The 149th British Open returned under clear skies on Thursday as England's Richard Bland hit the opening tee shot at Royal St George's in Sandwich, Kent. The championship was cancelled last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic but up to 32,000 fans will be allowed in each day this year after discussions with the government and public health authorities. Bland belted a fine shot down the fairway as the opening group, which included Andy Sullivan and Marcus Armitage, were given a warm reception by the spectators. Players have to operate in bubbles limited to four people with their team and cannot go to bars, restaurants or supermarkets during the week of the event. Chief executive of tournament organisers the R&A, Martin Slumbers, admitted it is "probably inevitable" that such strict protocols will result in issues with players at risk of disqualification for breaching the rules. Defending champion Shane Lowry has been grouped with former winner Louis Oosthuizen and Spain's recent US Open champion Jon Rahm for the start of this year's fourth major. Other notable groups for the first two rounds include four-time champion Rory McIlroy, winner of the Open in 2014, playing alongside American Ryder Cup rival Patrick Reed. A total of 13 players withdrew from the Open before the start of play as reigning Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama and 2015 Open champion Zach Johnson tested positive for coronavirus, while two-time major champion Bubba Watson was identified as a close contact of a positive case. "After such a difficult time in the last year or so for the whole world, I have to admit we are relieved, thrilled, and a little bit emotional in being able to get to stage the Open once again," said Slumbers. "It has been quite a challenge being able to get to this point and we're under no illusions of the complexity of the problems that are caused by the pandemic, specifically when you're trying to stage a global sporting event with players from 27 different countries and bringing them all into the country."
