Key events
We’re a Matt Fitzpatrick two-putt from having a new solo leader. The Englishman has opened the back nine birdie-birdie and has just lashed his second shot at the par-5 12th to the front edge of the green … He completes the birdie. Three in a row after the turn and he leads the Open on his own.
-9: Fitzpatrick (12)
-8: Harman (F), Li (18)
-7: Scheffler (6)
-5: R Højgaard (F), Hatton (F), MacIntyre (F), English (F)
Another squall. A local was explaining to me the other day that this region is climatically unique with Atlantic weather clashing with Irish Sea weather, and creating something unpredictable. I am no weatherman so apologies if I have made a mess of the explanation. I can, however, confidently state that the squall is currently trying to make a mess of many cards.
The dynamic for the Højgaard twins, Rasmus and Nicolai, is fascinating and the latter has just been talking about it as the pair head into the weekend in the top 10 (currently).
“We couldn’t handle each other’s success when we were younger,” he said. “But we can do that now and support each other, and get motivated by each other. When you get older, you get slightly more mature.”
Birdie for Matt Fitzpatrick at 10. He joins Scottie Scheffler on -7 and in a share for third. “The golf course is fantastic,” he said back in 2019. “Everyone loves it and no-one has said a bad word about it. It’s better than a few of the other Open rota courses.” He’s won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship but once said of seaside golf: “Unsure about it. I like it when it’s fair. I don’t like it when it’s unfair.”
A birdie for Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana at the 3rd gets him to -4 for the championship. You’d think that an ordained Buddhist monk flying high in a major championship would be the only sweetspot in a Buddhism/golf Venn diagram this week. But a few days ago, news broke that Thai police are investigating a woman codenamed ‘Ms Golf’. She is accused of having sex with Buddhist monks and then blackmailing them. The sweetspot is unexpectedly a bit crowded.
On the subject of world class chunterers, I was in London last week for the tennis. Not Wimbledon but Adam Riches’s one man play about Jimmy Connors at the Park Theatre (for the second time – I liked it that much). All the shots are there: the meat-slicing backhand, the shovelling-coal forehand, the oarsman-in-a-storm-on-the-high-seas double-handed backhand. Because it’s about a sportsman whose destiny was determined by one parent in particular and who, in early middle age, raged against the dying of the light, it also made me think of Tiger Woods. “Game, set and match to Mr Riches, six love, six love, six love.” The run ends next week.
Jordan Spieth spied by the TV cameras on the range. I followed him for a few holes earlier. I’m always intrigued that I don’t enjoy watching Tyrrell Hatton’s antics, but I really enjoy Jordan Spieth’s various twitches and fretful conversations with his ball. The 2017 champion jiggled his shoulders, nattered away at his shots, and he now heads into the weekend on level-par for the championship which means he is 12-for-12 at making the cut in the Open (and his last nine starts before this one have all reaped top 30s). It’s some record.
Scottie Scheffler is back in the conversation. Did he ever leave it?! As Ewan Murray wrote in his report last night, the World No. 1 hides in plain sight. A birdie at 6 is his third of the round and he’s -6 for the championship. Haotong Li has finally made a bogey (at 14) so he drops into a tie for the lead.
-8: Harman (F), Li (14)
-7: Fitzpatrick (8)
-6: Scheffler (6)
-5: R Højgaard (F), Hatton (F), MacIntyre (F), English (F)
Bryson DeChambeau was asked how he felt after opening the championship with a 78. “I wanted to go home,” he admitted. “But I woke up this morning and I said I can’t give up. My dad always told me never to give up and that’s what I did today. I was proud of the way I fought back, really persevered through some emotionally difficult moments, and to hold myself together and not get pissed and slam clubs and throw things and all that like I wanted to. I was very proud of myself. I want to be a good role model for kids, and I struggled with that in the early part of my career. I want it to be different now. That’s the reason why I do it.” He carded a 65 today and will play the weekend.
I had a nice chat with Richard Teder’s fans this week. They taught me how to wish someone good luck in Estonian. You say “pöialt hoidma” which means “hold your thumb”. You also wave your fists in the air with your thumb tucked inside your fingers. It’s like our “fingers crossed”.
Gary Naylor isn’t impressed with the Low Amateur news. He emails: “Jeez, that’s mean-spirited of the R&A to demand that the low amateur makes the cut. Haven’t they done enough given that it’s no easy feat to get there at all? Anyone would think that the blazers lacked a bit of empathy, but that can’t be trru…” If Richard Teder can go sub-70 today the medal is his, Gary.
