Report and reaction
And that’s your lot from this blog today. Make sure to come back tomorrow for Moving Day! Nighty night!
-6: Spieth
-4: Kuchar
-3: Poulter, Koepka
Tommy Fleetwood takes out the putter, and sends a lengthy right-to-left swinger racing towards the hole. It stops three feet short. He should be here this weekend. It’s a knee-knocker, though, given the circumstances. But it’s in. At +5, he scrapes under the cut line! The local lad has made it. Matsuyama gets up and down from the sand and signs for a 72; he’s level par. Two putts from off the front for Koepka: par, a 72, and he’s -3.
Matsuyama finds the bunker front right. Fleetwood heads in the same direction but comes up short. He needs to get up and down from there to survive. And Koepka is shorter than both, but straighter. Nobody exactly shining in the gloaming. Meanwhile the 13th takes a massive chunk out of Robert Streb, who quadruple bogeys to tumble down the leader board to +3.
Up on the 18th green, Justin Rose bogeys but squeaks through to the weekend: he’s +5. No such luck for Justin Thomas, who needed a birdie but bogeyed and signed for an 80, his goose long cooked, roasted and poached by that hideous nine on 6. Back down the hole, Tommy Fleetwood needs to par if he’s to be here this weekend: he’s +5 right now. Not a great start, as he finds the rough down the left with his tee shot. The increasingly erratic Hideki Matsuyama nearly flays his drive OB on the right, but it snags in heavy rough instead.
Hideki Matsuyama continues to make a meal of 17. His fourth, off the dirt track, squirts down a swale to the back of the green. His chip up races 25 feet past. He nearly drains the bogey putt, but that’s a double-bogey 7, and he’s back to level par. Yet another par meanwhile for Brooks Koepka, who remains at -3.
Jordan Spieth played the last hole in the sensible fashion. Solid drive, iron just off the front of the green, long putt which very nearly dropped. As it is, that’s a par, and he’s signing for a glittering - in the circumstances - 69. At -6, he’ll have a two-shot lead going into the weekend! He looks very content with life right now, as well he might. He’s been brilliant today. Meanwhile his partner Henrik Stenson thins one out of a bunker, screams in disgust, then races a 15-foot par putt past the hole in the irritated fashion. A bogey to finish, and the defending champion is +2.
The Players champion Si Woo Kim won’t be here this weekend. Though in the end it was a close-run thing as he very nearly holed his chip for the birdie that would have brought him to +5. A difficult Open debut for the young Korean, who will surely be back soon enough to make his mark. Meanwhile back on 17, Hideki Matsuyama sends his second into trees down the left of the hole, and can only hack out dismally onto a dirt track. After hauling himself back into contention with two birdies in three holes, he won’t want to ruin all that good work here. He’s in serious danger of doing so.
Richard Bland moves backwards again, with bogey at 15, after missing a straightforward six-footer for his par. He’s -1. Bogey for Sung Kang, too, his coming at the difficult 13th; he’s -1 as well. Robert Streb is going well, though, with back-to-back birdies at 10 and 11 to rise to the increasingly popular mark of -1.
Thrills and spills, plus some tears and grief, on 18. Padraig Harrington, the winner the last time the Open was played here in 2008, knew coming down 17, +7 for the tournament, that he was two shots outside the projected cut of +5. So he birdied 17, and very nearly chipped in from over the bunkers to the left of 18 for a birdie that would have saved him. One dimple away from weekend participation. He looked beyond livid ... but then Thomas Pieters redefined Beyond Livid, lancing his putter away in anger after missing a short par putt. He ended with three bogeys in a row; seven bogeys in the last 15 holes. Seeing he started out birdie-birdie, rising to -3, you can see how annoyed he is with himself. Still. At +4, he’s still here for the weekend, unlike poor Padraig. So on balance, and in conclusion: temper, temper.
Spieth arrows his third back left of the 17th green. It doesn’t quite hold the putting surface, down in a swale to the left, but it’s good enough from where he was. No heroics, par will do. Two putts, and he remains at -6. Par for Stenson, who stays at +1. Back on 16, another birdie for Hideki Matsuyama, who rolls in a 30-footer to move to -2. And Brooks Koepka knocks in a 15-footer that saves his par: he’s still -3.
Spieth’s spirit is far from broken, to be fair, and he enjoys a hearty laugh with his caddy as their brolly is turned inside out in the wind. He lays up with his second. No heroics. Meanwhile up on 18, Gary Woodland pars to sign for a 69. He’s in a very decent position at -1, in the clubhouse alongside Austin Connelly and Rory McIlroy. And back on 14, a bounce-back birdie for Richard Bland, who fires his tee shot straight at the flag and rolls in the uphill 15-footer. He’s -2 again.
Jordan Spieth seems a little vexed by that unexpected dropped stroke. He hooks wide of the 17th fairway, and won’t be reaching the par five in two this time, however he connects. Back on 13, Richard Bland makes a pig’s ear of the hole from the off, and is playing five into the green from a tight position on the left. Shortsided and playing over bunkers, he nevertheless nearly holes out with an exquisite wedge, but the ball stops a dimple short. He taps in for a double-bogey six that drops him to -1.
With the wind whipping across 18, Alfie Plant smacks a glorious iron into the heart of the green! He sprints across the fairway to get a better view of its progress, shades of Sergio at Medinah in the PGA all those years ago! It’s a wonderful moment, and two careful putts later, he’s signing for a 73. He’s +4, the only amateur here this weekend, and therefore the winner of the 2017 Silver Medal! Congratulations, Alfie!
The rain is beginning to fall again, with the wind picking up too. Enough to knock Jordan Spieth off course? Well, not particularly, as he finds the heart of the green in two sensible strokes. But he comes up three feet short with his first putt, then misses the tiddler! You can’t really blame that one on the weather, and he admonishes himself accordingly as he taps in for bogey. He’s back to -6, his lead just two strokes over Matt Kuchar now.
-6: Spieth (16)
-4: Kuchar (F)
The European amateur champion Alfie Plant made what could be the eagle of his life at 15. It propelled him up the leader board to +4, two shots above the projected cut. He’s just parred 17, and nothing worse than a bogey up 18 will secure his weekend participation - and the silver medal for the leading amateur. God speed, young man.
Par for Russell Henley on the last hole, and he signs for his second level-par 70 of the week. Birdie for Hideki Matsuyama on 14; he’s back in red figures at -1. His partner Brooks Koepka remains at -3 with par. Gary Woodland birdied 15 to join the small group below par for the championship; he’s -1 through 16 right now.
Spieth is left with a 17-foot left-to-right breaker for eagle ... and in it goes! He did, by all accounts, catch that fairway wood with the neck. Thing is, you’ve got to take advantage of your good breaks when they come, because you can be sure some bad ones will be heading your way. Spieth grabbed that one with both hands. He was supposed to be going backwards, and at pace, in these conditions. Instead, he’s two under for his round now, and there’s a serious gap threatening to open up at the top of the leaderboard ... with another par five to come! Par for Stenson.
-7: Spieth (15)
-4: Kuchar (F)
-3: Poulter (F), Koepka (14), Bland (12)
Spieth’s drive down the par-five 15th lands in the rough down the left. His second, a fairway wood from a decent lie, isn’t the sweetest of connections, but it scampers down the left of the fairway and onto the green anyway. He grins at his caddy, then stifles a laugh, a tacit admission that he probably got away with one there. Still, the more you practice, the luckier you get, to paraphrase a wise old nine-time major winner. Spieth deserves any luck that comes his way; he’s been brilliant today in awful conditions.
Nobody’s birdied 13 today, and Brooks Koepka and Hideki Matsuyama set about demonstrating how difficult the hole has been playing from the get-go. Wayward tee shots, hacks up the fairway, 12-foot putts sent sliding by the cup. They both bogey, dropping back to -3 and level par respectively. Up on 14, Justin Thomas, who ran up that ugly nine on the 6th a couple of hours ago, nearly aces, his tee shot taking one bounce, hitting the flagstick, and dropping six inches to the left of the cup. Given his travails earlier, it would have been nice to see that drop in. But a birdie that brings him back to +6 will have to do.
