• Open Championship: Plays of the Day

McIlroy putts into sand; Poulter clowns around

Bjorn's camera damage © Twitter / @Donaldson007

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Thomas Bjorn vs. ESPN

Having found the long grass on the first hole, Thomas Bjorn hacked at his ball and thundered it straight into an ESPN camera - shattering the lens.

Luckily our commentator Mark Donaldson was on the scene to assess the situation.

A smashing start from the Dane! (Sorry.)

Power Trip

The wind, hot weather and firm conditions made picking yardages difficult for many players on Thursday - with big hitters going up a number of clubs with regularity.

Some muscled up more than others - Dustin Johnson, for example, had 230-yards to the cup at the par-five 17th and opted for a seven-iron.

Perhaps he was just trying to keep up with playing partner Bubba Watson, though - at the same hole the former Masters champion had 247 into the hole and hit a little six-iron...

Rory, Rory, Rory

Never good if you manage to putt off the green into a bunker if you're an amateur, let alone the world No. 2.

No more six-iron shots from him today

Spare a thought for Charl Schwartzel's clubs. Domestic abuse is reprehensible.

'First match halved, return tomorrow for the rematch'

McIlroy had plenty of reasons to be embarrassed about his opening round 79 - and that's before he discovered that it was the same score managed by Sir Nick Faldo.

The pair got involved in something approaching a spat prior to the tournament, after Faldo accused McIlroy of failing to focus enough on golf and the Northern Irishman retorted that Faldo had forgotten "how tough this game can be".

Still, if either player was hoping to get the edge in their personal battle out on the course on Thursday (and McIlroy must have been the prohibitive favourite to do so), then they were left sorely disappointed. The battle for bragging rights halved in 79s - gentleman, return on Friday for a repeat.

Although if you both miss the cut then you're both in the wrong.

You're going to die, clown

Some of the players were unhappy with the pin positions on a few holes on Thursday - with Phil Mickelson describing the location of the cup at the eighth as "very suspect" and others on the course as being like "putt-putt" [crazy golf]. Ian Poulter went even further:

Unfortunately the guys this afternoon will struggle with a few pin positions. 8th hole is a joke, 18th needs a windmill & clown face.— Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) July 18, 2013

Which presumably means this is actual found footage of Poulter closing out his round at the 18th:

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