Here’s how the leaderboard looks at the end of Moving Day. This is the world number one’s title to lose … and he doesn’t give up 54-hole leads, having converted all of his last ten on Tour into victory, a run that includes the 2024 Masters and the 2025 PGA Championship. What a player. The chasing pack will need the best of luck. Thanks for reading, and join us tomorrow!
-14: Scheffler
-10: Li
-9: Fitzpatrick
-8: McIlroy, Gotterup, English, Hatton
-7: Schauffele
-6: Henley, N Højgaard, MacIntyre, R Højgaard, Harman
-5: Clark, Wallace, Lindell, Reitan, Åberg, Rose, Hall, Westwood
Can you be outrageously competent? Does that clash? If we’re OK with it, that’s exactly what Scottie Scheffler was today. He navigated his way around Portrush with calm authority, attaining a level of brilliance that meant very little drama. He didn’t panic when the birdies didn’t come early on; he pushed on the accelerator with a quick eagle-birdie burst; he made a couple of staunch scrambles on the back nine; he sent one of the shots of the day into the long par-three 16th to extend his lead from Extremely Comfortable to Almost Uncatchable. He’s not world number one for nothing! Bigger third-round leads have been whittled away … but Scottie Scheffler is cut from different cloth than poor old Jean Van de Velde, who took a five-shot advantage into the final round of the 1999 Open at Carnoustie. Haotong Li, Matt Fitzpatrick, Rory McIlroy et al will probably require Scheffler to have an uncharacteristic off day if they’re to have any chance whatsover.
Scheffler shoots 67
His birdie putt never looks like dropping, but Scottie Scheffler doesn’t seem too worried. He tidies up for his par, and at -14 he’ll take a four-shot lead over Haotong Li into tomorrow’s final round. Par for Matt Fitzpatrick, too; a disappointing 71 and he stays where he began the day at -9.
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Both Scottie Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick find the 18th green in regulation. Neither particularly close, but they’ll have a look at birdie from 30 feet and 25 feet respectively. A warm ovation as they make the walk up to the green. But no golf fever. The gallery wants drama. Scottie Scheffler is just too darn good to deliver it.
Having taken his medicine, Haotong Li arrows his third into the heart of 18. Pin high, and an outside chance of saving his par from 20 feet. He gives it a good run, but it dies to the left just before it can drop. A closing bogey, but still a fine round of 69. He’s -10. Unless Matt Fitzpatrick holes out for eagle from 183 yards, Li will be going round with Scottie Scheffler in the final pairing.
Up on the 18th green, Tyrrell Hatton pars for his second 68 of the week. His playing partner Rasmus Højgaard misses a tiddler and finishes up with bogey. Rasmus is -6 overall; Hatton is a couple of strokes better off at -8, but wears the look of a man who knows he’s got no chance tomorrow unless Scottie Scheffler pulls up lame.
Scottie Scheffler very nearly drains a 35-footer from the front of 17. It looks in all the way before it slides a little to the left a couple of feet from the cup. The rest of the field will have been willing that to stay out. There’s not a great chance of catching Scheffler as it is; another shot would have made their tough task almost impossible. But he might not need it anyway, because Matt Fitzpatrick can’t get up and down to save his par. Meanwhile Haotong Li is forced to take his medicine and chip out from the bunker on 18.
Haotong Li walks in a 20-foot birdie putt on 17. He rises to -11, Scottie’s nearest challenger … but for how long? Because he carves his drive at 18 into a bunker down the right of the fairway. Meanwhile back on 17, Scottie Scheffler finds the front of the green in two, but Matt Fitzpatrick, who had sent his tee shot into the cabbage down the left, thinks he’s powered out into the front of the green as well … but the ball is grabbed by the slope to the right and looks to gather it into the bunker. It stops inches short. He’d have probably preferred that to topple in.
Scottie Scheffler’s drive at 17 looks like heading towards bush-related trouble down the left … but he’s battered it so far that it sails over the bother and into lighter rough past the bank. You make your own luck. Meanwhile up on 18, Harris English can’t convert his fine approach into birdie, and finishes with a round of 68. Bob MacIntyre has to settle for a 70, that eagle on 7 failing to ignite the round he’d have wanted. English is -8, MacIntyre -6. Scotland’s wait for another Open champion, stretching back to Paul Lawrie in 1999, goes on.
Scottie finally makes a birdie putt on the back nine! He smoothly strokes it into the centre of the cup, and unless something weird happens along the closing stretch, the world number one will be taking a big lead into the final round.
-14: Scheffler (16)
-10: Li (16), Fitzpatrick (16)
Scottie Scheffler with one of the shots of the day at the long par-three 16th. A low fade that enters the front door of the green and rolls up to 14 feet. Yet another good birdie chance coming up. Matt Fitzpatrick finds the back right of the green, a fine shot on its own terms, but distinctly average when put up against Scottie’s. Meanwhile Harris English also sets himself up wonderfully: an iron arrowed with precision, straight at the flag on 18 from 200 yards to eight feet. It nearly went in while rolling past, too.
Scottie’s birdie putt on 15 is dead straight. But he’s up and out of it quickly, walking after it in an irritated fashion. A wee pull. Another par, but unlike the ones at 11 and 14, which would have felt like birdie, this one will feel like, if not bogey, then an opportunity missed. He was hitting wedge from the centre of the fairway to an accessible pin. Hey, these are the blades of straw at which the rest of the field have to claw. Birdie for Matt Fitzpatrick, though, the first forward move for the Sheffield star on the back nine.
-13: Scheffler (15)
-10: Li (16), Fitzpatrick (15)
-8: McIlroy (F), Gotterup (F), English (17), Hatton (16)
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So then, the “inevitability” of Scottie Scheffler. He’s hitting gap wedge into 15 from 129 yards. A hard bounce, no bite, no spin, and his ball scuttles 23 feet past the hole. Let’s still not rule out birdie, though. Meanwhile up on 16, Tyrrell Hatton sends his tee shot over the back of the green, and he isn’t able to scramble par from there. Back to -8, his first misstep of the day.
Rory McIlroy speaks to Sky Sports. “Absolutely incredible out there … the atmosphere electric … [the eagle putt on 12 was] possibly one of the coolest moments I’ve ever had on a golf course … an absolute pleasure to play in front of my home crowd, my fans … I’ve tried my best … hang in there and stay in it … I played well enough today to think I at least have a chance tomorrow … look, Scottie Scheffler is inevitable … even when he doesn’t have his best stuff … he’s the complete player … it’s going to be tough to catch him if he keeps playing the way he does … if I can get the crowd going, hopefully he feels that a couple of groups behind me … you never know … I need to play a really good round tomorrow and see what happens.”
Scottie Scheffler hits a confident right-to-left sliding putt into the hole. Never missing. Got to say, it’s a par save worthy of a much louder ovation than the one it receives … but then again, if you announce that you don’t get particularly excited about your own achievements, it’s fair enough and only natural if other people decide to opt out as well.
Scottie’s chip into 14 is good, but not great. Straight at the flag, but screeching to a halt nine feet short. Another of those tests. He’s not failed us yet.
McIlroy in for 66
Rory nearly drains his long birdie putt. Perfect pace. The width of a ball wide on the right. He’s back in the hutch at -8, having strained every sinew to change the momentum of a round that looked to be going nowhere between holes 5 and 11. Scottie Scheffler may render it all futile on the closing stretch, but as things stand now, Portrush’s favourite son has at least given himself an outside chance tomorrow.
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Rory McIlroy’s tee shot at 18 flirts with a bunker down the right, but stops just to the left of the trap. He’s on an upslope, and can punch the ball into the green off the bank to the right. He’s left with a 47-footer for birdie. Justin Rose Country. So it can be done. Meanwhile back on 14, Scottie Scheffler dumps his tee shot into thick rough down the left of the hole. But it’s just another test for the big man to pass: although the ball’s deep in the oomska, he muscles it out back onto the fairway, advancing it close to the green. A chip and a putt, and he’ll be away with another par. You wouldn’t bet too much against it, would you?
Westwood back in 29, tying Open record
Par for Lee Westwood on 18. Such a shame his birdie putt, which shaved the hole from 15 feet, didn’t drop. Because he’d have broken the Open record for lowest score on the back nine. He took 29 strokes coming home today, tying the record set by Ryan Fox here in 2019. Previously, the record had been held by Eric Brown, who shot 30 on the back nine at Lytham in 1958. Westwood signs for a 69 – he was out in 40, so that’s very much a round of two halves – and he’s -5 overall.
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Scottie Scheffler’s birdie putt on 13 shaves the right-hand lip. Three of those missed now. He could easily be six clear. Meanwhile Haotong Li bounces back from the bogey at 13 with birdie at 14. He’s got second spot to himself, because back on 13, Matt Fitzpatrick lips out from three feet. Not the first time he’s done that this week. A costly habit.
-13: Scheffler (13)
-10: Li (14)
-9: Hatton (14), Fitzpatrick (13)
Rory gives his long birdie putt on 17 a good chance. Perfect length. But it’s always staying out on the high side. He taps in for par. But here’s why even that might not be good enough, and why he was so desirous of a big birdie chance: back on the par-three 13th, Scottie Scheffler clips his tee shot to 14 feet. Another huge opportunity for the leader coming up.
-13: Scheffler (12)
-10: Fitzpatrick (12)
-9: Hatton (14), Li (13)
-8: McIlroy (17), Gotterup (16), English (15)
-7: Schauffele (F)
Rory McIlroy carves a wild drive into the gallery down the right of 17. He’s fortunate it’s so bad; a little bit nearer the fairway and he’d be in thick filth. But he’s copped a decent lie, trodden down by the punters. That allows their hero to whip a wedge into the heart of the green. A huge roar. It’s a decent-enough escape from an unpromising position, but it’s hardly a birdie chance, and that’s what McIlroy wanted, if the slightly underwhelming look on his face is anything to go by. His expression is incongruous with the joy of his people, but that’s fandom for you. Still, he’s got two putts for par, and if he makes them, he’ll have got away with a spectacularly awful tee shot. So it’s swings and roundabouts.
Haotong Li makes only his second bogey of the week. And it’s a dismal one, a three-foot putt tugged nervously left, always missing from the moment it leaves the face of the putter. He’s back to -9. Meanwhile how about this late charge from Lee Westwood? Since the turn, he’s made six birdies in eight holes, at 10, 11, 12, 14, 15 and now 17! He’d be onto something here … had he not gone out in 40. Still, he’s two under for his round and -5 overall. Pars meanwhile for Scottie Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick at 11.
Bob MacIntyre calms down by the time he reaches the greenside bunker he’s found on 14. That doesn’t stop him hitting a hot one out of it. The ball flies over the green and ends up in a swale on the far side. He nearly makes the putt coming back up, but that’s a bogey that drops Oban’s finest back to -6.
A brilliant up and down from an unpromising position on the par-three 16th by Rory McIlroy. Having carved his tee shot down the rough-strewn bank to the right, it’s all he can do to avoid a flyer and find the centre of the green. Or so you’d think. Instead he elegantly swishes out to a couple of feet, and tides up for his par. He remains at -8. Meanwhile scenes on 18, where Justin Rose tramlines a 50-footer from off the green for a closing birdie! He raises both arms in jubilation and soaks up the love from the crowd. It’s not quite Birkdale in 1997, but it’s another great moment for one of the game’s most popular players. A 68 and last year’s runner-up is -5 overall.
… but it was bogey for Matt Fitzpatrick, who was unable to get up and down from a much easier position, the fringe at the front. The margins are small, and yet so very big. And with Scottie Scheffler unwilling to cede an inch, others in the field are betrayed by their frustration. Bob MacIntyre pulls his approach at 14 into a bunker, and then spikes his iron into the turf with such force that it balloons 10, maybe 15 feet into the sky before coming back down to earth and landing apologetically. Oh Bob. What strength, though!
-13: Scheffler (11)
-10: Li (11), Fitzpatrick (11)
-9: Hatton (13)
-8: McIlroy (15), Gotterup (14)
Scheffler’s up the bank, knee high in grass. He swishes out of the filth beautifully, landing his ball softly on the fringe, rolling it up to nine feet. In goes the putt, a gentle left-to-right slider, and it’s fair to say he’s passed that test. Par. A small pump of the fist. Who says it doesn’t mean anything to him?
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A really strange unforced error from Scottie Scheffler. He’s in the semi-rough to the right of the 11th fairway. Just a wedge in from 149 yards … but he seems to lose his rhythm on the downswing, and ends up with just one hand on the club on the follow-through. The ball squirts off to the left of the green, and dunks into some thick oomska. This hole might be in his head; he’s bogeyed it twice already this week. His first big test of the day coming up.
