Thomas Bjorn only qualified for the British Open when other players withdrew because of injuries.
Tom Lewis is a 20-year-old amateur who earned his ticket to Royal St. George’s by winning a qualifier.
But as Thursday ended at the Sandwich, England, course, there they were, atop the leaderboard with twin 5-under 65s.
“I promised myself today I would go out and focus on every single shot ahead of me and go after every single shot, and I did that,” said Bjorn, who’s tied for second twice at the Open.
“Rolled in a few putts here and there, and it turned out to be a day of just feeling really solid with everything I did.”
Miguel Angel Jimenez, Lucas Glover and Webb Simpson finished Thursday tied for second-best, with 4-under 66.
Lewis played his round with five-time champion Tom Watson — the source of his first name.
“Tom Watson was [my father’s] hero, and I was the first son, so I was Tom,” Lewis said Thursday.
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