Tommy Fleetwood on his experience this week (which will extend into Saturday and Sunday after his Friday 68:
“I love The Open so much. I grew up in an Open town, and I think the atmosphere when you get home players like Rory McIlroy is really, really cool.”
The shot detail were incorrect for Cameron Adam but he’s not going to make a birdie. He didn’t find a greenside bunker. However, it’s all a bit irrelevant. He might well end this week the top amateur but he won’t win the Silver Medal.
We have a solo leader. China’s Haotong Li makes a fifth birdie of the day and, just as importantly, he is yet to drop a shot through 30 holes. He’s -9 and leads the 153rd Open!
Double bad news for Scottish amateur Cameron Adam: he’s in a greenside bunker in two at 18 and the cut has moved – and he’s not inside it any longer.
Robert MacIntyre on his round of 66 that leaves him -5 and three shots back of the lead:
“I’m comfortable with the golf course. I’m comfortable with what me and my caddie Mike are doing, and I just have to go out there and try and execute.”
“I feel like the last three majors I’ve put myself in good positions after 36 holes. However long my career is going to be, this is what I want to do. Until I give it up, I’m going to give it my best shot.
“I’m not scared. I’m not going to back away. It’s completely different to Oakmont. At Oakmont, (it was so difficult) I couldn’t roll the dice. It was never let’s press, let’s press. It was always, right, let’s go out here with pars.
“If I’ve got a chance here, I’m going to roll the dice.”
A potentially big little moment coming up. The low amateur in every Open wins the Silver Medal. It’s a prestigious honour, but there is a caveat: the winner must make the cut. Scotland’s Cameron Adam has just made a bogey at 17 and is now +2 for the week and right on the cut mark (and T70). It’s a perilous position, but he is the current low amateur, albeit Richard Teder, the Estonian 20-year-old, is a shot behind with 17 holes to play.
Birdie at the 1st for Darren Fichardt. “So what?” you might ask. Well, I’m intrigued by the South African’s Open record. He’s no mug (a five-time DP World Tour winner, indeed), but his log book in this major reads: MC-MC-MC-MC-MC-MC-80 and he’s carded a round of 80+ in six of his seven starts. He opened with a 77 yesterday and I’m cheering him on. Come on Darren!
Rory McIlroy on his second round and position heading into the weekend (currently -3 and T12):
“It was a good day. I feel like I maybe could be a couple closer to the lead, but overall in a decent position heading into the weekend.”
“I didn’t have this opportunity six years ago, so to play an extra two days in this atmosphere in front of these crowds, I’m very excited for that. I feel like my game’s definitely good enough to make a run.”
“It was 20 years ago that I played the North of Ireland here, and never in my wildest dreams did I think that I’d be coming back as a grand slam champion with the support of a nation behind me trying to win an Open. I count myself very grateful and very lucky that I’m in this position.”
Hello again, everyone. I was out at 18 when Robert MacIntyre, Justin Rose and Bryson DeChambeau completed their rounds beneath epically brooding skies. I made it back to the media centre seconds before it was battered by rain that felt a bit like machine gun fire. Good timing and I’m dry for the next five or six hours!
Scottie Scheffler sends his tee shot at the par-three 3rd over the flag, and spins it back to 20 feet. He very nearly makes the birdie putt, but the ball refuses to glide from left to right, as everyone thought it would. He stays at -4. His partner Shane Lowry knocks his tee shot a good bit closer, though, and his putt, coming in from a similar line, does move left to right. In it goes for birdie, and up go the cheers from the gallery as the 2019 winner moves to -2.
And there are more cheers from the gallery as Matt Cooper returns to take over this blog. He’ll bring you home; enjoy, enjoy, and see you tomorrow for Moving Day.
One of the shots of the week by Haotong Li at 10! He sends his tee shot into thick rough down the right of the fairway. Whipping hard out of the rain-soaked cabbage, and over a hillock, he lands his ball on top of the ridge running across the green, rolling it up to three feet. He makes no mistake with the putt, and joins Brian Harman in the lead at -8. Still yet to make a mistake this week. Is he about to go two better than 2017, when he finished third at Birkdale behind Jordan Spieth and Matt Kuchar? The way he’s playing so far, he might take some stopping.
-8: Harman (F), Li (10)
-6: Fitzpatrick (4)
-5: R Højgaard (F), Hatton (F), MacIntyre (F), English (F)
-4: Finau (F), N Højgaard (14), Jordan (7), Scheffler (2)
-3: Bradley (F), McIlroy (F), Kaewkanjana
Scottie Scheffler’s first putt on 2, while from long range, is not all that. A 60-footer that swings seven-and-a-half feet left of the target. But he makes no mistake with the par putt that he leaves himself, and stays at -4.