A huge break for Rory McIlroy at 15. He hits a hot one out of some semi-rough down the left of 15. “Aw sit!” he pleads his ball. It doesn’t. But what it does do is hit the flagstick! The ball, stunned, drops dead a couple of feet from the cup, and in goes the birdie putt. Up goes the roar, and the home hero rises to -8 … one shy of Tyrrell Hatton, who comes up just short of the par-five 12th green in two, but chips up to kick-in distance to set up another birdie.
-13: Scheffler (10)
-11: Fitzpatrick (10)
-10: Li (11)
-9: Hatton (12)
-8: Gotterup (13)
-7: Schauffele (F), English (12), MacIntyre (12)
Scottie Scheffler misses another gettable birdie putt, this time at 10. But for a few millimetres here and there, at 9 and 10, he could now be four clear. He’s giving the field a chance, sort of. And up on 11, Haotong Li curls in a left-to-right 20-foot birdie putt to move into double digits for the first time. Li’s been solid and unspectacular so far today, but with two birdies and nine pars, he’s yet to take a backward step. And now he’s only three off the lead at -10.
Harris English has shown some moxie this week. Yesterday he hacked his way up 15 but managed to limit the damage to bogey, getting up and down from a bunker. Two holes later, he claimed the shot back. He’s done something very similar now, making bogey on 11 after whistling his tee shot into a bush and being forced to take a drop, then hooking wide left, before getting up and down to … yes … limit the damage to bogey. And now he’s snatched the shot back with birdie at 12! This is seriously impressive stuff from English, coming in under the radar and flatly refusing to go away. He’s -7.
Schauffele shoots 66
Par for the defending champion Xander Schauffele on 18. He signs for a 66 that’s whisked him from the middle of the pack towards the upper reaches of the leaderboard … and into contention? At -7 for the tournament, he’s probably left it a bit too late, unless Scottie Scheffler does him (and the rest of the field) a big favour at some point. Which simply doesn’t look on the cards … and the world number one’s just thrown another dart at another flag, this time at 10. Anyway, Schauffele is the new clubhouse leader.
-13: Scheffler (9)
-11: Fitzpatrick (9)
-9: Li (10)
-8: Gotterup (12), Hatton (11)
-7: Schauffele (F), McIlroy (14), MacIntyre (11)
BREAKING NEWS: Scottie Scheffler isn’t perfect. His uphill 20-foot birdie putt at 9 looks in all the way, but dies off to the right on the last revolution. He turns in 33 strokes, and remains at -13. Matt Fitzpatrick does well to hang around by getting up and down from off the front for his par. He’s -11. Also not giving up: Chris Gotterup, who eagles 12 to ping back up the leaderboard to -8.
Scottie Scheffler keeps on keepin’ on. Another approach, another iron to 20 feet, another birdie chance. He’s threatening to pull clear of the field. Bob MacIntyre isn’t giving up, though, and sends his second at 11 from 180 yards to 15 feet, before knocking in the birdie putt. He’s -7.
On the subject of slow play … which we were, a few minutes back … here’s Bryson!
Rory McIlroy gives his birdie putt a good rattle, but he hasn’t set it far enough out to the right. It’s always swinging across the front of the cup. He swipes his putter through the air in frustration. He’s piecing together a fine round, but he’s only made one shot on Scottie Scheffler, who is beginning to find some higher gears. Scheffler splits the 9th fairway, and there’s suddenly a bit of air taken from the atmosphere, as the best player in the world hits his straps. That’s not the brilliant Scheffler’s fault, but the gallery’s collective heart is pulling for Rory, and the heart wants what it wants.
Rory’s back on it! He whip-cracks his tee shot at the par-three 13th straight at the flag. A gentle fade, maybe. He sets up a 20-foot birdie chance. But a little bit of energy drains from the gallery as, back on 8, Scottie rolls in his birdie putt without fuss. After a quiet start, the world number one is suddenly making golf look simple. Golf is not usually this simple, like that’s breaking news.
-13: Scheffler (8)
-11: Fitzpatrick (8)
-9: Li (8)
-8: Hatton (9)
-7: Schauffele (16), McIlroy (12), English (10)
Rory’s second into 12 isn’t all that. Ball at the back left of the green, the pin front right. He’s 56 feet away. He sets his putt off down the slope. It’s sliding gently right to left. It looks like stopping, ten feet away. It looks like stopping five feet away, too. But somehow it keeps on going, and going, and going, and in! He raises his right arm, fist clenched, in triumph as the stand behind the green goes ballistic. A roar that could be heard all across the course. Possibly as far as Belfast. An outside chance of Dublin. He’s -7!
