Round two report

Scottie Scheffler left the 18th green with the raised smile and confident stride of a man in familiar territory, and a quick look at the scoreboard will confirm that indeed he is - right on top of the world.

Scheffler grabbed The 153rd Open by the scruff of the neck and took an ominous halfway lead with a masterclass in links golf at Royal Portrush.

The world No.1 made eight birdies in a seven-under-par round of 64 to climb above Matt Fitzpatrick by one shot going into the weekend.

Scheffler will tee off on 10-under-par, one ahead of Fitzpatrick, while 2023 Champion Golfer Brian Harman and China’s Haotong Li are a shot further back to complete a breakaway group at the head of the leaderboard.

There is a three-shot gap back to a group of five players on five-under-par, including round one co-leader Harris English and Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre, while Rory McIlroy is two further adrift on three-under.

All three talked up their chances of winning shortly after their rounds but that outlook might have changed as Scheffler seized control.

Golf has not seen a winner like the 29-year-old since Tiger Woods was in his peak. Scheffler was victorious seven times on the PGA Tour last season, plus an Olympic gold medal, in a season for the ages.

This year, he has already won the PGA Championship, his third major title alongside two Masters successes, and his conversion rate for turning leads into victories is ominously good.

Scheffler and Fitzpatrick make their moves

Scheffler must have felt the omens were ominous when he walked onto the 1st tee box and was met by a deluge of rain that had spectators sprinting for cover.

But he took it in his stride and left with a birdie, setting the tone for a brilliant round.

Further birdies followed on 5, 6 and 7 to reach the turn in 32, keeping pace with an equally on-fire Fitzpatrick, before he swooped past him at the end.

A superb tee shot on 16, named Calamity Corner, was followed by a perfect putt for birdie, before he recovered from a wayward tee shot on 17 by finding the green from a kind lie in the right rough and – of course – holing the putt.

It took some of the wind out of Fitzpatrick’s sails but the man from Sheffield has a chance to become the first Englishman to win The Open since Nick Faldo in 1992.

Fitzpatrick admits there is no love lost between him and golf’s original Championship after a decade of frustrating results but four straight birdies on the back nine have transformed that overnight.

Since hiring Mark Blackburn to be his new swing coach in April, Fitzpatrick is a golfer transformed. 

He is seventh in driving accuracy and 11th in greens in regulation this week, underlining his superb ball-striking so far.

He should have reached 10-under-par when he missed a short putt for birdie on 17, but he then held a clutch putt for par on 18 to cancel it out.

“I have given myself an opportunity to win the golf tournament, but there's still a hell of a long way to go,” he said.

“Obviously the aim of the game is to stay in it for as long as possible and hopefully you can pull away right at the death. I'm obviously 50 per cent there. We'll see what the weekend brings.”

Harman and Li set early pace

Brian Harman set up his victory at The 151st Open with a brilliant Friday 65 and put himself firmly in the mix for a second Claret Jug by repeating the trick.

Back-to-back birdies on his first two holes set the tone for the 38-year-old, who went on to card six in total on a bogey-free card.

At Royal Liverpool two years ago, he finished his second round with an eagle. It was a birdie this time but one to savour, a pitch-perfect approach leaving him an eight-foot putt.

The flat stick was in good working order all day for a man who has grown to love links golf.

Another contender seemingly at home by the seaside is Haotong Li, who joined Harman in the clubhouse on eight-under-par.

After narrowly missing out on a birdie on the 1st, Li made amends on the next hole before a brilliant tee shot at the par-3 6th left a tap-in.

Conditions changed dramatically during Li’s round as a storm erupted but an exquisite approach from the rough at 10 meant yet another shot picked up.

One more followed at 12 and though he bogeyed 14 – his first of the week – he carded a 67 to head into the weekend alongside Harman.

“I've been playing in Europe a lot and being able to experience different kind of courses has helped my game a lot,” he said.

“It will be a lot of pressure for sure, but I just have to find a way to deal with that.

“I think if I play my best, again, I can compete with anyone.”

McIlroy eyes weekend charge

Saturday at The Open is one of the great days in sport and, in Northern Ireland, it is only enhanced by the presence of Rory McIlroy.

The 2014 Champion Golfer has a bit of work to do in order to climb into contention but, at three-under-par and seven shots off the lead, he is still in the fight for the Claret Jug.

McIlroy has been wayward from the tee – he ranks 149th in driving accuracy – and has spent more time in the rough than on the fairway.

But it is a testament to his short game that he scored 69 in round two, one stroke better than yesterday, to sit on three-under-par for the Championship.

Regardless of what happens, this is already a much better week for McIlroy than six years ago, when The Open first returned to Northern Ireland.

McIlroy missed the cut after a horror opening day and, while he has lofty weekend ambitions, he admits that in comparison, he is playing with house money.

“I know what I need to do to get the best out of myself in an environment like that now,” he said.

“It's incredible to play in front of these fans. I 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 The Open.

“I count myself very grateful and very lucky that I'm in this position, and I'm excited for the weekend.”

Morikawa misses cut but inspired DeChambeau survives

The cut line fell at one-over-par and some big names are heading home early after finding themselves on the wrong side of it.

Collin Morikawa, Champion Golfer in 2021, finished seven-over-par while 2015 Champion Zach Johnson and two-time Claret Jug winner Padraig Harrington, who hit the first shot on Thursday, also missed out.

Cameron Young, who finished second at The 150th Open and T8 the following year, missed the cut for the first time but compatriots Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth and Wyndham Clark stayed afloat after flirting with peril.

DeChambeau carded a 78 on Thursday, his worst-ever round in a major, but bounced back with a brilliant 65, his joint-best score in a round at The Open.

Spieth fought back from four-over at the turn in his first round and carded a 69 to take himself back to level par, while reigning Champion Schauffele reeled off three straight birdies between 11 and 13 to move into the red. Last year's US Open champion Clark carded a five-under-par 66 to extend his stay.

Amateurs have stays cut short

There will be no Silver Medal awarded at The 153rd Open as all nine amateurs missed the cut.

The best-placed duo finished on three-over-par. Amateur Champion Ethan Fang started with three birdies in five holes and also picked up a shot on the last, while Cameron Adam took confidence from his performance.

“The biggest thing is I can compete at this kind of level,” he said.

“To be able to turn up here, not have my A game and come this close to making the cut just proves to me that, if I played well, I would be right up there. That's the biggest positive I've got to take.”