SMITH OPENS TITLE DEFENSE, AMATEUR LEADS

HOYLAKE, England (AP) — Cameron Smith has started his title defense at the British Open and is chasing a South African amateur holding an unlikely lead at Royal Liverpool.

Smith is looking to do what no player has achieved since Padraig Harrington in 2008 and lift the claret jug in successive years.

The Australian opened with a birdie at the first after a putt from about eight feet.

Christo Lamprecht, a two-time All-American from Georgia Tech who qualified by winning the British Amateur at the nearby Hillside links, reached the back nine at 3 under. He made three birdies in a four-hole stretch from No. 3.

Lamprecht is hard to miss. He stands at 6-foot-8 (2.03 meters) and hits it long off the tee.

He is a shot clear of 2009 champion Stewart Cink, who is 2 under after seven holes.

___

— A brown British Open turns green

— Rasmus and Nicolai first set of twins playing the British Open

— New hole on an old links getting all the attention at Royal Liverpool

— Niemann among LIV players wondering if this major is their last

___

Matthew Jordan enjoyed one thrill when he walked onto the first tee at Royal Liverpool to a rousing ovation before hitting the opening shot. It's only getting better for the player who knows these links better than anyone.

Jordan has been a Royal Liverpool member since he was a teenager. In his first Open appearance, he had three birdies on the front nine and was 2-under par to set the early target.

Among early starters, Ryan Fox is the only other player to have reached 2 under before dropping back.

Scottie Scheffler, Brooks Koepka and Jordan Spieth are among those playing later in the morning. Rory McIlroy plays late in the afternoon.

___

Matthew Jordan has played Royal Liverpool hundreds of times. Thursday morning was unlike any other. He hit the opening tee shot in the 151st edition of the British Open.

Jordan received a rousing ovation from the grandstand behind the first tee, and then hit driver just left of the pot bunker into the rough. He put his next shot into a bunker left of the green and holed an 8-foot par putt.

It's not unusual for the R&A to have the first shot struck by a player with local connections. Jordan is different. He is a member at Royal Liverpool and has been since he was a teenager. He made it through qualifying to get into his first British Open.

Jordan gave the gallery more reason to cheer with a birdie on the second hole. Russell Henley would love to have his start back. Playing in the second group, he made double bogey.

The R&A is expecting 260,000 fans for the week.

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports