Daniel Brown finished the day atop the leaderboard, but Royal Troon Golf Club won the first round of the Open Championship over the best golfers in the world. With Thursday in the books, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau were among the PGA Tour and LIV Golf stars in danger of missing the weekend of the final major of the year.

Royal Troon played wonky from the get-go. The typically downwind (and easier) front nine actually played upwind, flipping the strategic script. The venue's most iconic holes — the short par-3 8th (Postage Stamp) and brutal par-4 11th (the Railway), predictably, spoiled rounds. The Postage Stamp produced 20 double-bogeys alone.

Overall, Royal Troon played harder on Thursday than any round at a British Open since 2008, per Golf Digest. 18 of the 158 players in the field shot in the red. Only one hole — the par-5 16th — played under par.

The top 70 players (plus ties) will make the cut. Entering Round 2, the line is tentatively projected at +5. Here are notable names sweating the number in Scotland.

Who's in danger of missing the Open Championship cut?

Hideki Matsuyama, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg (+4, 75)

Ludvig Aberg, perhaps the most popular outright bet in the field, closed at 14-1 to win his first major. Aberg, known as the “The Machine” for his stoic, seemingly-automated style, disappointed a bit, especially coming off a letdown Sunday at the Genesis Scottish Open.

After his first taste of Royal Troon, the Swedish phenom is tied for 82nd. He lost 3.30 strokes on the field putting.

“It was definitely a challenge,” said Aberg. “I felt like we handled it tee to green pretty well, to be honest. … Just didn't putt it very well. Had a very, very poor day on the greens. That's what the score reflects.”

Hovland and Aberg, while still in their mid-20s, are probably the two most talented players on the PGA Tour without a major.

Bryson DeChambeau, Tommy Fleetwood, Max Homa (+5)

DeChambeau's first non-LIV (or YouTube) appearance since his triumphant U.S. Open was immediately derailed by a windy front nine. He claimed he was unconcerned (as he incorrectly corrected a reporter's terminology).

Fleetwood, once again, underperformed early in a major.

“Yeah, disappointed,” said Fleetwood. “Got off to a bad start. Missed every sort of important putt, drove it pretty poor.” (Backdoor top-10 incoming.)

Fleetwood and Homa (poor season notwithstanding), might be next on that list of major-less talents. Fellow 5-over-mates Tom Kim, Akshay Bhatia, and Will Zalatoris aren't far behind.

Sahith Theegala (+6)

One of the most exciting golfers on the PGA Tour is yet to seriously contend at a major. On paper, Theegala's creativity and improvisational style should thrive in a links setting. It wasn't the case on Thursday.

The 26-year-old double-bogeyed the par-4 5th, then bogeyed the next three holes. After the turn, he started another run of three consecutive bogeys, including on the Railway.

Rory McIlroy, Wyndham Clark (+7)

McIlroy was victimized by Royal Troon's signature setups as much as any golfer in the field. He double-bogeyed the Postage Stamp and the Railway. By that point, his round was … derailed.

“Difficult day,” said McIlroy. “I felt like I did okay for the first part of the round and then missed the green at the Postage Stamp there and left it in and made a double. But still, felt like I was in reasonable enough shape being a couple over through 9, thinking that I could maybe get those couple shots back, try to shoot even par, something like that.

“Then hitting the ball out of bounds on 11, making a double there. Even though the wind on the back nine was helping, it was a lot off the left. I was actually surprised how difficult I felt like the back nine played. I thought we were going to get it a little bit easier than we did.

“The course was playing tough. The conditions are very difficult in a wind that we haven't seen so far this week.”

Clark, who topped McIlroy by one stroke at the 2023 U.S. Open, continues his post-March struggles. Hopefully, he'll find his form before heading to the Paris Olympics with Team USA.

Cameron Smith, Tiger Woods (+8)

Smith — onetime considered the best short-game player in the world — has failed to make noise at majors since winning the 2022 Open and jumping to LIV Golf.

Tiger Woods landed 10 of 14 fairways but was simply too rusty with the irons and putter — a couple flashes of magic aside — as has been the case throughout 2024.

“I need to shoot something in the mid-60s tomorrow to get something going on the weekend,” said Tiger.

He's not the only one. Who will hit Royal Troon back in Round 2?