Chip Lutz (Reading, PA) followed his opening-round 69 with an unexpected and shocking 83, going from 4 shots back of the lead to missing the cut.
Gene Elliott (W. Des Moines, IA) had the best second round among the amateurs with a 69, but he missed the cut by one shot at 2-over 146.
Ryan Howison (Jupiter, FL) was 3 under for his round on the back nine but bogeyed three straight holes from the 15th and shot 72 for a 149 total.
Final Amateur Leaderboard
77-69=146 (MC) Gene Elliott, USA
77-72=149 (MC) Ryan Howison, USA
71-79=150 (MC) Robert Maxfield, England
76-75=151 (MC) Mats Dornell, Sweden
69-83=152 (MC) Chip Lutz, USA
77-75=152 (MC) G.S. Lacy, England
78-75=153 (MC) Mike McCoy, USA
79-75=154 (MC) Bryan Hughes, England
ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND (July 26, 2018) - On a day of good scoring at St. Andrews, Chip Lutz (Reading, PA) shot a 3-under 69 to lead the amateur contingent at the Senior British Open after round one on the Old Course.
Lutz, the winner of the 2015 U.S. Senior Amateur and three British Senior Amateur championships (2011, 2012, 2016), was the low amateur in last year's Senior British Open and looks to be in good position to do the same this year.
Related: 2017: In Wales, Lutz is Low Amateur at Senior Open Championship
Last year, the weather at Royal Porthcawl was the story, with high wind and rain allowing only two players in the field to finish the tournament under par. This year, with the course awash in sunshine and the fairways running fast, red numbers were everywhere.
Round One of the #SeniorOpen is underway under blue skies. pic.twitter.com/tm0LVXcXlD
— Staysure Tour (@StaysureTour) July 26, 2018
Lutz went out in 3-under 33, with birdies at 3, 6, and 8. Turning back into the wind, he played the back nine in even par, with a bogey at 15 offset by a birdie on the final hole.
Other American amateurs didn't fare so well. Gene Elliott, Ryan Howison, and Mike McCoy, who traveled to Scotland and made it through open qualifying on Monday, shot 77, 77, and 78 respectively.
Related: Elliott, McCoy, Howison qualify for Senior Open in Scotland
In all, eight amateurs are in the field this week: four Americans, three Englishmen (including the reigning British Senior Amateur champion Bryan Hughes), and one Swede.
Related: Hughes Breaks American Grip on the British Senior Amateur
The cut will be made after Friday's second round, with the final 36 holes played over the weekend.
Amateur Leaderboard
69 (T17) Chip Lutz, USA
71 (T41) Robert Maxfield, England
76 (T108) Mats Dornell, Sweden
77 (T122) Ryan Howison, USA
77 (T122) Gene Elliott, USA
77 (T122) G.S. Lacy, England
78 (T133) Mike McCoy, USA
79 (T138) Bryan Hughes, England