Ben Croucher
BBC Sport journalist at Royal Birkdale

Image source, Getty Images

A Spaniard, a Argentinian and a Frenchman walk up to the first tee. No this isn't the start of a joke but Game 11 out on the course.

Angel Ayora, amateur Mateo Pulcini and Victor Perez will play the first two rounds together, you suspect with events on the other side of the Atlantic to chat about on their strolls down the fairway.

Pulcini is the sole man from Argentina in the field. Will he scoop the silver medal for leading amateur and will Messi and his teammates follow suit by picking up that golden trophy in New Jersey a couple of hours later on Sunday?

A solid start from the man from Rio Cuarto. Three straight pars to begin.

A mistake by Robert MacIntyre on the eighth as he missed a par putt from five feet to card his first bogey of the day.

The Scotsman turns in one under though which is a nice enough start to the first day of The Open - but not quite as good as Alex Fitzpatrick who turns in 32, two under par.

Image source, Getty Images

Englishman Andy Sullivan has made a tidy start this morning.

Ten straight pars to kick off his round and then a birdie at the par-four 11th to get into the red.

So far he's enjoying his first Open Championship in five years.

We've had lots of shouts for The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac and Mull of McKintyre so far.

This has kept me smiling anyway.

Ben Croucher
BBC Sport journalist at Royal Birkdale

Success is built in the hours nobody sees.

You may just see the caddies carrying bags, helping with distances and providing some psycological support to the golfers but much of their work is carried out when nobody is watching.

Around 7am every morning on the practice days, the course is awash with caddies inspecting greens, run-offs and landing zones, filling their knowledge banks for every eventuality.

For some in the field, this will be the only time they play on a links course all year, so every piece of information could make the difference.

Image source, Getty Images

I wonder what time Justin Rose got to bed last night after England's World Cup semi-final defeat against Argentina.

The 45-year-old Englishman is a big football fan and said that he'd been hoping to head out a little later today to try and be in the best shape possible for this opening round.

"I was kind of hoping for a later tee time. Actually 9:30 isn't too bad unless England - actually, I'd take a win on penalties if it happened, but obviously we're looking for a short, sharp match and a reasonable bedtime," he said on Tuesday.

"Obviously we're going to be watching. But at the same time, I'm going to watch it with an eye on what's important for me as well and not get too high and low and keep my own emotions in check. We've got big things as well to do this week, but at the same time, it's a match where if you think that you're not going to watch it, you're probably kidding yourself.

"Obviously I'll be rooting the boys on, but at the same time, trying to make sure I'm able to sort of rest up pretty soon after the match."

On the plus side for Rose, at least there was no extra-time, and also at least now his Sunday is clear to celebrate an Open Championship victory...

Here are a selection of tee times to look out for during Thursday's opening round:

09:36 Russell Henley (US), Justin Rose (Eng), Viktor Hovland (Nor)

09:47 Justin Thomas (US), Alex Noren (Swe), Jason Day (Aus)

09:58 Scottie Scheffler (US), Tyrrell Hatton (Eng), Bryson Dechambeau (US)

10:09 Jordan Spieth (US), Tommy Fleetwood (Eng), Jon Rahm (Spa)

10:20 Brian Harman (US), Si Woo Kim (Kor), Nick Taylor (Can)

14:31 Chris Gotterup (US), Sam Burns (US), Adam Scott (Aus)

14:42 Collin Morikawa (US), JJ Spaun (US), Nicolai Hojgaard (Den)

14:53 Shane Lowry (Ire), Aaron Rai (Eng), Brooks Koepka (US)

15:04 Cameron Young (US), Wyndham Clark (US), Ludvig Aberg (Swe)

15:15 Rory McIlroy (NI), Xander Schauffele (US), Matt Fitzpatrick (Eng)

James Gregg
BBC Radio 5 Live commentator at Royal Birkdale

It's a gorgeous morning at Royal Birkdale.

It might look green on top because of some watering overnight but it's going to be harder than a granite worktop out there.

That will make contending at this Open very difficult.

It's going to be an absolute treat for us over these next few days.