Harris English doesn’t give his right-to-left birdie slider on 18 quite enough. But that’s a round of 70 to file alongside yesterday evening’s 67, and he’s in fine shape at -5. Par for his playing partner Tony Finau, meanwhile, and today’s 68 sends him into the weekend at -4.
Scottie Scheffler’s tee shot at 2 rolls into a fairway bunker. He’s forced to take his medicine and chop out. A 5-iron in from 212 yards. He finds the front of the green, but the flag’s at the back, behind a ridge, so there’s work to do for a two-putt par. Meanwhile up on 18, Harris English is pin high in 2. He’s responded extremely well to that wobble midway through the back nine. Big birdie putt coming up from 25 feet.
Birdie for Matt Fitzpatrick on 4! He steers a big right-to-left swinger, and it’s about time for a leaderboard update …
-8: Harman (F)
-7: Li (9)
-6: Fitzpatrick (4)
-5: R Højgaard (F), Hatton (F), MacIntyre (F), English (17)
-4: Finau (17), N Højgaard (13), Jordan (6), Scheffler (1)
-3: Bradley (F), McIlroy (F), Kaewkanjana
McIlroy in with 69
A two-putt par for Rory McIlroy at the last. A 69 to go with yesterday’s 70. That back nine of 33 might have saved his campaign: it looked as though he was going nowhere for a while today. At -3 he’ll have some Moving to do on the titular Day, but Portrush’s course-record holder is far from out of it. And the cries of joy from the gallery as he taps in his last putt reflect that state of affairs. Tommy Fleetwood meanwhile gives his long par putt a good roll, but it doesn’t quite drop. His first dropped shot of the day at the very last hole. It would have been worse had he lost his ball. A 68 and he’s -1 overall. Meanwhile the third member of a stellar three-ball, Justin Thomas, signs for 69; he’s -1 going into the weekend.
A three-putt bogey for Matthew Jordan on 6. But better news for Harris English, who makes a wonderful birdie on 17. Having sent another tee shot into thick rough, he slashes out from 130 yards to nine feet, and rails in the putt. He’s back to -5.
The world number one Scottie Scheffler makes the ideal start. A tee shot splits the fairway; his second is fired from 170 yards to seven feet; the putt drops into the centre of the cup. No fuss. He’s -4. Par for his partner Shane Lowry who remains at -1. Meanwhile up on 18, Tommy Fleetwood finds himself in a bunker 70 yards from the flag, so does pretty well to smack his third over the flag to 30 feet. Big par effort coming up.
… and now the rain pours. Umbrellas up. It is teeming down. Tommy Fleetwood will be happy he’s coming up 18, towards the sanctuary of the clubhouse … apart from the small caveat of his possibly losing his ball in the thick filth down the right. He eventually finds it, but is only able to hack back out, blind over a hill, and he’s in the lap of the Golfing Gods. But his playing partner Rory McIlroy is safely on the green in regulation. God speed, Tommy.
The skies are darkening over Portrush. No clouds over Open specialist Matthew Jordan’s head, though: a second birdie of the day, at 4, and he’s currently -5. Meanwhile up on 18, par for Ludvig Åberg, who signs for an excellent 67: six birdies and two bogeys. He’s -2 overall.
Bryson DeChambeau shot 78 yesterday and 65 today. That’s a whopping difference of 13 strokes between rounds. Thirteen strokes! And yet it’s nowhere near the Open record. At Muirfield in 1966, Robin Davenport opened with 94 then took 72 in the second round. That’s a 22-stroke variation. More recently, Colin Montgomerie shot 64 in the second round, again at Muirfield, in 2002, then followed it up with an 84; a 20-stroke difference. As for Portrush itself, JB Holmes managed to follow a third round of 69 six years ago with a final round of 87, if memory serves getting right on Brooks Koepka’s nerves by taking his sweet time over every single shot. An 18-stroke plummet. Sympathy was limited.
DeChambeau cards 65; MacIntyre 66
Bob MacIntyre’s 4-iron into 18 isn’t all that. A wee tug right and it’s heading for the bank to the side of the green. But it kicks left and ends up on the fringe. Mixed fortune, because while that’s a good break, it’s strange that his ball doesn’t roll a lot closer to the flag, stopping instead on the downslope. He nearly makes the 20-foot birdie putt, but it shaves the hole on the low side, and par will have to suffice. That’s a wonderful 66 though. And it’s par for Bryson DeChambeau, who has gone one better with a 65 and will surely make it to the weekend. What an effort to haul himself back above the cutline! They’re -5 and +1 respectively. Meanwhile the third member of the group, Justin Rose, shoots a water-treading 71. He’s -2.
