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You Oughta Know: British Open Thursday

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CARLSBAD, CA - MARCH 26: Seon Hwa Lee of South Korea lines up a putt on the eighth hole during the second round of the Kia Classic Presented by J Golf at La Costa Resort and Spa on March 26, 2010 in Carlsbad, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England – After a 6-under 64 in the first round of the British Open, Adam Scott holds the lead after a round in a major championship for the first time. This, and more of what you need to know through 18 holes at Royal Lytham.

• Thanks to benign conditions and a hot putter Scott teed off on No. 18 with a chance to card a major-championship-record 62. The Australian bogeyed the last for a 64 and leads Paul Lawrie by one stroke.

• Tiger Woods’ 67 was better than the sum of its parts and if he continues to hit the ball like he did on Day 1, and trims some from his 30-putt total, he may be tough to beat.

• Phil Mickelson has now broken 70 just four times in the Open since 2005 and his first-round 73 marks the 17th time in 19 Open starts that he’s failed to break par on Day 1.

• Lytham may be the best of all Open rota courses at identifying champions based on its list of past champions (Seve Ballesteros, David Duval, Bobby Jones, Gary Player, et al) and Thursday’s leaderboard, which features seven major champions among the top 10 and ties.

• An “English summer” may do more to help American players than the Europeans. Soft conditions and perfect putting surfaces produced a board with five Americans among the top 10 and ties.

• Tom Watson, playing his 35th Open and 135th major championship, is still relevant as evidenced by his first-round 71 which left him tied for 54th.

• The draw, more so than form or fortune, will decide the Open championship. Of the top 13 players on Thursday just four came from the afternoon wave.

• Thursday’s attendance beat last year’s first-round figures by 2,000 fans despite a less-than-appealing forecast.