Spieth splashes out from the sand, but leaves himself a good 15 feet for his par. He’s damn good, but he can’t keep escaping from situations, and this one slides by the hole. He’s back to -5. Stenson meanwhile can only find the middle of the green with his second, and the 20-foot saver he leaves himself is too much. He’s +1, and back-to-back bogeys have immediately cancelled out back-to-back birdies. Meanwhile on 18, Russell Henley sends his third into the bunker to the right of the green. His escape is heavy, off the other side of the admittedly small green, and he can’t rescue par with his putt from the fringe. He’s down to level par for the championship again.
Sung Kang misses a fine opportunity to birdie 9, letting one slide by from 12 feet after a fine iron into the green. But he reaches the turn in 34, and stays put at -2. Meanwhile on the par-three 14th, Jordan Spieth dumps his ball into the bunker guarding the front right of the green, while Henrik Stenson hoicks an awful effort miles wide right, scattering a gaggle of punters.
Hideki Matsuyama requires a staunch 15-footer for par at 12 to avoid carding three bogeys in a row. A momentum shifter, perhaps? Brooks Koepka meanwhile sends his tee shot to eight feet, but leaves his putt out on the left. He’s still searching for his first birdie of this second round.
-6: Spieth (13)
-4: Kuchar (F), Koepka (12)
-3: Poulter (F), Bland (10)
-2: Ramsey (F), Kang (8)
-1: Connelly (F), McIlroy (F), Henley (16), Matsuyama (12)
The rain’s here again. But Spieth continues to dazzle in the drizzle. His second into 13 catches the wind and stops well short of the green, but he simply screeches a chip to a halt, a couple of feet from the hole. He stays at -6, but Henrik Stenson drops a shot to fall back to level par again. A great chance meanwhile for birdie for Richard Bland, whose second into 10 comes off the shoulder of the bunker on the right, and kicks in to ten feet. But he leaves it out on the left. Par will have to do. And a long birdie putt up 16 for Russell Henley, and he moves into red figures at -1.
Updated
Tommy Fleetwood hasn’t had a birdie all week. He’s +6, and if the projection is anything to go by, will currently be making the very short journey home before the weekend. So the gallery responds accordingly when at 11 he whips his second six feet past the flag, and spins it back to 18 inches. He’ll knock that in to rise to +5, and the crowds at Birkdale will be hoping the local hero can get a little something going now. Meanwhile it’s another dropped shot for Hideki Matsuyama, after the US Open runner up dumps his second in the bunker at the front. He’s -1. Brooks Koepka pars to remain two behind Spieth at -4.
It’s sodden at Birkdale, but Jordan Spieth is on fire. He lands his tee shot at 12 softly by the flag, and there it stays. He’ll have a tap in for his birdie to move to -6. There’s a gap developing at the top. Henrik Stenson meanwhile rolls in a 40-footer from the front of 12 for a birdie of his own; he’s -1 and not giving up the Claret Jug in a hurry. Back on 10, par for Koepka, but a shot’s dropped by Matsuyama, who made his way up the hole from bunker to rough; he’s back to -2. Richard Bland sinks a 30-footer on 9 to salvage a par; he’s reached the turn in 34, and remains at -3. And up on 18, Ian Poulter shortsides himself by pulling his second to the left of the bunkers guarding the green, but he Mickelsons a lob over the sand to a couple of feet, and tidies up for par. That’s a 70 to go with yesterday’s 67, and at -3 the English veteran is well placed for an attack on Moving Day!
Updated
Jordan Spieth is the sole leader of the Open again! His second into 11 isn’t much cop, pushed 30 feet wide right of the hole. But he takes his time to prowl around the putt, and from the moment it left the face of the flat stick, it was only ever dropping. What a magnificent putt! Couple that with his chip-in from the back of 10, and this is the stuff of champions. Sheer bloody-minded brilliance by the remarkable Jordan Spieth.
-5: Spieth (11)
-4: Kuchar (F), Koepka (10)
Henrik Stenson lands his second at 11 right behind the cup, and nearly spins it back in. He’ll tap that in for a birdie that’ll bring him back to level par. Turns out the defending champion had his digs in Southport burgled this week, some footpad making off with his clobber. Poor Henrik. People just ain’t no good.
The hooter is sounded once more, and we’re back playing again! Poulter is pin high at 17 in three, but his 15-footer across the green kinks off to the left at the last. A good time to take a look at the state of the leader board right now. There are only 11 players under par...
-4: Kuchar (F), Spieth (10), Koepka (9)
-3: Poulter (17), Matsuyama (9), Bland (8)
-2: Ramsay (F), Kang (6)
-1: Connelly (F), McIlroy (F), Woodland (12)
In fact, you might not even notice the join. Sung Kang chooses to finish his hole, but couldn’t salvage his par on 6, and slips to -2. Richard Bland also plays on, sending his third into 8, a decent wedge that gives him half a chance of saving par from 15 feet. But it zips past the hole, and he’s back to -3.
The rain has stopped ... but the klaxon has gone to suspend play. This is to allow the groundstaff to get the rollers out and get shot of some standing water. Players can finish the holes they’re on, or stop if they’d rather, but they’ll all be held in place, it’s not a weather warning. This shouldn’t take long.
Spieth pitches in to salvage his par! He whips out his lob wedge and scoops the ball onto the bank running up to the green, his ball breaking into a roll, the result looking inevitable from a good way out! That’s the sort of escapology that wins Open Championships. He stays in a tie for the lead at -4.
The rain starts to pour again, with extreme prejudice. It is coming down in sheets. An cheap and easy metaphor for Jordan Spieth’s mood right now: he drives into a bunker down the left of 10, having taken iron for safety, and is forced to chip out sideways. His third is sent long and a little right of the green, and he’s very lucky it doesn’t snag in the serious stuff on the bank. Instead it sneaks back into the apron. He’ll have a long putt through a swale for his par. Meanwhile up on 16 it’s pouring down in Ian Poulter’s heart: an errant drive, stuck near the shoulder of a bunker, means he can’t reach the green in two. It ends with his first bogey in 28 holes of play. He’s -3.
Updated
Not particularly. He sends his second over the flag, it spins back to 12 feet, but his putt slides by on the right. Par. Koepka’s partner, Hideki Matsuyama, makes it back-to-back birdies, however, and moves to -3, within a shot of the lead. That’s because up on 9, Spieth runs his chip from the back ten feet past the hole. The one coming back is never dropping, and he stomps after it in disgust before it stops rolling. He taps in for bogey - as does Richard Bland on 6, unable to salvage his par with an up and down from 100-plus yards. All of a sudden, the leader board is looking pretty bunched!
-4: Kuchar (F), Poulter (15), Spieth (9), Koepka (8), Bland (6)
-3: Matsuyama (8), Kang (5)
-2: Ramsay (F)
Ian Poulter is so close to joining the leaders ... again. He can only find the bunker with his approach to the par-five 15th, but splashes out to ten feet, then watches in horror as what appears to be a sweetly struck putt lips out. He remains at -4. Back on 8, Jordan Spieth gets a “jumper ... oh shit!” For a minute the ball looks like flying through the green and into a bush at the back. But it snags in a patch of rough instead. “I thought that was out of play!” he giggles excitedly, a revealing squeak of high-pitched disbelief. I love the joy Spieth finds in his golf. And there’s a big stroke of luck for Brooks Koepka on 8; he wangs his tee shot towards a bank down the left covered in pure filth. Somehow, instead of snagging, it springs back out into the fairway. Can he take advantage?
Birkdale is suddenly becalmed: the rain has stopped, the wind has died. All of a sudden, having been wrapped up a minute ago, Jordan Spieth is playing in his polo shirt! He finds the first cut down the left of 9 with his drive. Back on 7, Hideki Matsuyama creams his tee shot to four feet, and makes his birdie, snatching back the shot he dropped at 6. He’s -2. And on 6, Richard Bland pulls his tee shot behind a small tree on the left and into thick rough. He gets greedy with his punch back out, trying to cut too much of a corner to snaffle some extra yards, and hits a branch. He’s lucky the ball didn’t ricochet back into trouble: the rough, a bunker, the nearby hazard running down the left. As it is, he’ll be playing three into a green that gives very little away for free. Par looks unlikely right now.
