Tommy Fleetwood rode a wave of home support to the top of the leaderboard as Rory McIlroy battled back from a poor start in the 151st Open Championship.

Roared on by a partisan crowd at Royal Liverpool, Fleetwood carded an opening 66 to share the clubhouse lead with South African amateur Christo Lamprecht and Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo on five under par.

Antoine Rozner, Adrian Otaegui and Brian Harman were all a shot behind, with former champion Stewart Cink – who denied Tom Watson a fairytale victory in 2009 – part of a group on three under which included US Open champion Wyndham Clark.

McIlroy, who lifted the Claret Jug at Hoylake in 2014, was two over par after 13 holes before making birdies on the 14th and 15th and a crucial par on the 18th after needing two shots to escape a greenside bunker to end at level-par. It is unlikely that McIlroy was aware of the statistic that 50 of the last 52 Open champions have been within five shots of the lead after round one, but a fist pump suggested he certainly felt it was an important finish.

Read the full report of Thursday’s action below:

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “I actually felt like I played okay. I missed a couple of putts on the front nine but started to get the putter going on the back nine which was nice to see.

“It was tricky out there this afternoon. The wind was blowing a bit, it was hard to get close to some pins and I thought that anything in the 60s this afternoon would be a good score. I didn’t quite get there.

“Even par is a solid start. I wouldn’t have minded being a couple lower, but I will take it.”

On his bunker escape at the last: “These bunkers are really tough. You never seem to go into the middle of them, and you’re always up against the face. I actually got lucky because that could have gone into the deeper part of my footprint and I might have been there all night.

“It was great to get away with a five there.”

Mickelson +6 (77)

The out-of-bounds strikes again with Mickelson the latest victim. In the end, it’s a triple bogey eight which, couple with the double bogey on 17, sees him finish on a disappointing +6.

Plenty of work for lefty to do tomorrow to make the cut.

There are still a few players out on the course, but with most of the action finished, here’s how the leaderboard looks:

-5 Fleetwood, Lamprecht, Grillo

-4 Rozner, Otageui, Harman

-3 Cink, Clark, Noren, Homa, Sharma (17)

-2 Spieth, Jordan, SW Kim, Bjork, Migliozzi (17) Stewart (16)

Morikawa +2 (73), Homa -3 (68), Hatton E (71)

It feels like an age ago that these three were sitting on the 18th tee. And that’s because it was. Between Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy’s bunker problems, they’ve been waiting quite some time.

Homa ends up near the grandstand with his second but is able to safely navigate the up and down to sign off for a bogey-free back nine and a three-under-par round of 68. He’s often been criticised for not performing in the majors but that’s a stellar start to this Open for the American in these tougher afternoon conditions.

Hatton and Morikawa sign off with pars as well to finish at even par and +2 respectively. A few poor holes around the turn let Hatton down while Morikawa was inconsistent throughout. It’s still early in this championship but they’ll need to be much-improved tomorrow if they are to start moving in the right direction.

McIlroy E (7), Rahm +3 (71), Rose +3 (71)

Rahm first and it’s just bogey. His face says it all as the ball refuses to drop and it’s another bogey to bring a hugely infuriating round to a close for the Spaniard.

McIlroy, meanwhile, gets a great read of Rahm’s putt, and pours it in the heart of the cup. A vital par and a punch of the air from the Northern Irishman who signs off level par for the round. Not what he might have hoped for at the start of the day but by no means a disaster.

A closing par too for Justin Rose who will have a bit of work to do tomorrow alongside Rahm to make sure he’s here for the weekend.

McIlroy E (17), Rahm +2 (17), Rose +3 (17)

Both Rory and Jon take on their iron approaches into the par-five last...sand for both. And even worse, they are up against the faces. Rahm chips out backwards successfully and pitches onto the green to give himself a look at par.

McIlroy tries to hack out sideways...and leaves it in. The ball rests in his footmark and it’s a really awkward second bunker shot. He can attack the green this time but with one leg in, one leg out it’s tricky. The result? A marvellous effort which leaves him about 10 feet for his par. How he’d love to roll that one in.

Mickelson +3 (17)

The 17th claims another victim as even the game’s best chipper can’t keep his ball on the green as it rolls into the bunker. No up and down either and the LIV Golfer has to settle for a costly double-bogey five on the penultimate hole of the day.

Finau +2 (73), Hovland -1 (70), Thomas +11 (82)

Finau and Hovland can’t quite find the range with their birdie putts and it’s a pair of pars. Finau ends the day at +2 which is alright but Viktor, in particular, will be happy with how he battled back on the back nine to end the day in the red and alongside a host of contenders at -1.

Justin Thomas? The less said the better. He can’t get up and down from the rough and it’s a quadruple bogey NINE to end his round. That’s +11 for the day and an 82 which marks his worst round in a major championship. The American sits in a tie for 154th, with just one golfer beneath him.

Finau +2 (17), Hovland -1 (17), Thomas +7 (17)

Thomas ended the US Open with an 11-over par 81 and his round today is going the same way. It’s out of bounds off the tee, with his fourth shot ending up in the bunker. From there, his wedge catches the lip of the bunker and ends up in the next bunker along.

As if it couldn’t get worse, he has no shot from the bunker and has to chip out backwards. That’s six and he’s not even on the green yet.

Hovland, for what it’s worth, almost found himself in the out-of-bounds section with his second shot but got a good break with the ball just bouncing inside the line.