Rory McIlroy remained confident of getting back into contention at The Open after beginning his challenge at Royal Birkdale with a frustrating two-over-par 72.

A stone-cold putter cost the Masters champion as he missed numerous opportunities on the Southport links and ran up six bogeys.

He repaired some of the damage with four birdies, including on the 18th, and having faced the most difficult conditions of the first day before finishing at 8.43pm, believes he can bounce back.

The world number two, who trails surprise leader Jackson Suber by seven shots, said: “There were just too many stupid mistakes – but every time I made a stupid mistake, thankfully I made a birdie to sort of keep myself in it.

“I’m not too far away. If you look at the discrepancy between the scoring this morning and the scoring this afternoon, it looks like that’s going to be flipped tomorrow with the conditions again.

“Hopefully I can take advantage of the more benign conditions in the morning and shoot one under par and get back in it.”

McIlroy missed three putts from inside four feet and was 104th in the putting statistics.

And he was literally brought to his knees at the par-five 17th where, after hooking his approach into the gallery and then flying the green into a bunker, he contorted his stance to splash out to eight feet – only to miss for a bogey.

He at least finished on a positive with a brilliant approach from 198 yards to five feet and finally sank a short birdie putt.

He said: “I left one from pretty much tap-in range on nine to make a birdie. I missed three four-footers in the space of four holes and that’s tough.

“But I’m not going to go back to the house and analyse it too much. I’ll focus on the positives, which were I took it on off the tee and drove the ball very, very well, hit some really good shots, played the hard holes well.”

McIlroy will have to defy recent history to recover and claim a second Open title and seventh major overall, which would officially make him the most successful European golfer of all time.

Although he did win last year’s Masters from seven shots back, each of the last 26 Open champions have been within five of the lead after round one. The last player to come from further back was Mark O’Meara in 1998 although, interestingly, that was at Birkdale.

McIlroy found himself two over after seven having failed to get up and down at the par-three fourth and two-putted from inside four feet at the short but tricky seventh.

He missed a three-footer at the next – this time for birdie – but finally got one to drop after driving the green at the downwind, 415-yard ninth to turn in one over.

Back-to-back bogeys at the start of his back nine halted any momentum before a 24-footer dropped at the 13th for a second birdie of the day.

He made a complete mess of the two par-fives – having holed a 12ft birdie at the 206-yard 15th – but salvaged something late on.

Mature age apprentice Bailey Kinninmont is hoping to translate his recent metropolitan success into a victory at the iconic Flemington Racecourse, the venue for the Melbourne Cup.

The 28-year-old jockey will have his inaugural ride at Flemington this Saturday, partnering Lake Vostok in the RMBL Investments Rising Stars Final (1600m).

Kinninmont achieved his first city win on Wednesday at Sandown aboard the Gavin Bedggood-trained Silent Shares and is now looking forward to riding Luke Oliver’s Lake Vostok in Saturday’s race.

It’s worth noting that Lake Vostok won the corresponding race last year with Rose Hammond in the saddle. Hammond is down to ride Impending Shadow on Saturday.

Kinninmont, who comes from a racing family, grew up in Perth. His father, a former jockey, currently works as the ‘Racing Control Manager’ for the Hong Kong Jockey Club at Conghua Racecourse in China, while his mother, Kelly, is employed by Simon Miller in Perth.

Kinninmont shared that he had no interest in riding until he was 18. He was then sent to Melbourne, initially working with Julien Welsh and later Mick Kent, before obtaining his apprenticeship.

He has secured the majority of his 44 career wins, with 11 coming for trainer Luke Oliver.

“Mick Kent is my boss, but Luke is probably my biggest supporter,” Kinninmont said. “He throws me on everything, and I ride a lot of work for him, so he’s almost a second boss and hopefully we can repay the faith.”

Although Kinninmont has not yet ridden Lake Vostok in a competitive race, he was involved in all the mare’s jump-outs leading up to her first-up seventh at Flemington on June 20.

“She’s going great,” Kinninmont said. “I’ve had a lot to do with her the whole way through but couldn’t ride her first-up as I couldn’t ride in town, but she’s definitely improved on the first-up run and I think she goes in with a real winning chance.”

“I think she’s an open class mare, building through the grades, so she’s been unlucky not to have won a few more.”

Kinninmont’s birthday is on Sunday, and his family is travelling to Melbourne to celebrate with him.

“Dad is coming over from China, Mum from Perth, brother, cousins, uncles,” he revealed. “It’s my birthday on Sunday and that’s why they’re all coming over, but the race just so happens to be the day before, so that would be a nice present.”

Consider the available racing betting markets for Saturday’s Flemington card. Online bookmakers are ready.

Things are heating up on the Road to Saturday Night’s Main Event. WWE is set to deliver a major show from Madison Square Garden in New York City on July 18. Fans will witness a bitter grudge match when Bayley squares off against her former ally, Lyra Valkyria.

The tension between the two superstars has reached a boiling point following a brutal betrayal on the June 22 episode of Monday Night RAW. Valkyria shockingly turned her back on her mentor, laying out the multi-time champion in the middle of the ring after failing to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Title from Brie Bella and Paige. She even took things a step further this week on the red brand when the heel version of Lyra tried to diminish Bayley’s status. She called The Role Model a doormat for the locker room and labeled her the worst member of the legendary Four Horsewomen.

Instead of backing down, Bayley fired back, and she reminded Lyra of her Grand Slam status. She then announced that Adam Pearce had booked them in a match for Saturday Night’s Main Event. The heated exchange concluded with a physical brawl.

With their highly anticipated clash set for this weekend, the social media warfare has officially begun. The sports entertainment juggernaut recently posted a photo of Valkyria on X, noting a drastic change in her attitude. The official WWE account questioned what the rising star has in store for her upcoming opponent.

The Role Model quickly responded, and she boldly claimed that her rival almost looks like she lost the best thing to ever happen to her. This serves as a direct shot at their ruined partnership.

“almost looks like she lost the best thing to ever happen to her,” wrote Bayley.

Check out the post below:

The history between these two women runs deep. They once competed as a dominant force in the women’s tag team division. Their mentor-mentee dynamic made them a formidable duo capable of taking down any challengers. However, those days are gone, and both stars are now looking to make a massive statement at Madison Square Garden.

Bayley opens up on betrayal in emotional WWE RAW message to Lyra Valkyria

The Role Model has been left heartbroken by the betrayal on WWE RAW. On the July 6 episode of the red brand, she shared her thoughts in an emotional video package directed at Lyra Valkyria.

The former WWE Women’s Champion reflected on everything she had tried to do for Valkyria, admitting that she never expected their relationship to unravel in the way it has.

Bayley also revealed that she had shared her own experiences in the hope of helping Valkyria avoid the mistakes she made throughout her career. Instead, she believes those conversations were ultimately used against her.

“I’ve shared my experiences and my stories with you, thinking it would help guide you, but you just used it all against me. I just don’t understand why you couldn’t have an honest conversation with me about everything that was going on in your head. And instead, you took the easy way out. So, Lyra, I’m giving you one chance to prove to me that you’re not just like everybody else,” she said.

The New York crowd is ready to witness the fallout of this heated rivalry. It remains to be seen who will walk out as the victor this weekend.