World No.1 Scottie Scheffler has risen inexorably to the top of the British Open leaderboard at halfway, looking every inch a British Open champion-in-waiting at Royal Portrush with a majestic round of 64.
The American superstar cruised into pole position late on Friday evening on the Dunluce links at 10-under par, one shot clear of English hope Matt Fitzpatrick, the 2022 US Open champion, who got to nine under with a terrific 24ft par-saving putt at the last earning him a 66.
Fitzpatrick was in turn just a shot clear of a third major champ, 2023 Claret Jug winner Brian Harman, the famed deer-hunting 'Butcher of Hoylake' who is back with his "very boring" assault on a second title, and China's Li Haotong, who's quietly dropped just one shot in 36 holes.
The quartet have opened up a gap over their pursuers, but they include two other on-song British hopes, Bob MacIntyre and Tyrrell Hatton, who are in a five-way tie for fifth at five under, while home superstar Rory McIlroy is an ominous presence a couple of shots further back.
Milder conditions on the challenging Dunluce links led to plenty of low scoring, with no-one going lower than the remarkable Scheffler, with it seeming almost inevitable in the calmer evening weather that he would take control with his seven-under-par masterclass.
Scheffler teed it up in rainy conditions but once it began to ease, he looked in a serene class of his own, reeling off eight birdies while suffering just a lone bogey at the 11th.
Left-hander Harman reckoned he was taking a leaf from his Hoylake book, where he raced to a six-stroke victory while entertaining the UK press with tales of his alligator-hunting prowess and Australian media with his jokes about his "handsome" lookalike Ricky Ponting.
He shot a 65, and was buoyed by some happy memories of Royal Liverpool, where his steady approach with few fireworks and rock-solid putting worked wonders.
Now he reckons he'll tackle the weekend in the same way. "The only thing I'm really worried about is the first tee ball tomorrow and then I'll try to hit the next one up there close to the flag," he said.
"If not, go to the second hole. It's a very boring approach that I take. I'm not trying to be heroic or do anything crazy. But I know that I've got the game to do it."
World No.111 Li, third in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, can't be ruled out after going 32 holes before his only dropped shot.
No-one can forget McIlroy, of course, after a mixed bag of a 69 left him at three under.
"I maybe could be a couple closer to the lead but overall in a decent position heading into the weekend," he said.
"I didn't have this opportunity six years ago (at Portrush), so to play an extra two days in this atmosphere in front of these crowds, I'm very excited.
"I feel like my game's definitely good enough to make a run. I'm excited for the weekend."
Also at five under alongside Tyrrell and McIntyre are American Harris English, on-song Scottish Open winner Chris Gotterup and Denmark's Rasmus Hojgaard, whose identical twin Nicolai was also inside the top-10.
Rasmus, younger by a couple of minutes, carded a 68 which was one better than his sibling, who's one back in a tie for 10th.
