John Daly, the 1995 Open winner at St. Andrews.

"Going out there with no wind, you are never going to get St. Andrews playing any easier," McIlroy said. "It gives me a little bit of a buffer out there going into the next three days."

Woods, the 2000 and 2005 Open champion winner here, was four back on 67 after taking a bogey at 17 and missing a birdie putt at 18.

Woods shared sixth with fellow Americans Lucas Glover, Nick Watney and Sean O'Hair, German Marcel Siem, Spain's Alejandro Canizares and Swede Fredrik Andersson Hed.

"Today felt awkward because there was absolutely no wind whatsoever and you never play a links course with no wind," Woods said. "You had to take advantage of it. I felt like I did a pretty good job of that."

A Road Hole bogey also cost Oosthuizen, who had a run of four birdies in a row starting at seven and two more at 14 and 15 before stumbling at 17 and scrambling for par at 18.

Winds arrived for afternoon starters, scores rising as a result, although third-ranked Lee Westwood birdied the last five holes on the front nine to make the turn at five-under then had a 25-foot birdie lip-out at 10.

World number two Phil Mickelson, who opened with nine pars, was among nearly half of the field of 156 still on the course.

McIlroy shot the first British Open 63 since Nick Faldo and Payne Stewart in the last round at Royal St. George's in 1993 and the first in a major since Woods in round two of the 2007 PGA Championship at Southern Hills.

"This course just suits me," McIlroy said. "It just fits my eye."

Ninth-ranked McIlroy, who shared third at last year's PGA Championship, missed the cut at this year's Masters and US Open but silenced any skeptics.

McIlroy eagled the par-4 ninth, began the back nine with three birdies in a row and added a 12-foot birdie at the par-5 14th. He missed the birdie bid at 17 but finished with a four-foot birdie at 18.

"The eagle at nine turned things around," McIlroy said. "I got going from there."

Daly fired four birdies in a row and set himself up as a people's choice to hoist the Claret Jug as Tom Watson was last year and Greg Norman was in 2008, although both bids failed.

"It would be the most gratifying victory I could ever have," Daly said. "I would appreciate it more than any tournament I've won."

The 44-year-old American has struggled with weight, women and alcohol but become beloved for more than just long drives in the process.

"I've never run from my mistakes," Daly said. "I have been the man you are supposed to be when you screw up and I've screwed up an awful lot. It's how you come back that matters."

Daly has not won since 2004 and his status has been reduced to taking US PGA sponsor exemptions. He's ranked 455th and has only once broken the top 55 on the US tour this year.

After opening and closing the front nine with back-to-back birdies, Daly birdied 10 and 11 but took a bogey at 17 and had a birdie lip-out at 18, yet matched his low round of 2010.

If anyone was going to have a somewhat redemptive triumph this week, the money literally was on Woods, a betting favourite despite being winless since a five-month hiatus caused by a sex scandal that shattered his allure.

Polite applause greeted Woods as it did at the Masters and US Open, where he shared fourth each time.

Woods, a 14-time major champion chasing the record 18 major titles won by Jack Nicklaus, seeks a fourth British Open title after having won at St. Andrews in 2000 and 2005 and at Royal Liverpool in 2006.

Woods sank a 25-foot birdie putt at nine to reach three-under, then birdied three holes in a row starting at the par-4 12th before the bogey at 17.