While You Were Sleeping: Early highlights from Day 1 at the British Open

Each morning of the British Open at Royal Troon, we’ll get you up to speed the minute you wake up with some highlights, facts and color that happened While You Were Sleeping.

Patrick Reed is the clubhouse leader

Reed eagled the third, made the turn in 31 and balanced two bogies with a pair of birdies on the back to fire a 5-under 66. Thursday’s Round 1 conditions are perfect for scoring, and Reed has taken the most advantage.

Steve Stricker and Billy Horschel are at 4-under.

Here’s a look at the full leaderboard.

Louis Oosthuizen made a hole-in-one on the 14th hole

The 2010 Open champion made a hole-in-one with a 6-iron on the 167-yard hole, hitting a tight low draw into the hole that bounced once and into the hole for the rare Open ace. That ace got Oosthuizen back to even par for the round.

Bubba Watson drove the 382-yard par-4 third hole

Watson, like many longer players in the field, may be able to have five eagles putts in the first six holes. That’s because the outward nine at Troon largely plays downwind, has some sub-400-yard par 4s and two par 5s. Watson made birdie on five of the first six holes.

Then Watson triple-bogeyed the 123-yard par-3 eighth

Watson arrived at the Postage Stamp, the shortest hole in the Open rotation, and made a complete mess of it. He took six on the hole, effectively undoing most of the work he did in the first six holes.

The 11th hole is playing like a par 5 … because that’s what it is

So far, the par-4 11th hole – which features a blind tee shot over a sea of gorse bushes and out of bounds running up the right side – has played more than a full shot over par. The hole’s highest score so far is a nine.

The back nine is WAY harder than the front nine

Early on in Round 1, the inward nine at Royal Troon, which plays entirely into the wind, has all nine of the hardest holes on the course against par.