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Matt Fitzpatrick is a quick player. He doesn’t like hanging about. But he does here, discussing at length his 150-yard approach into 8 with his caddie. Eventually he pulls the trigger. Centre of the green, but nowhere close. Scottie Scheffler by contrast doesn’t hang about, and pings his second pin high. He’ll have a 15-foot look at birdie.
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Scottie Scheffler guides in the eagle putt on 7. Fairly straight, a little oscillation en route maybe. Fuss free, though. He wanders off, hand in pocket. Matt Fitzpatrick keeps him within sight by making birdie.
-12: Scheffler (7)
-11: Fitzpatrick (7)
-9: Li (7)
-8: Hatton (9)
-7: Schauffele (15), English (9)
-6: Henley (F), Gotterup (10), MacIntyre (9), Harman (7)
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Rory can’t rescue himself on 11 with a long par putt. Bogey, which to be fair he would have taken while watching his tee shot arc towards the bushes in which so many players have come a cropper this week. But he slips back to -5. Meanwhile back on 10, Chris Gotterup misses the green front right, and can’t get up and down to save his par. He’s -6.
Scottie Scheffler has been super-quiet today. [Flicks through book of old movie clichés] Perhaps too quiet. A run of pars up until now. But from the middle of the 7th fairway, he gently swishes his second from 206 yards to ten feet. A soft landing and a serene roll-up. That’s a trademark Scottie approach. Big eagle chance coming up!
No, there’s no problem there. Other than maybe his concentration has snapped, because having come up short of the green, he seriously underhits his chip, which rolls apologetically to a halt, 25 feet from the pin. Meanwhile while all that slapstick drama was unfolding, the defending champion Xander Schauffele guides in a long-range right-to-left swinger on 15 for birdie. That’s off the back of his two-eagle whammy, and from nowhere, the hero of Troon is right in it again! He’s -7.
A big stroke of luck for Rory on 11. He hoicks his tee shot towards the bushes down the right of 11. Quite a few have lost their ball there this week. But he clears the bush and lands on some ground trodden down by the gallery. He’s got a shot in … but then, when he takes it, and the ball disappears off towards the green, another ball pops up from under the grass! An old member’s ball that’s been buried there awhile, under the spot where his ball had ended up! What are the chances? Rory is half-amused, half-confused, and calls for a ruling. Pretty sure he can’t be penalised for playing the wrong ball, but then the rules of golf are notoriously byzantine, so let’s see.
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On Sky, Sir Nick Faldo and Razor Riley come to the conclusion that Scottie Scheffler’s 8-iron into 6 might have been a bit fortunate, on account of being nearly bladed. Because otherwise, they surmise, how would he get so much run? So birdie would be quite the bonus. Scheffler rarely looks a gift horse in the mouth, but his putt scoots past on the high side. Just the par. Matt Fitzpatrick can’t make his birdie putt either, and we all move on.
Neither Scottie Scheffler nor Matt Fitzpatrick find the green with their tee shots at the driveable par-four 5th. Unwilling to take the flag on with their chips, OB lurking behind the green, they end up with unremarkable pars. But both players find the back portion of the par-three 6th, the pin tucked away there, and they’ll have a look at birdie from 12 feet. Meanwhile bogey for Bob MacIntyre, the result of an unforced error, missing the green with wedge from close in. That’s clumsy, and he slips back to -6.
Sensational eagle at 7 for Tyrrell Hatton as well! But in a very different fashion to Bob MacIntyre! He wedges from the centre of the fairway from 139 yards. A crisp clip to the front-right of the green. The ball takes one bounce up the green, landing pin, high, before rolling left at a 45-degree angle. It stops on the lip at the front, and for a second refuses to drop, before succumbing to gravity. Hatton spins around and celebrates his move to -8. Quite a few players making their move on the leaders, with the final pair not exactly tearing it up.
Eagle for Bob MacIntyre! He creams his second at the par-five 7th from 245 yards to seven feet, and makes no mistake with his putt. His playing partner Harris English gets on in two as well, albeit nowhere nearly so close. Two putts later and that’s a more-than-acceptable birdie. The quiet, chewing-gum-fixated 35-year-old from Georgia going extremely well this week.