Spieth can only take his medicine and chip out of the bunker at 8. He then sends what looks like a perfect wedge into the green. It lands four feet from the flag, but bites and spins ten feet back. So unfortunate. But he nails the par saver, to remain at -5. Meanwhile on 5, Richard Bland has a putt to take the outright lead from the fringe at the back, but his effort somehow stalls on the left lip, and fails to drop. Eh? It’s as you were.
Ian Poulter sends his tee shot at 14 pin high, and if he’d just hit the straight 20-foot putt he’d left himself, he’d be one of the joint leaders. As it is, there’s another par. He’s going along nicely. If he can just get in without great disaster, there’s a fair chance he could be leading this Open at the halfway stage, the weather is that bad right now. And even if the rain eases off, it’s pimped the rough for the rest of the day. The current leaders have a long slog ahead. And by way of perfect illustration, Brooks Koepka drops a shot after another double cross, from the tee at 6. He never recovers position, and he drops back to -4. Meanwhile Jordan Spieth drives into a bunker at 8. Buckle in, folks, this is going to be eventful, one way or another.
Justin Thomas, who shot a fine 67 yesterday, was already struggling badly today. He’d started off with a double bogey, having zig-zagged his way down the opening hole, then followed up with another dropped shot at 2. But his travails at 6 are off the scale. Having sent his ball into dreadful oomska, he failed to extricate it with one unholy lash, the ball moving not a jot. He ends up with an ugly quadruple-bogey nine, dropping like a stone to +5. Remember, this super-talented young star shot a 63 in the US Open last month. As the rain pours over him, droplets falling from his nose, he does that thing amateurs everywhere do, miming the epic route of disaster with his finger while mouthing the score as it runs up hysterically. He buries his head in a soaking wet towel. Hey, we’ve all been there.
Spieth lags his long putt at 7 dead, and taps in for a fuss-free par. His partner Henrik Stenson is however super-flustered in the rain that’s started to pour, smashing out of a bunker at the back and sending his ball off the front. His chip up isn’t particularly good, but a marvellous putt from 12 feet limits the damage to bogey. He’s +1. Meanwhile back on 4, we have a new joint leader: Richard Bland casually clacks his tee shot to six feet, and rolls in for his birdie!
-5: Spieth (7), Koepka (5), Bland (4)
-4: Kuchar (F), Poulter (13)
-3: Kang (2)
Spieth gets up and down brilliantly from the sand at the front of 6. When he walks off the green, it’s sunny and not particuarly windy. By the time he’s hitting his tee shot onto the left-hand side of the 7th green, it’s teeming down and there’s a bit of a breeze. For a moment there, I was wondering whether the forecasters were talking out of their hats. But oh no. Meanwhile a birdie for Sung Kang at 2, and very nearly a ludicrous 100-foot rake from off the front of 13 for Ian Poulter. A kick-in par.
Mark O’Meara, who won the 1998 championship here, walks up the 18th fairway in an Open for the very last time. The warmest ovation greets the veteran North Carolinian, who had the year of his life back then: he won the Masters in 1998 as well. He can’t quite finish off like his playing partner Chris Wood, sending his second through the back of the green then failing to get down in two putts. But then that’s not really the point. The old southern gent is showered in more applause as he shakes every hand that’s offered - “I appreciate it, I appreciate it” - then announcing that “it’s the greatest championship, it’s the greatest walk, thanks for making it so special”. For the record, that’s a fine 70 today, enough to haul him well off the bottom of the pile at +11. Todd Hamilton, the 2004 champion, now has the job of propping everyone up at +18, though Billy Horschel and Bryson DeChambeau are only four shots better off at +14, and still have four holes each to play.
Spieth bombs a perfect drive down 6. It’s a thing of effortless beauty, never toying with the bunker guarding the dogleg, landing safely in premium position. So then the wind catches his approach, dumping it in a bunker front left of the green. Links golf! And another example of its strange beauty right here: going down the last, Chris Wood is in grave danger of missing the cut. So from the centre of the fairway, he arrows an iron straight at the flag. It bounces on the fringe at the front of the green, takes a couple of skips, and releases towards the flag. From 20 feet out, it’s clearly going to roll in. And in it drops for eagle! He’ll be here this weekend for sure, unless something very strange happens. He’s +3. There have been more eagles today on the par fours than on the par fives.
Updated
On 4, Brooks Koepka sends his tee shot over the flag: he’ll have an eight-footer for birdie and the outright lead. But he leaves it high on the left, and remains in a tie at the top. Soren Kjeldsen follows his bogey at 13 with double at 14. Gary Woodland follows his eagle at 5 with bogey at 6. But here’s someone moving forward: a first birdie of the day for Ian Poulter, who curls in a right-to-left monster from the back of 12, the eyes nearly popping out of his head as he celebrates!
-5: Spieth (5), Koepka (4)
-4: Kuchar (F), Poulter (12), Bland (2)
-2: Ramsay (F), Pieters (6), Matsuyama (4), Kang (1)
-1: McIlroy (F), Woodland (6), Hahn (2), Streb
Soren Kjeldsen’s luck with the flat stick runs out. He leaves himself a long putt for par on 13, and very nearly sinks it from 40 feet, but it slides by the high side, and that bogey drops him back to -1. Ian Poulter continues to par his way round the course: that’s 11 out of 11 now: he’s -3. Henrik Stenson and Jordan Spieth reach the 5th green in regulation but leave themselves 35-footers. Neither can birdie. But back on 2, Richard Bland, a 44-year-old from Southampton whose Open record consists of one missed cut, here at Birkdale in 1998, rolls in a putt from off the front of the green to move into a tie for third with Matt Kuchar! He’s -4.
From the centre of the 3rd fairway, a double cross for Brooks Koepka, who sends an attempted fade into the green way out to the left. It bounces on a cart path and springs off into the wilderness in the hysterical fashion. But from some awful tangled filth, he punches a stunning shot back over the path and into the bank by the side of the green, allowing his ball to check and roll calmly towards the hole. It stops three feet away. In goes the putt, and that’s one of the more preposterous pars you’ll see this century. Marvellous. What a scramble! He remains at -5.
Kent Bulle, the reigning Argentinian Open champion from Glasgow, Kentucky, nearly replicates Justin Rose’s teenage heroics of 1998 from the rough down the left of 18. He’s one roll short. But that’s a par to finish, and a 72 that sees him level par at the halfway mark. Not bad for your Open debut. Meanwhile a cracker of a tee shot by Jordan Spieth on the par-three 4th. Pin high, eight feet from the hole. But the birdie putt somehow slips off to the left and he stays at -5. Par meanwhile for Spieth’s playing partner and reigning champion Henrik Stenson, and he’s level par after a dropped shot back on 3.
Brooks Koepka is one joule of energy short of taking the lead with birdie at 2. But his 25-footer stops just short, and that’s a par-par start. He’s -5. His partner Hideki Matsuyama sees a similar effort slip by; he’s started solidly with a couple of pars too, and remains at -2. Meanwhile an eventful par for Soren Kjeldsen on 12: he races a 25-footer a good 12 feet past the hole, but knocks in the return to stay at -2.
The third eagle of the day at the short par-four 5th, and it’s arguably the most spectacular of all. Sergio drove the green and holed his putt from the fringe. Lee Westwood trundled a chip in from the rough on the left. But now Gary Woodland, the best part of 100 yards out, lifts a gentle wedge straight at the cup. A couple of bounces, and a little roll, and it’s in! He’s up to -2, and a player who tied for 12th spot last year at Troon, albeit a mile behiind Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson, is hovering yet again!
Jordan Spieth cracked a fine drive down 3, but his second wasn’t all that, only just holding the left-hand fringe of the green with the hole cut on the other side. And his first putt is a woeful misread, sent miles to the left and never coming back. That’s a needlessly awkward eight footer left for his par. And it slides by the right of the cup. He’s back to -5, in a tie for the lead with Brooks Koepka. Meanwhile the big Belgian Thomas Pieters, who opened with a birdie-birdie salvo, thinks twice about a short par putt on 4 as the wind gets up. And he’s been knocked off his stride by that blast, because he yips the putt and drops back to -2.
Thanks to Nick, a gentleman and a scholar. And hats off to Ian Poulter, who has just reached the turn in 34. Nine pars in a row, although the last was rather ridiculous, albeit uplifting: a ball flown into bushes at the back of 9, hacked out not particularly near the hole, and rolled in from daft distance. Cue plenty of air punching. He stays at -3. Meanwhile the veteran Dane Soren Kjeldsen has an excuse to engage in a bit of fist bumping: birdie at 11, his third of the day, and he’s -2 overall.
And with that, I shall hand you back to the rather safer hands of Scott Murray. Remember: your emails to Scott.Murray@theGuardian.com. Cheers!
A former staple of the Guardian golf coverage, only this time for different reasons: all together now... “Oh, Sergio...”
Ugly starts for Justins Rose and Thomas: the former bogeys 1, but the latter goes one worse with a double. Spieth gets himself out of some mither in a bunker to the right on the 2nd, chipping back to safety and a par to remain in -6.
Rafa Cabrera-Bello’s round is reaching its conclusion, and he very nearly sinks an absolute monster from about five feet off the green. But he can’t save par and he drops to +3 for the round and par overall. Watson follows him at the 18th, nearly chips in from a bunker but does save par. Meanwhile, world No.2 Matsuyama, Koepka and Tommy Fleetwood are all off and out.
Poulter finds the sand on the 8th, but almost saves himself with quite some gusto, a brilliant sand wedge almost finding the hole. Nonetheless, he reacts like someone on one of those ‘prank’ shows who think their car has been crushed, only for it to be revealed it was not in fact their car. He grabs his eighth straight par, mind.
Updated
We have an outright leader! Spieth begins his round in style, keeping the mucking about to a bare minimum by pushing home a fine birdie putt to go -6 and one ahead of Koepka, who should start his own round shortly. Pieters continues his good start with a birdie on 2, nudging him up to level fourth place.
-6 Speith (1)
-5 Koepka
-4 Kuchar (F)
-3 Pieters (2), Poulter (8), Thomas, Bland
-2 Ramsey (F), Matsuyama, Hahn, Kang
Henrik Stenson’s round is underway, and he has a putt from about 15 feet for a birdie. That goes slightly askew, but he sticks the next one away for par. Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson - for it is he - ends both his round and his tournament on +9. Just a hair over the cut mark...
A few umbrellas are going up, adding another pinch of spice to the conditions. Meanwhile Poulter has continued his steady, steady, steady round, taking par on each of the seven holes completed so far. Watson follows his lead by taking par on the 17th - that’s just his third since the 5th hole, the interim having been up and down and up and down and down and up.
Thomas Pieters has started his round with a bang, taking a birdie on 1 to move him to -2 and level seventh for the tournament. Padraig Harrington is out too and parred that hole, while leader Spieth is about to get started.
It’s windy out there. Not sure if anyone has mentioned it.
The Bubbacoaster continues. After a couple of heinous holes and a double-bogey on 14, he sinks a whopper on 16 for birdie which followed another on 15, dragging him back to par for the tournament as he heads to the end of his round.
A rough couple of holes at 6 and 7 for Fitzpatrikck. Struggling with the wind, he goes bogey then double to drop out of the leading group and onto +2. Ouch.
The leaders:
-5 Speith, Koepka
-4 Kuchar (F)
-3 Poulter (6), Thomas, Bland
-2 Ramsey (F), Matsuyama, Hahn, Kang
Nice escape from Dustin Johnson from some horrible rough on 18, landing a few feet shy of the green, but his playing partner McIlroy plays an even better shot from a similar, if not identical spot. He chips to about twenty odd feet away from the hole, a very tricky putt for a birdie which he leaves a few short, but sticks that away to finish on -2 for the round and -1 overall. Quite a result given yesterday’s opening horror show, in touch with the leaders if not exactly breathing heavily down their necks. Johnson putts for a bogey, and the world No.1 finishes up on +2 for the round, +3 overall.
“Let’s not forget that Tiger Woods shot 40 on the front nine at the 1997 Masters,” writes Michael Meagher, pom-poms in hand, “and went on to win by 12 shots. Come on Rory!”
Poulter, two off the lead, puts a couple of fine shots down the 5th, landing his approach about 15-odd feet away from the pin. He can’t make the first putt but drains the second, taking par and remains even for the day, -3 for the tournament.
McIlroy puts his second shot on 17 a fraction too long and falls off the back of the green, but then sticks a tricky looking half chip back to within six or seven feet. He peers at the putt...then puts it into the middle of the hole. That’s a birdie, his fourth of the day, and he’s down to -1 heading to the final hole of his round.
Quick reminder that the current joint-leaders, Jordan Speith and US Open champion Brooks Koepka, are due out at 14.48 and 15.10 BST respectively.
Rollercoaster for Bubba Watson. The man with a bright pink driver and a fluorescent yellow ball birdied the 12th, but binned whatever advantage he gained from that by double-bogeying the 14th, and has now sent his tee shot on 15 into the rubbish to the right of the fairway. He’s on +2 and it could be about to get worse.
A miserable beginning to Alex Noren’s round. He pushes short putts right at 2 and then 3, dropping back to level par in quick order. Another bogey for Kent Bulle, this time at 11, and he’s back to -1. And on 16, McIlroy booms a monster down the track, then hits a hot wedge straight through the green. He yelps in frustration, but a delicate chip from thick rough back down the green saves his par. He’s clinging on a bit here, his round having threatened to unravel since the turn. But he’s done well to keep it together as well as he has, and the par-five 17th is coming up!
Nick Miller will take your hand and lead you down it. I’ll see you again in a little while.
Updated
McIlroy does well to escape 15 with bogey in the end. He’s back to level par. He could do with something on 17, though it’s only Friday afternoon, he’s just five off the lead, and in these conditions won’t want to push too hard. Bogey for Schwartzel as well, who is +3 overall and seven over for his round today. But as ever, Big Dustin is contrary, booming a big drive down the middle, sending a 6-iron to the back of the green, and taking two putts for an easy birdie. He’s +2, and with the cut now projected at +3, and expected to move out further, he can breathe a little easier right now.
It’s difficult to know exactly what’s happened to Schwartzel, who looks to have taken an unplayable. He blasts out of the cabbage, anyway. When the sign’s eventually moved, McIlroy can only find sand, is forced to blast out, and watches in horror as his wedge into the green is held up by the wind. He’ll need to get up and down just to save bogey. “Kent Bulle will not be best pleased after lipping out his par putt on 9,” suggests Simon McMahon. “In fact, I’ll bet he’s raging.” [McMahon gets windcheater, exits]
-5: Spieth, Koepka
-4: Kuchar (F)
-3: Poulter (2), Thomas, Bland
-2: Ramsay (F), Bulle (10), Fitzpatrick (4), Matsuyama, Hahn, Kang
Kuchar makes a bit of a meal of 18. He punches out from the deep fairway bunker, then leaves his approach well short of the green. Two putts from off the green, and that’s a bogey, and a round of 71. He’s -4, the clubhouse leader, one behind Spieth and Koepka. But there’s a fair chance he’ll back in the lead later, if the wind does its expected damage. Meanwhile his playing partner Richie Ramsay, who birdied 17, lags a long putt from off the green to a few inches, and taps in for an excellent 70. He’s -2. A dropped shot for Kent Bulle, a short putt horseshoeing out at 9. He’s -2. And a bit of a farce on 15, where McIlroy and Schwartzel have both flayed drives into thick rubbish down the right. There’s a spectator crossing sign in their line of sight ... but it can’t be moved without a giant Allen key, and that’s in some truck or other wheeling around elsewhere. We wait.
Two lovely delicate bump-and-runs from thick rough to the side of 14, and the pars of McIlroy and Schwartzel are saved. Dustin gets up and down from a very tricky spot at the back, too. Ian Poulter is out, and he’s made a regulation two-putt par on the opening hole. Meanwhile Matt Kuchar, having only been able to par the generous par-five 17th, has driven into a bunker to the right of the 18th fairway. He’ll not reach the long par-four in two now.
McIlroy just couldn’t keep making those par-saving putts. He wedges to ten feet on 13, but his putt refuses to drop into the left-hand side of the cup, sitting on the edge stubbornly. He drops back to -1, then sends his tee shot at the par-three 14th into a tight spot to the back-left of the green. Overall, though, he’s in better nick than his playing partners. Big Dustin bogeys 13 too, while Schwartzel doubles; they’re +3 and +2 respectively, and neither of them have found the green at 14 either.
Sergio finishes his round by pushing a short par tiddler right of the hole. He signs for a very decent 69, but rubs his eyes momentarily in frustration, knowing full well that those are the small mistakes he can no longer afford. Moving Day just got a whole lot harder for the Masters champ: he’s +2. Jason Day misses to the left, and his 76 will almost certainly see him off home tonight: he’s +5, and hoping for one hell of a squall this afternoon if he’s to survive the cut. Meanwhile the Argentinian Open champion, Kent Bulle of Kentucky, continues to impress: yet another par, this time at 8. He’s kept it steady since that opening-hole birdie, and remains at -3.
So much for our dream of Bubba Wastson adding an Open to his two Masters titles. This highly entertaining star is currently in the middle of a rollicking breakdown. Those three bogeys in a row have just been followed by a double, the result of driving into sand down the left and failing to get out first time. He’s +1 now, heading the wrong way fast, his head addled by the rising wind. Meanwhile for the fourth hole in a row, McIlroy is fighting to save his par, a wild tee shot at 13 sent deep into filth down the right, his second powered out but nevertheless well short of the green. And up on the green, Zach Johnson birdies and signs for what is likely to be the round of the day: a stunning 66. The 2015 champ is +1, and still in with a shout this weekend.
Matt Kuchar can’t get up and down from the sand to the left of 16. His splash out is perfectly weighted, but he’s sent it a good ten feet to the right. A testing putt, and one which the breeze snatches off line. He hands back the shot he picked up at the previous hole, and drops back into a tie for the lead with Spieth and Koepka. Meanwhile an opening-hole birdie for Matthew Fitzpatrick, which nudges him onto our latest leader board.
-5: Kuchar (16), Spieth, Koepka
-3: Bulle (7), Poulter, Thomas, Bland
-2: McIlroy (12), Fitzpatrick (1), Noren, Matsuyama, Hahn, Kang
Rory very nearly holes his sand splash. That’s three wonderful par saves in a row: he stays at -2. Dustin rolls in his first birdie putt of the day, and he’s +2. But a three-putt for Charl Schwartzel, who drops his second shot in three holes and slips back to level par. Meanwhile Bubba can’t save his par on 9, dropping back to -1, a promising round having fallen apart over the last 30 minutes or so.
McIlroy’s tee shot at 12 disappears into a deep bunker to the right of the green. He’s looking at a third scramble in a row. Up and down from there is no gimme. Dustin Johnson, meanwhile, claps a stunning shot to six feet. At +3, he could do with a birdie all right; he’s given himself a fine chance there. News of Sergio Garcia, who isn’t out of this yet: bogey at 13 stalled his upwards momentum, but birdie at 15, where he lipped out for eagle, followed by another birdie at 17 sees him rise to +1. And up on 16, the leader Matt Kuchar sends his second into sand to the left of the green.
In it goes! McIlroy is a streaky putter all right, and he’s in the zone right now. A very missable left-to-right slider always looks like dropping, and he stays at -2. Bubba meanwhile is forced to take a couple of hacks to untangle himself from trouble down the left of 9. He’s on the green in three, but facing a monster putt to avoid a third bogey in a row.
Matt Kuchar moves into the lead on his own, reaching the front of 15 in two hits, and putting up carefully to make sure of his birdie. He’s -6, one ahead of Spieth and Koepka. Elsewhere, Bubba is beginning to give in to frustration. Out comes the driver on 9, and he slices big into thick awfulness down the left. More on that anon. And McIlroy is once again battling to save par, this time on 11. His iron sails off into the thick stuff down the right. The rough grabs his hosel as he tries to power his second up onto the green, leaving a short wedge in. That’s hard to judge in this wind, and his chip goes sailing 15 feet past the hole. Another big putt coming up.
For the first time this week, Bubba voices loud despair at the indiscriminate damage wreaked by the wind. Having dropped a shot at the par-three 7th, he sees his approach to 8 whipped away to the left, a gust plucking his ball from mid air and plonking it atop a grassy knoll. He manufactures a Micklesonesque flop down towards the green, over bunkers, to within ten feet. But he can’t escape with par, and that’s back to back bogeys. He’s -2, and is trying his very best not to fume.
First up, a brilliant up and down from sand, shortsided, by Dustin Johnson. How he got his splash out to within 12 feet is beyond all human knowledge; his slippery par putt, coming in from the right, was equally exceptional. Especially as he’s currently just below the cut line. Bogey for Schwartzel, who drops to -1. But what a putt from McIlroy, who rolls it in dead centre, and celebrates his par as though it was an eagle, giving the wind a good old whack with his clenched fist. He stays at -2, just three off the lead held by Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka and Matt Kuchar, who keeps on keeping on with steady pars at 13 and 14.
Rory hits a big drive down 10, but it leaks off to the right and is snaffled by one of Birkdale’s perfectly placed bunkers. He’s far back enough to go for the green, even though the face of the bunker is right up in his grille. But he doesn’t catch it properly. Fortunately, the ball clears the lip, and he’s got a wedge into the green. Even so, the wind is gusting so aggressively that it’s difficult to judge his chip. He does very well to send his ball to within ten feet. A big momentum-maintaining putt coming up.
A wee bit more on Dustin’s inadvertent assault on the Fourth Estate from our man Kevin Mitchell. “Dustin picked out the cheek bone of Irish Times golf correspondent Philip Reid. Think he’s OK, but he’ll have a golf ball for a cheek bone for a couple of days.” I can think of one huge golf fan in the USA who will be pleased with Dustin’s journalist-baiting antics. If not the big man’s performance. Sad!
Back to 9, where Dustin’s ball was stopped from disappearing totally into the bush by some poor soul from the Irish Times. The fearless reporter took it flush in the coupon, understandably not expecting such wildness from the middle of the fairway. Unlike Bubba, Dustin fails to take advantage of his lucky break, and doesn’t commit to the chip up onto the green. He’s left with a long putt for par, and that’s another bogey. He reaches the turn in 36, and at +3 he’s going home as things stand. Regulation pars in difficult circumstances for both Schwartzel and McIlroy, the latter reaching the turn in 31, a full eight strokes shaved off yesterday’s risible front-nine total.
-5: Kuchar (13), Spieth, Koepka
-4: Watson (6)
-3; Bulle (5), Poulter, Thomas, Bland
-2: McIlroy (9), Schwartzel (9), Li (5), Noren, Matsuyama, Hahn, Kang
Bubba Watson is one shot off the lead! His second to the par-four 6th nearly disappears in the thick stuff to the right of the green, but takes a lucky bounce out. So from the fringe, he bundles a gorgeous snaking chip left, then right, then back again and into the cup for his second birdie of the day. He’s -4!
The wind is beginning to blow now. Dustin Johnson, from the middle of 9, changes his mind over club selection a couple of times, and steps away from the ball when the gusting gets too much to deal with. Totally discombobulated, he whistles his second into a greenside bush. The world number one is in danger of missing the cut in consecutive majors. Throw in his mishap on the stairs before the Masters, and this is threatening to become a slightly farcical year, one in which he was expected to dominate. Should we be totally surprised?
The hottest player out on the course today? The 2015 champion Zach Johnson, whose steady approach is tailor-made for links golf. He’s carded four birdies today, at 2, 5, 11 and 12, a blemish-free card which has propelled him to +1 for the tournament, two strokes above the projected cut. That cut line will, as things stand at the moment, see off Beef, the Masters champ Sergio (who has recently bogeyed 13), Adam Scott (who carded three bogeys on the bounce at 10, 11 and 12), and Phil Mickelson. Among others, but more on this subject later. Paul Casey is in serious danger of missing out on his 40th birthday: a sixth bogey of the day, this time at 13, and he’s +2, right on the edge. One more, and most likely he’s for the off.
Dustin smashes a glorious shot from down the bank towards the back of the green at 8. A good long lag up, and he’s escaped with a four. Wow! He remains at +2, having done nothing much today other than drop a stroke at 5. Schwartzel does very well too, getting up and down from the front, the wind buffeting him as he tries to roll in a seemingly simple putt. And they all escape with par, McIlroy splashing out exquisitely to a couple of feet, and tidying up. Meanwhile up on 12, the co-leader Matt Kuchar sends a lovely tee shot 12 feet from the flag. How didn’t his left-to-right curling birdie effort drop? It skirts around the edge, a physics-defying nonsense. Kuchar’s playing partner, Richie Ramsay, makes his 12th par in a row: he’s -2. And on 18, a bogey for young Austin Connelly, a 72 which could have been a whole lot better, three shots shed along the closing stretch. But he’s -1 for the tournament, and in good position for the weekend on his Open debut.
McIlroy splits the fairway at 8, another big boom. His playing partners are much more wayward. Schwartzel finds thick cabbage down the right, and can only smash out, up the fairway but short of the green. Dustin meanwhile hooks one down a huge bank to the left. He’s got a bit of thinking to do, so allows Rory to go first. His iron from 170 yards is set out well to the right, but the wind is so strong it takes the ball into a bunker front left. “Did you see where I started that?” he asks his caddy, JP Fitzgerald, laughing. “F*$&^%£*&%£&^%£$###^&%£! my luck!” JP Fitzgerald may or may not have replied.
Charley Hoffman makes his first birdie of the day, after knocking his second at 10 pin high to 12 feet. He’s back to -3. Bogey for Rafael Cabrera-Bello on 4; he drops to -2. And on 7, Rory McIlroy knocks his tee shot straight at the flag, but it’s half a club short, and par will have to do. Still, what a morning’s work so far, eh? “I now have a new goal in life,” writes Hubert O’Hearn. “I want JP Fitzgerald to swear at me. Clearly he has magical powers.”
Meanwhile how about this from Lee Westwood, also on something of a salvage mission? He wasn’t really doing much this morning: a bogey at 2 dropped him to +2. But down the left of 5, playing out of the rough, his wedge lands front left of the green, then scampers up towards the hole near the back on a gentle curl. He screams for the ball to GO! and GO! it does, straight into the cup! That’s an eagle that hauls him back to level par. A huge smile on his face, and the ball becomes a present for some lucky punter in the crowd. Also entertaining the masses: Phil Mickelson, who has started birdie-par-triple bogey-birdie, the latest a putt through a swale to the right of 4. He’s +4, and his weekend participation is seriously in the balance, but for now let’s enjoy the old master while we can.
A scrappy, potentially costly, end to Beef’s round. He was level par for the tournament having birdied 15, but bogey at 16 followed by a double at 17 crashed him down the leader board to +3. He follows up 69 with 74, and he’ll be hoping the weather really gets up this afternoon if he’s to avoid the cut. Oh Beef! Less worrying news comes courtesy of Rory McIlroy, who bombs a monster over the bunker at the dogleg on 6, then sends his second to three feet, as glorious a shot as we’ve seen on this hellishly difficult hole all week. In goes the putt, and that’s his third birdie this morning. He’s -2, and right in this tournament, just three off the lead!
Kent Bulle, all the way from Glasgow - that’s Glasgow, Kentucky - qualified for his first Open by winning the Argentinian version. He finished strongly yesterday with two birdies, and signed for a 68. Now he’s made it three in a row by rolling in a birdie putt from the fringe at the back of 1. He joins the group at -3, which still includes Bubba Watson, who did very well to get up and down from the front of 3 after his second shot got held up in the wind. Meanwhile young Austin Connelly has hit some turbulence at last: bogeys at 13 and 14, and he slips to -2.
Trouble for Charl Schwartzel at the short par-four 5th. Once again he hits a poor approach, sending his second through the back and below a bush. The ball’s embedded, but because we’re playing R&A rules, he doesn’t get relief because the ground isn’t closely cut. Sky reported that Schwartzel and Dustin Johnson both laughed at the realisation the South African wasn’t going to get relief, and Rory, well versed in R&A rules, had to explain that this was indeed the case. It ends with Schwartzel running up a double bogey, and he drops out of the lead to -3. Matt Kuchar meanwhile does very well to keep a hold of the lead, driving into rubbish down the left of 9, but knocking his second into the middle of the green. Par. He reaches the turn in 34, and remains at -5 alongside Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka, who will be coming out in the worst of the wind and rain later on. All looking good right now for Kuuu-uuuu-uch.
Bubba Watson’s record at the Open is nothing short of appalling for a player with his talent. His best finish is a tie for 23rd at Lytham in 2012. I can just about remember him thrashing about in a deep bunker one year, with his big red embarrassed face poking out of the top, on his way to missing the cut. But that’s about the sum total of his contribution to the oldest major so far. However this year could be very different! He looks determined to do well - and appears in the mood to enjoy himself, too, which is an important factor to consider with Bubba - and a 68 yesterday reflected that. He’s started quickly today, with birdie at 2. He’s going for it this week; let’s hope to see him in the mix come Sunday.
Rickie Fowler reaches the turn in 33, having shed a shot at 8. Still, he’s level par now, a decent morning’s work. His partner Adam Scott birdies 9 to make it to the turn in 35; he’s level par too. But it’s another bogey for Paul Casey, 40 today. He’s out in 39, +1 overall. Maybe he can get Morrissey to serenade him later. And while we’re humming the latest pop hits ... “It’s another day of Casey and the sunshine banned at Birkdale,” jokes Gary Naylor, thankfully giving up the opportunity to crowbar in several references to Kevin Na. “I grew up a few miles south and we don’t really have weather that close to the coast - things just happen.”
McIlroy lifts his second at 4 gracefully over the swale, landing it next to the cup and salvaging his par. He really does look in the mood today. As does Schwartzel, who makes his birdie putt, and what a reward for that excellent tee shot: a share of the lead! Because up at the supposedly simple par-four 8th, Kuchar mishits his approach, sends in a poor chip, and can’t make a long putt to save the situation. So here we are:
-5: Kuchar (8), Schwartzel (4), Spieth, Koepka
-3: Cabrera-Bello (2), Poulter, Thomas, Bland
Eighteen hours? Ten minutes is a long time in golf. Coming down 3, Charl Schwartzel thinned his second straight through the green, an amateur error, though he managed to salvage his par. Now he very nearly slam-dunks his tee shot at 4 straight into the cup! It bounces just before the hole, and eventually stops four feet away. McIlroy meanwhile is just over the back to the left, not far from the flag, but faced with a very tricky shot, a hollow between his ball and the flag.
A second birdie of the morning for Rory McIlroy! He sends his second at 3 right at the flag, and makes no mistake with the birdie putt. In effect, he’s been one inch away from opening with three straight birdies. He’s -1 for the tournament, a frankly preposterous state of affairs seeing he went out in 39 strokes yesterday. He looked thoroughly miserable over that stretch, his body language a complete giveaway; it was hard to watch. Now there’s a bounce in his step, and he’s trading quips as he traverses the fairway with Sky’s on-course wit Wayne Riley. Eighteen hours is a very long time in golf.
Thorbjorn Olesen’s major career stalled somewhat after breaking through at the 2012 Open at Lytham, and following it up with a top-ten finish at the following year’s Masters. The 27-year-old Dane appears to be getting back in the groove, though. High finishes at the recent Nordea Masters and French Open augured well for this week, and his good form appears to be holding up. A 70 yesterday, and this morning he’s birdied 1 and now 5 to move to -2. Meanwhile Sergio reaches the turn in 33 to remain at +2, while Phil Mickelson sends the crowds wild on the opening hole with a birdie that lifts him to +2.
Nope, McIlroy can’t make his putt, which had a large right to left break. It stops an inch wide right of the hole. Par. And Kuchar saves his par with a brilliant effort on 6! So it’s as we were: Kuchar in the lead at -6, Rory still six back at level par. Small margins, though, huh. But up on 7, Rickie Fowler clatters a monster birdie putt into the cup from off the back of the green, through a swale, up and over a bank, and he’s into red figures at -1! Crashing out of them, Paul Casey, whose birthday is turning into a complete nightmare: his tee shot at 7 sailed over the green at the back, he couldn’t get his chip over a bunker close, and he’s level par for the tournament after carding his fourth bogey of the day.
