Open brings rain, sun, wind and Scheffler near the top

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — The British Open had a little bit of everything Thursday, from sunshine to rain, a breeze to strong gusts. And no surprise, it had Scottie Scheffler never too far from the lead.Former U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick handled the notorious "Calamity Corner" par-3 16th by chipping in for birdie and was among three players from the morning wave who posted a hard-earned 4-under 67 at Royal Portrush.Rory McIlroy played in the afternoon — he made bogey on the opening hole before a massive gallery, but that was still three shots better than his start in 2019 — and was among several players making a move on a day that felt like a slog with how long it was taking to play.In the midst of all this was Scheffler, the world's No. 1 player who has not finished out of the top 10 in the last four months, a stretch that includes another major among three wins.He was satisfied with the day's work of 68, even while hitting only three of 14 fairways. That statistic stood out to seemingly everyone but Scheffler."You're the second guy that's mentioned that to me," Scheffler said. "I actually thought I drove it pretty good. I don't know what you guys are seeing. When it's raining sideways, believe it or not (it's) not that easy to get the ball in the fairway."Really only had one swing I wasn't too happy with on the second hole," he said. "But outside that, I felt like I hit a lot of good tee shots, hit the ball really solid, so definitely a good bit of confidence for the next couple of rounds."There also was a 4-iron to 3 feet on the 16th for birdie, the start of birdie-birdie-par finish.But no one could go extremely low. Jacob Skov Olesen, the British Amateur champion last year from Denmark, was the first player to get to 5 under until a bogey at the last. He was joined at 67 by Li Haotong of China, and then Fitzpatrick joined the group with his marvelous chip-in.For everyone, the hardest part was staying dressed for the occasion. There were sweaters and then rain suits, and some finished their round in short-sleeved shirts. This is what is meant by "mixed" conditions in the forecast.Defending champion Xander Schauffele had a mixture of birdies and bogeys that added to an even-par 71. Shane Lowry, the last Open champion at Royal Portrush in 2019, had the nerves of someone hitting the opening tee shot. He handled that beautifully, along with most other shots in the worst of the weather in his round of 70.Padraig Harrington, a two-time Open champion, had the honor of the opening tee shot for the 153rd edition of this championship. He made birdie. And then he shot 74.