-10: Fitzpatrick (4), Scheffler (4)
-9: Li (5)
-7: Gotterup (8), English (7), MacIntyre (7)
-6: Henley (F), Schauffele (13), McIlroy (9), Finau (8), Hatton (6), Harman (5)
Another shank out of thick rough by Justin Rose! This time on 11. That’s two shanks in four holes! He can’t believe what’s just happened, and holds both arms out, palms up to the sky, the international body-shape for what-the??!!?? With exactly that number of question and exclamation marks. Very strange. Once again he does extremely well to gather his thoughts and limit the damage to bogey, but at -4 his chances of hoisting the Claret Jug are receding. Not least because – and admittedly there are no official R&A stats covering this – I’m not sure how many people have won the Open after two or more hosel rockets during the week.
Henley shoots 66
Par at the last for Russell Henley. He’s the new clubhouse leader at -6. He’s joined there by Xander Schuffele, who cards his second eagle in six holes (!) with a long rake across 12. The defending champion, who has been on the fringes of the action all week, has suddenly inserted himself slap-bang into the story! Birdie meanwhile for Chris Gotterup, whose chances of becoming the first person to do the Scottish Open / Open double in consecutive weeks since Phil Mickelson in 2013 are increasing at pace.
-10: Fitzpatrick (4), Scheffler (4)
-9: Li (4)
-7: Gotterup (7)
-6: Henley (F), Schauffele (12), McIlroy (8), Finau (6), Hatton (5), Harman (4)
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Bob MacIntyre started slowly. Three pars, then bogey at 4. But he’s steadied the ship since. Bounce-back birdie at 5, having driven the green, then par at 6. He’s where he started the day at -5. In the following group, Tyrrell Hatton finds himself in almost exactly the same place MacIntyre had sent his tee shot, and having studied the line from the tee, nearly drains a 72-foot eagle putt. He cleans up for birdie and makes his first move of the day, rising to -6.
Speaking of Dustin Johnson … he’s in with a blemish-free 67 today. The ever-entertaining US star is -4 overall, sadly too far back to right the wrongs of 2011, when he whistled a 2-iron out of bounds from the middle of the par-five 14th fairway at Sandwich.
More frustration for Rory McIlroy. His second into the par-five 7th stops short of the green, and his chip up isn’t particularly close. He can’t make the birdie putt, and on a hole averaging 4.53 today, that’s a fair bit of ground ceded to the field. Par not ideal when you’re trying to make up ground on the world number one.
Scottie Scheffler looks to have hit a gorgeous iron into the par-three 3rd, landing a few feet from the pin tucked at the back-right of the green. But the ball takes one rotation too many, and topples off the back. The crowd woah and oh, clearly not wanting the co-leader to tear any further clear of their favourite Rory. It’s not quite Brooks-v-Dustin-at-the-2019-PGA levels of partisanship, but it’s audible, and you have to wonder if it’ll affect the genial Scheffler at some point. Well, he hits a heavy-handed putt up from the swale, eight feet past the pin. But then again, maybe not. He makes the one coming back without fuss. Par, which Fitzpatrick makes as well. They remain at -10.
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… and Fitzpatrick still has a share of that lead, because Scottie rolls his long eagle putt four feet past, then pulls the one coming back. It horseshoes out, and that’s a three-putt par that’ll feel like a dropped shot. It’s all happening … and that’s without mentioning how Brian Harman, in the group before, made a bounce-back birdie at 2 … then handed it straight back again with an egregious bogey at 3, missing a par tiddler. Harman’s partner Haotong Li picks up his first stroke of the day, and this leaderboard is going to move around quite a lot over the weekend, isn’t it?
-10: Fitzpatrick (2), Scheffler (2)
-9: Li (3)
-6: Henley (16), McIlroy (6), Finau (5), Gotterup (5), English (4), Harman (3)
-5: Clark (F), Wallace (14), Fleetwood (12), Rose (8), Hatton (4)
Scottie Scheffler looks Zen. That’s what happens when you keep golf in perspective, which is surely all he was saying during that pre-tournament press conference. Seemed unambiguous enough. He finds the centre of the par-five 2nd in two. But before he can line up his eagle putt, Matt Fitzpatrick – having paid his dues to the Golfing Gods at 1 – showcases his trademark moxie, bumping a chip from left of the green into the bank, and bouncing it gracefully into the cup for eagle! He joins Scheffler in the lead at -10, for a minute or so at least …
“Oh my god!” Justin Rose shanks his way out of thick rough down the side of 8, straight right. Miles right. Wedging in from nowhere-land, he can’t find the green with his third, but gets up and down from the rough. That’s a bogey that’ll feel like … well, a bogey, but it could have been a hell of a lot worse. He was in enough trouble off the tee, never mind after the hosel-rocket that followed. Staunch work. He’s -5 … as is Tommy Fleetwood, who birdies 12 to insert himself into the mix.