Harris English limits the damage with a fine up and down from the bunker on 15. Bogey, but after his shenanigans en route to the green, that’s something of a result. He’s -4.
All sorts of trouble for Harris English on 15. He skies his iron from the tee, the ball looping and dunking into thick rubbish down the left, just 194 yards up the hole. He hacks his second into another native area, advancing his ball just 168 yards this time. His third, ball above feet, hands on steel shaft, is hacked into a greenside bunker. Millimetres away on the 14th green from moving to -6; now he’ll be doing well if he leaves the 15th green at -4.
Par for Tyrrell Hatton on 18, and that’s a 69 to go alongside yesterday’s 68. At -5, he’s in a great position ahead of Moving Day, and walks off, like Brian Harmon before him, radiating a glow of mellow satisfaction.
Bob MacIntyre with a bounce-back birdie! He drains a putt from the fringe at the back of 17 to get the gallery hollering. He’s -5 again. Harris English is still -5 after a pretty unfortunate lip-out from seven feet at 14. Not sure how that didn’t drop. It looked in all the way before drifting right at the last millisecond and horseshoeing out. And back on 17, Bryson DeChambeau makes his seventh birdie of the day. He’s now +1 and the contrast between yesterday’s 78 and today couldn’t be starker. Careful down the last, and he’ll surely have made the cut.
Harman shoots 65
… and we’re going to have to update that leaderboard immediately! Brian Harman, the 2023 champion, sends his approach from 188 yards to eight feet, and strokes in the straight putt he’s left with. He walks off the green with a smile playing around the edge of his mouth, and an air of quiet satisfaction. No histrionics. But he’ll be super-pleased with his day’s work. They couldn’t catch him from this position two years ago, could they? Meanwhile opening birdie for Matt Fitzpatrick, reward for drawing his approach from 171 yards to ten feet.
-8: Harman (F)
-7: Li (6)
-5: R Højgaard (F), Hatton (17), English (14), Fitzpatrick (1)
-4: MacIntyre (16), Finau (14), Jordan (3)
-3: Bradley (F), Åberg (15), McIlroy (15), Scheffler
Haotong Li sends a high fade into the 170-yard par-three 6th. He’s 18 inches or so away from a hole-in one, the ball rolling serenely to a halt on the high side. He taps in for back-to-back birdies, and suddenly the 29-year-old from Shanghai is tied for the lead! This is a wonderful leaderboard.
-7: Harman (17), Li (6)
-5: R Højgaard (F), Hatton (17), English (13)
-4: MacIntyre (16), Finau (14), Jordan (3), Fitzpatrick
-3: Bradley (F), Åberg (15), McIlroy (14), Scheffler
“Aw s***!” Don’t worry, golfers, it’s not that unpleasant S-word. It’s just “shit”. No hosel involved. Just a garden-variety pull, as Bob MacIntyre cusses loudly, his ball disappearing into deep trouble on the thick bank to the right of the par-three 16th. Then some more effin’ and jeffin’ as his chip comes out fat, stopping 25 feet short of the cup. Two putts later and that’s a bogey which brings him down to -4.
Rory McIlroy follows up his momentum-shifting birdie on 12 with another at 14. This one comes after a 380-yard howitzer straight down the track, and though his ball rests in a divot, he’s still able to screech a wedge from 93 yards to 17 feet. The ball stops dead – he was expecting some release, if the mime to his caddie is anything to go by – but he makes the putt anyway! He’s back to -3, and a round that looked as though it was going nowhere suddenly has life, with all of its concomitant hope and promise.
Haotong Li moves into second place with birdie at 5. He’s -6, and still remains bogey-free this week, the only player in the field who can still make that boast. Meanwhile debutant Harry Hall is back in the hutch with a fine round of 67. He’s -2. And Matthew Jordan, who has tied for 10th in the last two Opens, leaps into the top ten yet again – tied for seventh, to be precise – with birdie at 2. He’s -4.
The par-three 16th is called Calamity Corner. The swale just to the left of the green is known as Bobby Locke’s Hollow, because when the Open was played here in 1951, the South African – the reigning champion having won in 1949 and 1950 – deliberately hit his ball into it four rounds out of four, having concluded it wasn’t worth going for the green and risking all the danger elsewhere. From there, it’s a relatively simple up and down. For the pros, anyway. Tyrrell Hatton is the latest to prove the tactic works, taking putter and lagging up from the best part of 30 feet to kick-in distance. He remains -5.
