By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

5 p.m. update

          Russell Henley opened the British Open in a stable way, and ended the first round in the top 10.

          The Macon and Georgia product is tied for eighth after shooting a first-round 2-under 69 on Thursday, reeling off pars and two birdies through the first 15 holes and following a bogey with a pari and birdie.

          Co-former Bulldog Kevin Kisner is first with a 66, one shot up on Erik Van Rooyen, Tony Finau, and Zander Lombard.

          Among the nine joining Henley at two under: Danny Willett, Rory McIlroy, Zach Johnson, and Justin Thomas.

          Britain is five hours ahead of the U.S.

          U.S. Open champ Brooks Koepka is 1 over and tied for 50th, and Masters winner Patrick Reed is 4 over and tied for 110th. Tiger Woods is even and Phil Mickelson is 2 over.

          Henley is up to No. 70 in the FedEx Cup rankings entering the tournament, coming off two nice performances.

          He has been under par in four of his last five tournaments, the U.S. Open the lone exception, and that came after he opened with a nifty 69 but struggled.

          Henley was 13-under in tying for sixth at the Travelers Championship in late June, and then took 10th with an 11-under weekend in the Military Tribute at The Greenbrier almost two weeks ago.

          Last year, Henley finished tied for 37th in the British Open with a 2-over 282, a third-round 75 all but eliminating two 70s to open the event. He missed the cut a year before.