PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — As he warmed up on the driving range before his round Friday, Scottie Scheffler thought about how nice the weather was, with the sun shining, no need for a jacket, scoring conditions looking good.
Then he got to the first tee, the clouds formed and soon enough he was dealing with umbrellas and rain and the annoyances that come with all of that while others were safely in the clubhouse through two rounds of the British Open.
But Scheffler perseveres. And doesn’t seem to get rattled. And he dealt with the conditions for the few holes that caused him fits.
And in the end, he had a birdie putt on the 18th green that somehow failed to drop, denying him a share of the Royal Portrush course record but still giving him a 64 and the low round of the tournament.
Oh, and he leads, too.
It’s too early to say it’s over but Scheffler put himself in great position for a fourth major championship with his eight-birdie, one-bogey effort to get to 132, 10 under par, one shot ahead of Matt Fitzpatrick.
It's Scheffler's 19th 36-hole lead or co-lead in his PGA Tour career and fourth this year.
“I felt like I hit a few more fairways than I did yesterday, hit some really nice iron shots, and was able to hole some putts,” he said in a brief interview afterward.
Scheffler will be paired Saturday with Fitzpatrick, the 2022 U.S. Open champion. Brian Harman, who won the Open in 2023 at Royal Liverpool, is two shots back after a 65, tied with China’s Haotong Li. There are five players who are five shots back, including Harris English, Tyrrell Hatton and Robert MacIntyre.
U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley is tied with Rory McIlroy at 3 under, seven strokes back.
Scheffler was asked if he previously believed a 64 on Friday was possible.
“I had no idea,” he said. “It all depends on conditions. When we were teeing off, depending on what weather forecast you looked at, it was going to tell you something different. It was super sunny when we were on the driving range, I’m out there in short sleeves, it’s warm out. Then we get to the first hole, it’s still sunny. Then all of a sudden, you look around and it’s super dark and it starts pouring rain. You’re like, boy, I wonder how long this is going to last.
“Fortunately, it didn’t pour the whole time. We only had maybe four or five holes where it was really coming down, and I was able to take advantage of the holes where we had some good weather.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Scottie Scheffler Takes Command With Birdie Barrage at British Open.