Jonathan Jurejko
BBC Sport golf reporter at Royal Birkdale

Royal Birkdale is famous for its nautical-inspired art deco clubhouse - but it’s not the only eye-catching property in the area.

Opposite the drive leading into the club is another building of similar style.

The Round House, with its recognisable rotunda, was built in the mid-1920s and is a staple shot when TV directors are setting the Birkdale scene for viewers.

Urban legend has it that a very famous soft drink manufacturer approached the owners in the 1990s about painting the rotunda so it resembled one of their red cans - it was swiftly declined.

Alex Fitzpatrick is also flying now as just like Thomas Detry he's made three birdies in four holes to get himself to two under.

He joins Robert MacIntyre in second place just a shot behind the leader in a fine effort so far - and the Yorkshireman is attacking Royal Birkdale this morning, hitting plenty of drivers.

Image source, Getty Images

Thomas Detry is officially on a heater as they say, as he starts his back nine by picking up his third birdie in four holes to take the solo lead of the 154th Open Championship.

Image source, Getty Images

After back-to-back birdies for Alex Fitzpatrick it's just a par on the sixth but he scared the hole again with a magnificent putt up and then down the hill with a massive swing off the slope.

The rise of Matt Fitzpatrick's younger brother has been outstanding after it all seemed to click into gear by winning the Indian Open.

The really cool aspect of the story is that Matt then brought Alex in as his partner for the Zurich Classic in New Orleans, which they then won to give Alex a PGA Tour card for the first time.

He's had three top 10s since then and despite missing the cut in Scotland last week he's been one of the form horses in America. Remarkable.

Ben Croucher
BBC Sport journalist at Royal Birkdale

Image source, Getty Images

Crispy. Burnt. Baked. As well as describing my attempt to cook dinner last night, it also sums up the Birkdale course.

England’s green and pleasant land is now a sea of yellow and light orange hues, with the fortnight of hot, dry weather slow cooking the Southport soil.

It means 6 irons can clear 250 yards. Drives can easily roll 400.

Links golf just got extra linksy.

Interesting group just walking off the first tee with an Argentinian daring to show his face at Royal Birkdale today after last night's World Cup semi-final win.

Latin America Amateur Championship winner Mateo Pulcini gets a nice and polite round of applause on the first tee though, which is good to see.

And he'll have plenty to talk about with Spain's Angel Ayora ahead of Sunday's World Cup final - Frenchman Victor Perez will be keeping his head down in this one.

Another nice touch from Ayora is having the great Seve Ballesteros' name on his shirt as he wears outfits inspired by the great man - he's managed by Seve's son Javier.

A 19-year-old Seve really announced himself to the golfing world right here at Birkdale in 1976 - 50 years ago this year.

Ben Croucher
BBC Sport journalist at Royal Birkdale

By 3pm, it'll be the ice creams and water refill stations that everyone will be clamouring for, but first coffee.

This one is wafting arabica aromas right onto the driving range.

Just as well it didn't go to extra time last night or that queue might be a lot bigger.

Also, how early is too early for loaded fries? Asking for a friend.

Image source, Getty Images

Tough start for England's Matthew Jordan, a member just around the coast at Royal Liverpool.

He hit the opening tee shot over there on the Wirral three years ago, but is dead last in the field early on here after a triple bogey on the sixth puts him at six over.

He's got two top-10 finishes on his Open resume. It'll be some going from here if he makes the weekend.

Back-to-back birdies for Thomas Detry as he joins Robert MacIntyre at the top of the leaderboard on two under.

That's some response from the Belgian who rescued par from a ditch a few holes ago, and has now found his groove.

Alex Fitzpatrick evens up his card with a birdie at the fourth, then takes aim at the short par-four fifth with the driver - but finds one of the manhy bunkers guarding the green.

Robert MacIntyre and Rickie Fowler both lay-up here, with the American winning the wedge contest by knocking it closer than the Scotsman.

There's a ton of strategy to be used this week with the short par fours in particular having all kinds of different permutations depending on the wind. It's a proper links test this week.