Kuchar’s drive down the hellishly difficult dogleg-right 6th is perfectly placed. But his second is hoicked high into deep filth to the right of the green. The ball’s a long way above his feet as he tries to magic-wand it onto the green. His gentle swish is too delicate, and he’s left with a testing 15-footer for his par. McIlroy meanwhile sends an iron crashing down 2, and then clips his second over the flag to 15 feet. It’s hardly a gimme, but it’s entirely possible that, in a couple of putts time, there will be just four shots between Rory and the leaders.
Rory McIlroy takes to the tee, and hits an astonishing fairway wood miles down the track. He leaves himself with a half wedge into the green, and steers it to four feet, a quite exquisite shot given the wind whipping across Birkdale. In goes the putt for an opening birdie, and at level par he’s just six off Matt Kuchar’s lead. That’s an astonishing state of affairs, given the abject state of his game over the opening nine yesterday. This is some turnaround, and whatever happens from here, testament to his character and talent. Pars for Dustin Johnson and Charl Schwartzel; they remain at +1 and -4 respectively. And another shot shipped by Paul Casey, this time at 6, and he continues to clatter down the leader board, to -1. but birdies for Rickie Fowler and Adam Scott, who rise to level par and -1 in turn.
Austin Connelly has been serenely negotiating the course like a young Nick Faldo. Par, par, par, par, par, par, par, par, par, par. Enough! A birdie at 11, and the 20-year-old Texan-Canadian rises to -4. It’s no more than he deserves for a solid morning’s golf in testing conditions. Back on 5, Matt Kuchar is only a few joules of energy short of making it three birdies in a row, finding the centre of the green and rolling his 30-foot putt close. But par will have to do. He stays at -6. And Sergio gets up and down from sand at 7. He stays at +2, and his game looks in good nick today; let’s just hope his body, and indeed mind, hold up.
Sergio has parred 6, and called for the physio. Seems he’s hurt his right shoulder, not his wrist, in thrashing the shrub he only just extricated himself from at 4, a kind of reverse Basil Fawlty. Maybe he should have driven a car into it. A totally self-inflicted injury, the height of idiocy. For goodness sake, man! But look at it this way: at least it shows he still cares, and hasn’t put the feet up and cigar on after winning at Augusta. You’ve got to love Sergi... oh, he’s just sent his tee shot at the par-three 7th into a deep pot bunker to the right of the green. God speed, Sergio!
No such bother for Matt Kuchar! He started slowly, but he’s clicked into gear now. An easy iron caressed into the heart of the par-three 4th, followed by a 30-foot birdie rake, and he’s the first man to reach the -6 mark this week, and the new leader of the Open! Good news for Joost Luiten, too. The 31-year-old Dutchman has missed the last three cuts at the Open, and has never finished higher than a tie for 45th. But he’s looking to improve on that ordinary record this week. Birdie at 4, to add to his blemish-free card of 68 yesterday, has lifted him steadily and surely to -3.
-6: Kuchar (4)
-5: Spieth, Koepka
-4: Schwartzel
-3: Connelly (10), Luiten (5), Hoffman (3), Cabrera-Bello, Poulter, Thomas, Bland
The wind’s up, and scores are hard to come by. It’s been a grim morning for Martin Laird, who shot a two-under 68 yesterday but has come out misfiring: bogeys at 3, 6 and now 7, and he’s down to +1. Wise old Ernie Els, the 2002 and 2012 champion, bogeyed 2 to slip to -1, though he’s since steadied the ship with a string of pars through 7. Bernd Wiesberger shot 69 yesterday, but bogeys at 1 and 7 have dropped him to +1. Toby Tree, making his Open debut at 23, was going very nicely after a 70 yesterday and a birdie this morning at 4, but five bogeys in six holes have plunged him down the leader board to +4. And Adam Hadwin - who you may remember tying the US Open record for six consecutive birdies last month at Erin Hills - has just triple-bogeyed the deceptively pretty par-three 12th to crash down to +5.
And it’s an eagle for Sergio, rolling one in from the fringe at the back of 5! He chanced his arm - quite literally, having jarred his right wrist on the previous hole - by taking driver, cutting the corner and going for the green. And he’s been rewarded big-time! He bounces back up the leader board to +2, and suddenly looks at ease with the world. The Masters champion not out of this yet. Another bogey for his partner Jason Day, though, a short par putt missed. He’s down to +1. And he’s alongside his compatriot Aaron Baddeley, who cards his second double-bogey of the day, this time at 6.
Matt Kuchar returns to the top of the leader board! It looked unlikely when he flayed his drive dangerously close to a thicket down the left of 3, but a lucky bounce saw him on the cart path. An unfortunate bounce checked his second shot and stopped it reaching the green, but no matter: he lands his chip ten feet from the hole, whereupon it releases and glides into the cup along a beautiful right-to-left arc. He’s -5 again!
A gorgeous long bumped wedge from the back of 2 by Charley Hoffman, perfectly judged from the best part of 100 feet. It curls right to left and stops an inch from the hole. He stays at -3. A less pleasant chip from Sergio on 4. He’s hit his tee shot near the bushes at the back of the par-three, and looks to have hurt his right wrist upon punching it back out of trouble. His ball doesn’t even get onto the green, and that’s a bogey that drops the Masters champion back to +4. But he then drives his ball through the green on the short par-four 5th, and picks up his tee with that supposedly wounded paw, so hopefully that was just a stinger and there’s no lasting damage.
A proper old-school yip by Adam Scott on 3, a par putt missed from two feet. That was genuinely abysmal, and it drops him back to level par. Paul Casey then pushes an even shorter one right of the cup, and that’s back-to-back bogeys. A very unhappy birthday so far, and he trudges off the green in those shoes with “40” written on the heels; it’s almost as though he’s putting too much pressure on himself. He falls to -2. Solid par for Rickie Fowler, who stays at +1. And a birdie for Aaron Baddley, who has had an eventful morning so far, at 5. He moves back to -1.
Updated
One of the co-leaders, Matt Kuchar, is out. He pars the opening hole with ease, though he’s in a bit of bother down 2, having driven into deep, deep rough down the right, the long grass grabbing the hosel of his club when he tries to hack out of it. He’s well short of the green, and left with a difficult chip over a bunker, the green behind it warped like an LP left out in the sun. He does very well to bump his ball up to 15 feet. But the par putt slides by on the right. No escape. He falls off the top of the leader board, back to -4. A pair of opening pars meanwhile for his partner Richie Ramsay, who stays at -2.
-5: Spieth, Koepka
-4: Kuchar (2), Schwartzel
-3: Connelly (8), Casey (2), Hoffman (1), Cabrera-Bello, Poulter, Thomas, Bland
BREAKING NEWS: The lower section of one of the Open’s iconic yellow scoreboards has been closed “due to nesting bird”. Ah the unique bucolic delights of the Open Championship. Compare and contrast to Croc v Snake at the 2012 PGA. Hey, golf’s a world game, and a broad church.
Another fine par for Austin Connelly, whose tee shot at 7 unluckily bounded straight right off the green and into sand. A delicate splash to a couple of feet, and that’s a wonderful up and down. He remains at -3, and it looks as though golf has another hot young talent on its hands. They just keep on coming. As for poor Paul Casey, twice Connelly’s age, a shot goes at 2, the result of a poor drive down the left, a second sent into sand, and a short splash out. He’s back to -3. Pars for Adam Scott and Rickie Fowler, the former a good scramble after playing the hole poorly, Fowler a miserable birdie miss after a glorious drive and easy wedge to eight feet.
A solid start this morning by Austin Connelly, the 20-year-old Open debutant. Six pars in a row for Jordan Spieth’s good friend, born in Dallas, Texas but representing Canada. A lovely up and down from the side of 6, chipping delicately from a tight lie to a couple of feet. But the wind is otherwise causing a bit of bother so far. There are only two players under par for their round so far today: Zach Johnson, who has birdied 2 to move to +4, and Tyrrell Hatton, who bogeyed 1, but holed out from a bunker at 2 and has followed that up with another birdie at 3. He’s +4 as well. Aaron Baddeley was under par for his round after an opening-hole birdie, but the 3rd became a world of pain as he hacked his way down the left. He couldn’t get up and down from the wrong side of a cart path, and a double crashes him down to level par.