After Scottie tidies up on 1, Matt Fitzpatrick takes a worrying amount of time over a four-footer. It kinks out on the right. Opening bogey, and suddenly the gap at the top is two. Well that didn’t take long. The Golfing Gods perhaps giving Fitzpatrick a kicking there for his buggering about over the handshake back on the tee. Scheffler held out his hand; Fitzpatrick had prepared for a fist-bump. Fitzpatrick then waved his hand around before finally offering it to a faintly amused Scheffler. All in good spirits, though considering the pseudo-matchplay situation we have here, you have to wonder whether the ice-cool Scheffler, who stood statuesque while his opponent was clowning around, concluded that he’d just won battle number one.
“Rory’s going to get you!” trills some doofus in the gallery, as Scottie Scheffler pays no attention whatsoever, calmly sending his approach into 1 pin high. Two putts later and that’s an opening par for the 36-hole leader. He’s -10. As for McIlroy himself, he’s able to whip his ball out of the bank at 5 to 11 feet, but the birdie effort slides by the hole. The first look of genuine frustration on his face today. He remains at -6.
Brian Harman gets too cheeky with his bunker shot at 1. The flag’s only just behind the bank at the top of the trap, and he tries to land it close. Not close enough. Too close to the bank, though, and it gathers his ball back into the bunker. He’s very fortunate that the ball doesn’t roll into his deep footprint. He can’t take any chances with his second attempt to escape from the pot, and whacks out to 30 feet. He nearly makes the long putt coming back, but that’s a double-bogey six to start. He’s -6.
We have a new clubhouse leader: Wyndham Clark, the 2023 US Open champion. Par at the last, and he’s in with a 66. He’s -6, a mark he’s joined on out on the course by Justin Rose, who whips his fairway wood into the par-five 7th off a bank to the side of the green, then gets up and down from the swale in which he finds himself. That’s three birdies in a row for Rose, and a fifth in six holes! Some response to a three-putt on the 1st.
-10: Scheffler
-9: Fitzpatrick
-8: Harman, Li
-6: Henley (14), Rose (7), McIlroy (4), English (2)
-5: Clark (F), Wallace (12), Finau (3), Gotterup (3), MacIntyre (2), Hatton (1), R Højgaard (1)
Rory takes a shy at the short downhill par-four 5th … but leaves his drive out left and his ball disappears into thick cabbage atop a bank. Fingers crossed for a lucky lie. A mistake by Brian Harman as well, the 2023 champion golfer getting a bit too aggressive with a flag tucked behind the bunker guarding the front-left of 1, his ball hitting the bank in front and toppling back into the trap.
Chris Gotterup is in The Zone right now, having won the Scottish Open last week. He finds the middle of the par-five 2nd in two, and nearly makes the 30-foot eagle putt, the ball sticking awkwardly on the right-hand lip. He taps in for birdie that moves him to -6. He’s joined there by Harris English, who birdies 1. And the 2023 US Open champion Wyndham Clark, who has been struggling for form, is rediscovering it in style on the links. A tie for 11th in Scotland last week, and birdie now at 17, and he’s in the group at -5. A lot of birdies being made on a course with its defences, like the wind, down.
Another birdie for Rory McIlroy! He arrows his approach into 4 from 166 yards to seven feet, and walks after it immediately. He liked that. And he walks in the putt too. A third birdie in four holes, and the crowd are chanting Ro-ree! Ro-ree! It’s party time at the moment. Wild scenes. He’s -6. And Justin Rose is on a charge as well! He three-putted the opening hole for bogey, and perhaps that was something that just had to happen, because the shackles appear to be off. Four birdies in the next five holes! Rose is -5.
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Yeah, John Parry’s delighted all right! He has a quick word with Sky Sports, a huge smile on his face. “It was just a perfect 8-iron … best moment of my life, probably, definitely on a golf course! … with all the grandstands around, it was amazing … phenomenal … definitely an experience I won’t forget.” Even if there were no pictures, you’d know he was beaming anyway. You could hear the smile in every word. Such a sweet moment.
