On the bright side, Justin Thomas wasn’t the member of his threesome who got pooped on by a passing seagull on Thursday.

But after his tee shot on the final hole of the first round of the Open Championship, Thomas slammed his driver into the turf.

Since missing the cut at the Masters in April, the two-time major champion had missed the cut in three other tournaments and posted one top-10 finish in eight outings. The No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking in January, Thomas had tumbled to 20th entering the British championship.

Thomas came to Thursday’s final hole at 7-over par for the first round, and his club slam came after his second tee shot on the 18th. His first had sailed out of bounds.

But the worst was yet to come for the former Alabama All-American on the 18th.

Trying to escape a bunker bordering the green, Thomas blasted the ball into another pot bunker and had to play out away from the hole to escape. Later his putt for a triple bogey hung at the edge of the cup.

Thomas tapped in for a nine on the par-5 18th, giving him an 11-over 82 at Royal Liverpool.

Thomas’ scorecard on Thursday also had two birdies, five bogeys and two double bogeys.

In his previous round at a major tournament, Thomas had an 11-over showing to miss the cut at the U.S. Open on the North Course at Los Angeles Country Club on June 17.

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Another competitor with Alabama golf roots had a surprising round, too, at the Open Championship on Thursday – but at the other end of the leaderboard.

A former Florence prep standout at Bradshaw High School, 50-year-old Stewart Cink carded a 3-under 68. He birdied the par-5 fifth and 15th holes and the par-4 seventh hole and did not have a bogey in the first round. He’s tied for seventh in the tournament.

Cink is playing in the Open Championship for the 24th time.

“It’s probably right up there with Augusta National for the highest experience requirement,” Cink said about the importance of Open experience during Peacock’s coverage of the tournament.

Cink won the Open Championship in 2009, when he defeated Tom Watson in a playoff.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.