Tony Finau has been coming up quietly on the rail. A 70 yesterday, out in 35 today. But he’s not so quiet now. Eagle at 12, as he walks his 25-footer into the hole. He’s -4.
… and now Harman’s lead is two again. Because Harris English makes a horlicks of the par-five 12th from the get-go, finding a bunker with his drive, then pulling an approach wide left of the green, from where he’s unable to get uo and down. Bogey is a proper misfire on a hole that’s averaging 4.64 today. That’s a lot to be giving up to the field. He’s -5.
When it’s your day, it’s your day. And at the moment, this very much looks like Brian Harman’s day. His tee shot into the par-three 16th isn’t very good. It’s heading for the gnarly bank to the left of the green. But it somehow squirts out of the thick stuff, and topples downwards and onto the fringe. From where he calmly takes two putts. Harman remains in the lead at -7, and here’s a reminder that when he hit the front after day two at Hoylake a couple of years ago, he never once looked back.
The cut is currently projected at +2. The chances of Bryson DeChambeau making the weekend looked remote at the start of the day, after his opening round of 78. But what an effort the two-time US Open champion is making to stick around for the whole thing. Out in 33 with birdies at 2, 7 and 9, he dropped a stroke at 11, but has bounced back with birdies at 12, 13 and now 14, the latest reward for nearly slam-dunking his second from 110 yards. He’s +2 and is now inside that cutline. It’s a stellar performance, and not totally dissimilar in nature to Rory McIlroy’s efforts on Friday to make good his Thursday disaster in 2019. Unlike Rory back then, Bryson is on course to make it.
Birdie for Harris English at 11. Probably time to update the leaderboard, then.
-7: Harman (15)
-6: English (11)
-5: R Højgaard (F), Hatton (15), MacIntyre (13), Li (4)
-4: Fitzpatrick
-3: Bradley (F), N Højgaard (7), Jordan (1), Scheffler, Kaewkanjana
Fans of Rory McIlroy can thank this blog for tempting the Golfing Gods by mentioning his stasis a few minutes ago. Suddenly the home hero comes to life, bashing two shots into the heart of the par-five 12th and very nearly draining the 35-foot eagle putt. Just (!) a birdie, but that’ll do to get things going again. He’s -2.
Rasmus Højgaard had been rather staggering home, in the one-Guinness-too-many late-night country-road style. But there’s an upbeat end to his journey, as he curls in a 32-footer across 18, up and over a ridge, with just enough energy to get home. The crowd roar as he raises both arms and smiles broadly. Suddenly he’ll feel a whole lot better about himself. An excellent round was threatening to spiral out of control by 16, but he scrambled par, then did so again after a wayward tee shot at 17, and now a birdie to finish. It’s a fine 68 and he’s well-placed at -5. But it’s been an underwhelming day for his playing partner and overnight co-leader Christiaan Bezuidenhout. Just the one birdie, all the way back on 2, and three bogeys, at 1, 11 and 16. He pars the last for a 73 and goes into the weekend at -2.
News of Rory McIlroy? There isn’t anything, really. Six pars in a row, between 6 and 11. He’s struggling to kick-start his campaign, and although he’s hardly played himself out of contention at -1 overall, the gallery has gone a little bit quiet, aware that other players are making birdies and making moves.
An unforced mistake by Tyrrell Hatton on 14. A perfect drive, but he misses the green with a wedge, and pays the price. Bogey. Back to -5. Meanwhile Harry Hall makes three birdies in a row – at 15, 16 and 17 – which spring the 27-year-old Open debutant from Truro up to -2.
Bradley shoots 67
Keegan Bradley hasn’t featured much on the televised coverage – presumably the director is a Tommy Fleetwood fan. But we see him find the centre of 18 from the best part of 200 yards, then nearly steer in a right-to-left 15-foot swinger for birdie. Par to close, and he completes a bogey-free round of 67. Eagle at 2, birdies at 12 and 15. That’s filed alongside his 72 from yesterday, and he’s -3 overall. As well as competing for the Open, and winning titles back home, Bradley is battling to win a place on this year’s US Ryder Cup team, which he will also captain. Reports that he played the other 17 holes today while on stilts, playing a Polynesian nose flute, putting the finishing touches to a watercolour of the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, and literally juggling all the spare balls in his bag are as yet unchecked and unverified. He’s -3.
Bob MacIntyre effs and jeffs under his breath as his approach into the par-five 12th bounds through the green and over the back. But a soft-handed chip up to kick-in distance means he’s making birdie anyway. He moves to -4. His European pal Tommy Fleetwood is keeping up the pace as well: a blemish-free front nine of 32, with birdies at 1, 2, 3 and 7, and now he’s -2 through 11.
