Rory McIlroy rues too many stupid mistakes after first round of British Open

SOUTHPORT, England — Rory McIlroy, one of the favorites at this week’s British Open at Royal Birkdale, looked queasy at times in Thursday’s roller-coaster opening round.He finished the day 2-over par after shooting 72, but birdied 18 to get there.He ended the day seven shots behind leader Jackson Suber.“I’ll start with the positives,’’ McIlroy said.

“I drove the ball incredibly well.I took on the golf course off the tee.

Obviously, with the positions that I put myself in off the tee, I feel like I obviously should have shot a better score.’’He bogeyed both par-5s and his putting was a struggle.“Just too many stupid mistakes,’’ he said.“But every time I made a stupid mistake, thankfully I made a birdie to sort of keep myself in it.

(I’m) not too far away.Go out there and shoot a good one and get myself right back in it for the weekend.’’James Nicholas, the pride of Scarsdale, shot a 5-over 75 on Thursday in his first British Open round, and he went to bed hoping he’d be able to play a second round Friday.Nicholas has been hampered by bone bruises at the bottom of both his feet after having to jump over a fence to get to his car at a recent tournament in Spain.

He revealed to The Post that he may be forced to withdraw if the pain doesn’t subside.Nicholas, who didn’t even play a practice round Wednesday to rest his feet, is not scheduled to tee off until 11:41 a.m.local time Friday, which is later than his 6:35 a.m.

time Thursday.But still, he said he was in considerable pain and was “hopeful’’ he’d be able to play.Nicholas said he was “disappointed’’ with his start to the tournament because he thought the course was receptive to scoring.“I’m on a run of form at the moment, playing really good and not getting much out of it, so I’m a bit frustrated,’’ he said.

“I didn’t really take advantage of the conditions, either.Conditions are great out there, really good for scoring.’’He’s eight shot...