obviously, today was slow going, just two birdies. i need to find a couple of rounds where i am making six or seven birdies a day. he will perhaps wish he was rory mcllroy... lurking left. ..if the former champion can iron out his errors. a few fewer mistakes today, and he would have had the lead. mcilroy still in the mix but must come back and do better tomorrow. it was not pretty off the tee but i got it done and took advantage of some fortunate bounces. you know, i would have taken 69 to start the day. the leader so far, kevin kisner of the usa, five under the score of the day. and how's this for shot of the day, thailand's kiradech aphibarnrat on the bounce. first bounce forward, second bounce never had a chance. there wasn't much bounce in tiger woods at the start of the day. the great champion woke up this morning with a stiff neck. but there are signs the old tiger touch is back. flashes of brilliance in a round that finished level par. you know he can. he's tiger woods! tiger woods‘ return to the open after injury has been

the big draw of day one. the other big talking point has been the state of the course. they are watering the greens tonight but the fairways have been hard and fast and burnt out. however, there is rain forecast to blow in overnight and it is set to stick around until lunchtime tomorrow. for those with early tee times like fleetwood, mcilroy and woods, they could have very different conditions to contend with tomorrow. katherine downes, bbc news, carnoustie. newsnight will be on bbc two. here is emily. —— evan. newsnight will be on bbc two. here is emily. -- evan. tied with brexit becoming increasingly divisive in parliament, we hear from becoming increasingly divisive in parliament, we hearfrom former by minister tony blair on why he believes we believed —— we need another referendum to settle the issue as to what kind of brexit, if any, we should choose. that's on bbc two. here on bbc one time for the news where you are. hello and welcome to sportsday,

with me sarah mulkerrins. your headlines tonight... what hopes for a first major title in four years? rory mcilroy is in the hunt at the open, just three shots off the lead..... cementing his place as the overall leader of the tour de france — geraint thomas wins a gruelling and thrilling twelfth stage and victory for superleague leaders st helens over the nearest rivals wigan. hello and welcome to sportsday. it's been a gripping first day's

play at the open championship, with the dry conditions at carnoustie proving tricky for some players. the americans are out in force with tiger woods and defending champion jordan speith making headlines... but it's little known, kevin kisner, who ended day one on top, after a five under par opening round. joe lynskey reports. these are the scorched fairways not of dubai but of dundee. conditions where the ball can keep rolling and not always way you want it. jordan spieth arrived as defending champion but opening round showed why it stayed out the traps. as he folded, another american made the charge to the front. kevin kisner‘s made in south carolina and used to taking on the desert. 11 years ago, rory mcilroy came to carnoustie as an amateur. today, he looks very different on the course. he has not at all the breaks today but is one to keep an

eye on. the english charge is led by southgate, he is in touch with the lead but with the british lions to prevail, they need to take on the tiger, tiger woods is fit again and back to win majors. early birdies looking ominous for the rest of the field but for some, these conditions will make the open a dream, ora nightmare. joe lynskey, bbc news. this the leaderboard then — kisner on top, after his round of 66 — 4 birdies and i eagle helping him along. rory mcilroy, well he played aggressive golf with the driver today — he's tied for 8th on 2 under. tiger woods, had a good front 9 — but 3 bogeys coming home meant he finished level. similar story for defending champion jordan speith, faded to finish on i over. many players spoke of the difficult conditions — leader kevin kisner, says confidence is key.... if you don't believe in yourself out

here, you're going to get run over pretty quickly. i am pretty sure everybody has a lot of self—belief oi’ everybody has a lot of self—belief or we would not do it. the golf course is great for me, the conditions have been fine and going forward , conditions have been fine and going forward, you never know what you will have in scotland, the rain is coming tomorrow and i do not think it will affect it in one day, but i will have to keep doing what i am doing and if i have 22 putts i will have a pretty good shot. even if you play aggressively, you will make more birdies and bogeys. that is what i have to do, that is my game plan this week. i am convinced that is the way i should play at. it will not be for everyone, but it worked out pretty well today. team sky's geraint thomas has extended his lead at the tour de france after a thrilling victory on stage 12, on the top

of alpe d'huez. he sprinted clear of team—mate chris froome and tom dumoulin, for his second stage win in two days. drew savage was watching. the smile of a man still taking in what he had done. it is quite something to wear the yellowjersey at the tour de france but another level entirely to win a stage while wearing it racing up the hairpin corners of one of the most famous quince and cycling. he may have the yellow jersey but thomas's job is still to support his team leader, chris froome. thirsty work... the battle for the race lead went all the way up the 21 bends of the alpe d'huez... thomas's role was to close down froome's rivals, and he did it brilliantly. romain bardet, and then tom dumoulin tried but they couldn't escape the pairfrom team sky. all the favourites together on the final corner, and the welshman showed his class... if a fifth tour win for froome is still his team's plan a, and he insists it is, then this was a brilliant distraction. extending his lead to one minute 39 seconds. team orders may come into play later in the race but for now thomas

