Thriston Lawrence chipped in for eagle on the 18^th on Thursday in the first round of the 151^st Open Championship to finish on level-par and a share of 32^nd at Royal Liverpool.

The reigning South African Open champion had made a birdie and three bogeys up to that point, and his chip from 35 yards from the right rough short of the green on the closing hole never looked like missing. Other than Christo Lamprecht, he was the only of the 10 South Africans to make his presence felt in the upper reaches of the leaderboard on a relatively benign day.

It is the second appearance in the Open Championship for Lawrence, and he finished in a share of 42^nd in the 150^th Open at the Old Course in St Andrews last year. Since then, he has won three times on the DP World Tour, including his victory in the Investec South African Open Championship in December last year. And, with his win in the BMW International Open in Germany in June, he has become South Africa’s top-ranked player on the Official World Golf Ranking.

Lawrence made two bogeys on the front nine, on the fourth and seventh, before picking up a birdie on the 11^th. He put his tee shot 281 yards down the middle of the fairway, and hit his approach to within 10 feet. He made the putt for his birdie. He dropped a shot on the tough short par-three 17^th, overshooting the green with his tee shot, but then he got things back on an even keel with that closing eagle.

He was in a share of 32^nd with the likes of Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton, and five strokes off the lead which was held by his amateur countryman Christo Lamprecht, England’s Tommy Fleetwood, and Emiliano Grillo of Argentina.

Ockie Strydom made birdie on the 18^th to finish one-over in a share of 47^th. Branden Grace, Martin Rohwer and Christiaan Bezuidenhout were on two-over in a share of 65^th, while 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen was in a share of 89^th on three-over. Ernie Els was on four-over, and Kyle Barker was on five-over.