BEAUMONT, Texas — Former Lamar University standout M.J. Daffue opened the 154th Open Championship in impressive fashion Thursday at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England.

Daffue carded a 3-under-par 70 in the opening round and entered the clubhouse tied for fourth place.

He was part of a nine-way tie that included 2024 U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau and the fourth-ranked golfer in the world — Cameron Young.

The Pretoria, South Africa native recorded three birdies and five pars on the front nine to make the turn at 2-under. He added two birdies and six pars on the back nine to complete his round.

Daffue competed at Lamar from 2009-12, winning five individual titles and earning Southland Conference Player of the Year honors in 2011.

He helped lead the Cardinals to consecutive Southland Conference championships in 2011 and 2012 and captured the individual league title in 2011.

Daffue secured the championship in a sudden-death playoff against Central Arkansas' Jad Sinclair after making a birdie on the 18th hole at Waterchase Golf Club in Fort Worth.

During the 2010-11 season, Daffue finished second on the team with a 73.7 scoring average and led the Cardinals with six top 10 finishes.

He also set a Lamar 54-hole scoring record in November 2011, firing an 11-under-par 202 while competing as an individual at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate in Dallas.

Daffue opened the tournament with a bogey-free 65 to help establish the record.

Before transferring to Lamar, Daffue competed at Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn., where he earned NAIA All-America honors during the 2008-09 season.

Now residing in Kingwood, Daffue turned professional in 2012.

Since then, he has competed in 62 Korn Ferry Tour events, earning $463,044 while recording two runner-up finishes, two third-place finishes, five fifth-place finishes, seven top 10 finishes and 16 top 25 finishes.

On the PGA Tour, he has earned $1.2 million while competing in 60 events and posting seven top 25 finishes.

Daffue joins a distinguished group of former Lamar golfers who have enjoyed success at the professional level.

Among them is Chris Stroud, a Cardinal Hall of Honor inductee who competed at Lamar from 2000-04.

Stroud earned Ping All-America honors twice, captured two Southland Conference individual championships and was a four-time Southland Conference Golfer of the Year.

He was inducted into the Southland Conference Hall of Honor in 2014 and the Cardinal Hall of Honor in 2015.

After turning professional in 2004, Stroud earned his first PGA Tour victory at the 2017 Barracuda Championship, defeating Greg Owen and Richy Werenski in a sudden-death playoff.

A native of Groves, Stroud has earned more than $13.3 million on the PGA Tour while competing in 404 events and recording 34 top 10 finishes.

Another former Cardinal, Shawn Stefani turned professional after graduating from Lamar in 2005.

Stefani has earned more than $6.3 million on the PGA Tour and recorded two Korn Ferry Tour victories, most recently at the 2012 Miccosukee Championship.

Dawie van der Walt, the 2007 Southland Conference Golfer of the Year, has earned more than $1.2 million on the Korn Ferry Tour and claimed two victories, most recently at the 2015 Price Cutter Charity Championship.