is enjoying the ride. liverpool have confirmed tonight the signing of the roma goalkeeper allison on a six year contract. it's reported that they've paid about 66.8 million pounds for the 25 year old, which is a world record for a goal keeper. the brazilian has been at roma for two years and said "in terms of my life and my career, it's a huge step for me being part of this club and this family," hibernian are through to the second round of europa league qualifying, after a crazy io—goal second leg against runavik of the faroe islands. hibernian conceded twice in the opening six minutes but recovered to record a 6—4 victory on the night, with stevie mallan scoring twice to secure their place in the next round. elsewhere — cliftonville lost 2—1

at nordshelland... so they're out, 3—1 on aggregate. not good either for coleraine, they lost 2—nil to spartak subot—ica, 3—1 on aggregate. earlier today, derry city also exited in the first round, as did glenavon. full match reports on the website. la galaxy striker zlatan ibramhimovic has bbc sport, his former manchester united team—mate paul pogba, could become one of the world's greatest players, but he's not there yet. last season, the french midfielder endured a mixed performance at old trafford — however he was in fine form during the world cup — scoring in the final against croatia. zlatan insists he's shown what he's capable of and doesn't need to prove himself. we should not forget that paul has been playing in the champions league final. the european final with the national team who just won the world cup. the europa league final, he won many titles in italy, and as a young player,

he won many trophies with the youth also. what more do you want? he would be on the big stage more than those judging him. you have been joined this week, or a couple of weeks ago, by another of your former manchester united team—mates. wayne rooney. you are a little further down the road in terms of major league soccer. what advice would you give to him and what message have you got, did you are bound to come into contact with one another over the next months or years? i think rooney should be rooney and continue what he has been doing. do what he is good at. he will enjoy the football here. it is different, but you enjoy it. they do things different here. he will settle in perfect.

they will enjoy his game, especially his team—mates, and he will see the game in a different way. st helens have extended their lead at the top of rugby league's superleague after a 14—6 victory over their nearest rivals wigan. this try from morgan knowles early in the second half proved to be the big difference. saints are now ten points clear at the top of the table ahead of the warriors in second. england hockey intertnational shona mccallin says concussion could ruin her career... she took a blow to the head playing argentina earlier this year and now won't be playing at the world cup which gets underway this weekend... the olympic gold medal winner is one of a number of players who have been affected by concussion... it feels a little bit like a hangover in handcuffs. i've had ankle injuries and knee injuries but i can still go out for dinner and get a coffee and drive home for the weekend,

but this, you can't. and it takes over your whole life. at times i've been looking down a dark tunnel and there is no light at the end. concussion is relentless. am i going to get back to having a normal life, first and foremost, and then get back to playing hockey? if after six months it's not clear, and i have to make a decision, i will have to make that decision. we wish all the best her recovery. lewis hamilton has signed a new two year contract to stay at mercedes... it's understood he'll earn at least 30—million pounds a year, but that could rise to ito—million depending on bonuses... it means hamilton remains the best—paid driver in formula one history... he's currently eight points behind sebastian vettel in this years drivers standings ahead of practice for the german grand prix which starts on tomorrow. that's all from sportsday. coming up in a moment, the papers. hello and welcome to our look ahead

to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are the chief political correspondent for the daily telegraph, christopher hope and the political commentator, lance price. let's take a look at tomorrow's front pages. the independent leads with the sharp increase in violent crime and says mps are blaming austerity for the upsurge. following on with the same story — the metro says ‘policing cuts fuel surge in murders‘ (ani) the telegraph splashes on claims by thejustice secretary david gauke

that the uk‘s prison system is failing. and it‘s a dramatic headline on the front of the daily express ‘welcome to lawless britain‘ it describes what it calls britain‘s ‘runaway crime wave‘. it‘s a different crime story in the guardian, it says that british security services are using children as covert spies against gangs and terrorists. the i leads on news that the british security servcies have identified those suspected of carrying out the latest nerve agent attack in salisbury. the daily mirror calls into question the living arrangements of former foreign secretary boris johnson. and the financial times is looking at the bank of england‘s investigation into the accounting firm kpmg.

i think ithinki i think i glanced over my shoulder there that what i was saying did not necessarily much what you‘re seeing, but i thought i would continue. thank you for being so polite about it. who once yesterday's papers? let us it. who once yesterday's papers? let us stick with the papers today. let us us stick with the papers today. let us start with the metro and a quotation here, policing cuts fuel surge in the murders. who is saying there‘s? this is the police federation, they want more police on the front line, more members and bobbies on the beat. the figures are shocking. more than 5 million offences in the year until march. these are the official figures that count. they are using these figures to make a point about cuts. 21,000 officers lost since 2010. theresa

may since 2010 was home secretary then. it is on her watch. is itjust money? no, but clearly that is an important factor, or at least bodies oi'i important factor, or at least bodies on the street. police officers on the street, that is crucial to this. the police federation is a trade union but that does not mean it is wrong and i think unless it goes beyond the police federation, a numberof mps beyond the police federation, a number of mps have raised similar concerns and serving officers who are not necessarily there because they want more police officers in they want more police officers in the way that the federation do. there is no doubt that although in previous years the government has been able to skirt around the issue of police numbers and cuts to the police services, now it is right at the centre of the debate. there is a feeling about crime, that it is on the rise and you see them all paired