♫ Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Paul Casey, happy birthday to yo-o-o-oooou ♪ The English nearly man, 40 today, clatters his opening drive on top of the grassy mound to the left of the 1st. His second is arrowed straight at the flag, but there’s no spin on the ball from the rough, and he’s got a 25mph wind coming behind him. So that one’s through and over the green. His partners Adam Scott and Rickie Fowler just about hold the putting surface with their approaches. All three will be coming at the hole from the back of the green. And all are a wee bit short with their birdie efforts. Casey, Scott and Fowler are -4, -1 and +1 respectively.
A miserable 75 for the 2015 champ Zach Johnson yesterday. He nearly starts his second round in depressing fashion, too, fluffing a pitch from the back of the 1st green. But he trundles in a 20-foot par saver, and stays at +5. A big smile as he departs the scene of the smash-and-grab. Pars too for his partners Jason Day, wearing more conventional shoes by the looks of it, as opposed to the ones he bought off Jimmy from Seinfeld, and Sergio Garcia, neither quite hitting long birdie putts. They’re -1 and +3 respectively.
Andrew Johnston hit the first shot of the second day’s play. It was a marked improvement on the 1998 champion Mark O’Meara’s effort yesterday, staying within the bounds of Royal Birkdale. A par, and then another four, before a short second into the difficult 6th was followed up by a weak putt. Bogey, and then a second timid three-putt bogey at the par-three 7th. He’s suddenly dropped to +1 for the tournament. Beef’s out and about with 2004 winner Todd Hamilton, who is now propping up the entire field. He shot 79 yesterday, and has already carded four bogeys today, at 1, 2, 5 and now 7. He’s +13. O’Meara, who ended up with an 81 yesterday, is out just before midday, and will be hoping to get round before the worst of the weather comes in. The battle to avoid last place will be grimly fascinating.
Something to clear up from last night, regarding Jon Rahm, who’ll be out this morning with a view to bothering the upper reaches of the leader board. He hit an astonishing shot last night from the rough down the left of 17. Powering out, it looked like he’d sent his ball towards the bunker front right, but instead of going in, the cheeky little dappled orb traversed the rim of the trap, right to left, and was thrown on the green and towards the hole by the shoulder. It set up what looked like a birdie. But then confusion reigned, as initially he was put down for a double-bogey seven, then a six. Turns out he’d moved a thorny plant, assuming it was loose, only to find it was attached some three feet away. The rules official gave him a two-stroke penalty for improving his lie - but after some discussion moving forward, also involving his playing partner Lee Westwood, Rahm’s innocence was decided upon, and the penalty lifted. Rahm of course was involved in a ball-marking brouhaha at the Irish Open, where he again got the benefit of the doubt. And Westwood was a bystander during the Dustin Johnson ball-oscillating brouhaha at the US Open last year. Small world, golf. Anyway, Rahm ended up carding a birdie, he’s -1 going into the second round, and we all move on.
The weather is likely to be a huge factor today, to the probable advantage of the earlier starters. So that’s good news for, say, Rory McIlroy if he wants to haul himself back into this championship. But not so good for Jordan Spieth, who shot a faultless 65 yesterday, but is likely to cop for some high wind and heavy rain. That doesn’t mean the morning starters have it all their own way: south-easterlies of 10mph could rise as much as 35mph at times. But the lads out later will be dealing with 20mph to 40mph, with increasing chances of heavy rain, especially after 4pm. That’s not going to be particularly fair on Spieth or Brooks Koepka; Matt Kuchar on the other hand will be thanking his lucky stars. You’d take your chances with an early start all right.
Good morning! No need for preambles, let’s just get down to business, with the wind and rain expected to play a big part in today’s narrative, possibly to the cost of the later starters. More of that anon. Meanwhile, here’s how we stood after the first day’s play:
-5: Spieth, Koepka, Kuchar
-4: Casey, Schwartzel
-3: Poulter, Thomas, Bland, Connelly, Hoffman, Cabrera-Bello
And here are all today’s tee times:
6.35 am: Andrew Johnston, Adam Hadwin, Todd Hamilton
6.46 am: John Daly, Adam Bland, Connor Syme (a)
6.57 am: William McGirt, Toby Tree, Jamie Lovemark
7.08 am: Matthew Griffin, Austin Connelly, Matthew Southgate
7.19 am: Cameron Smith, Bill Haas, Callum Shinkwin
7.30 am: Michael Hendry, Brian Harman, Martin Laird
7.41 am: Ernie Els, Ross Fisher, Bernd Wiesberger
7.52 am: Tyrrell Hatton, Martin Kaymer, Aaron Baddeley
8.03 am: Zach Johnson, Jason Day, Sergio Garcia
8.14 am: Andy Sullivan, Joost Luiten, David Lipsky
8.25 am: Rickie Fowler, Adam Scott, Paul Casey
8.36 am: Matt Kuchar, Richie Ramsay, Ryan Fox
8.47 am: Kevin Kisner, Charley Hoffman, David Drysdale
9.03 am: Jimmy Walker, Hideto Tanihara, Thorbjorn Olesen
9.14 am: Jhonattan Vegas, Brandon Stone, Sean O’Hair
9.25 am: Daniel Berger, Pablo Larrazabal, Yuta Ikeda
9.36 am: Paul Lawrie, Kevin Chappell, Yusaku Miyazato
9.47 am: Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Charl Schwartzel
9.58 am: Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed, Lee Westwood
10.09 am: Phil Mickelson, Francesco Molinari, Marc Leishman
10.20 am: Scott Hend, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Bubba Watson
10.31 am: Paul Waring, Kyle Stanley, Kevin Na
10.42 am: Giwhan Kim, Xander Schauffele, Andrew Dodt
10.53 am: Haotong Li, Kent Bulle, Haydn McCullen
11.04 am: Jbe Kruger, Nick McCarthy, Ashley Hall
11.15 am: Ryan McCarthy, Laurie Canter, Sebastian Munoz
11.36 am: Mark O’Meara, Chris Wood, Ryan Moore
11.47 am: Phachara Khongwatmai, Maverick McNealy (a), Stuart Manley
11.58 am: Stewart Cink, Sandy Lyle, Jeunghun Wang
12.09 pm: Paul Broadhurst, Thongchai Jaidee, Roberto Castro
12.20 pm: Tom Lehman, Byeong Hun An, Darren Fichardt
12.31 pm: Soren Kjeldsen, Billy Horschel, Danny Willett
12.42 pm: Matthew Fitzpatrick, Steve Stricker, Emiliano Grillo
12.53 pm: Jason Dufner, Branden Grace, Bryson DeChambeau
1.04 pm: Alex Noren, Russell Knox, Ian Poulter
1.15 pm: David Duval, Prayad Marksaeng, K.T. Kim
1.26 pm: Younghan Song, David Horsey, Dylan Frittelli
1.37 pm: Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Charles Howell III, Shiv Kapur
1.48 pm: Russell Henley, Fabrizio Zanotti, Peter Uihlein
2.04 pm: Alexander Levy, Brendan Steele, Webb Simpson
2.15 pm: Wesley Bryan, Anirban Lahiri, Alfie Plant (a)
2.26 pm: Darren Clarke, Gary Woodland, Harry Ellis (a)
2.37 pm: Padraig Harrington, Pat Perez, Thomas Pieters
2.48 pm: Henrik Stenson, Si Woo Kim, Jordan Spieth
2.59 pm: Louis Oosthuizen, Justin Rose, Justin Thomas
3.10 pm: Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama, Tommy Fleetwood
3.21 pm: J.B. Holmes, James Hahn, Shane Lowry
3.32 pm: Richard Bland, Shaun Norris, Luca Cianchetti (a)
3.43 pm: Yikeun Chang, Chan Kim, Mark Foster
3.54 pm: Sung-Hoon Kang, Tony Finau, Matthieu Pavon
4.05 pm: Alexander Bjork, Joe Dean, Robert Streb
4.16 pm: Robert Dinwiddie, Julian Suri, Adam Hodkinson
Help! Dr Golf! Cold towels! Losing it here!
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