John Parry went 17 holes without dropping a stroke, making a hole-in-one along the way. But he couldn’t take it home without a blemish. His tee shot at 18 found sand, and he was forced to chip out. He couldn’t make up the ground, and that’s a closing bogey. But the sting will subside soon enough: an ace at the Open, and a round of 67 that whisks the 38-year-old from Harrogate up to -3. Parry’s best – indeed only – finish at the Open was a tie for 62nd at St Andrews three years ago; his best finish at a major is a tie for 28th at the 2013 US Open. He’s got a great chance to better those tomorrow.
Russell Henley was many a pundit’s dark-horse tip for this year’s Open. The 36-year-old Georgian was tucked away just out of sight for the first two days, after rounds of 72 and 70, and started today at level par. But now he’s troubling the leaders! Birdies at 2, 3, 7, 8 and 11, with just the one dropped shot at 6, and he’s just eagled 12, raking in a 30-footer to move to -6. Eagle putt for the defending champion Xander Schauffele as well, at 7. And it was asking too much of Rory to sink that long birdie putt on 3, but he gets close enough to tap in for his par.
-10: Scheffler
-9: Fitzpatrick
-8: Harman, Li
-6: Henley (12)
-5: McIlroy (3), Gotterup (1), R Højgaard, Hatton, MacIntyre, English
-4: Conners (F), Clark (16), Wallace (10), Fleetwood (9), LIndell (8), Schauffele (7), Åberg (5), Rose (5), N Højgaard (2)
Rory comes up a club short on the par-three 3rd. He’s on the green, but at the front, and the pin’s at the back. On Sky, the ever-excellent Rich Beem speculates that he might have been factoring in the adrenaline that’s surely pumping through his veins. He’ll need to drain a 60-footer if he’s to keep his birdie sequence going.
Rory McIlroy finds the heart of green at the par-five 2nd in two. He leaves himself a slow, uphill 28-foot eagle putt. He sets it off dead on line, but without exactly half-a-turn’s-worth enough juice. He bends over in theatrical frustration, but looks happy enough when he taps in. A birdie-birdie start, and suddenly he’s only five back at -5. Incidentally, he’s wearing a red Nike shirt. A signal that he’s determined to put in the sort of performance you’d normally associate with Tiger on a Sunday? Most of golf is played in the mind, so rule nothing out.
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Ludvig Åberg has also made a fast start. Birdies at 2 and 3 bring him up to -4. The 25-year-old Swede’s short major career is very much one of contrasts: runner-up at the Masters on debut, tied for 12th at his first US Open, seventh on his second visit to Augusta. But he’s missed the cut in both appearances at the PGA, again at last month’s US Open, and last year at Troon, where he shot 75-76. A tie for eighth at last week’s Scottish Open showcased his ability on a links, though, and now he’s looking good for another of those high-placed major finishes. Will he ever finish in the middle of the pack?
Rory McIlroy’s second into 1, from the middle of the fairway, is distinctly average. He’s left himself with a tricky two-putt for his par from 36 feet. Well, that’s how the average player would process it. The putt has a huge right-to-left curl, but he judges it to perfection, the ball dropping into the hole at four o’clock. The crowd – and it is a crowd, a huge following – erupts in wild celebration. There’s barely a flicker on McIlroy’s face. No histrionics, just one finger pointing in the air, as if to say: that’s birdie number one, let’s go looking for the next. The start of one of his trademark leaderboard charges? Let’s see! He’s -4.
While we’re on the subject of Bryson, this is a magnificent piece by Andy Bull. Every line a gem. Get on it immediately, if not sooner.
DeChambeau, just over 6ft, square-shouldered, shaped like a linebacker, looks like he’s been carved out of marble. In between shots, his body seems to fall like it’s been positioned for him by a sculptor. MacIntyre, on the other hand, is built like the bloke working the till in the chippie.
It’s been another good day for Bryson DeChambeau. Having shot 78 on Thursday, he followed it up with 65 yesterday, a difference of 13 strokes between rounds. He’s carded a 68 today, and it would have been 67 had his brilliant snaky 50-foot birdie effort on 18 not stubbornly stopped on the lip. It deserved to drop. Back on Thursday evening, it was fair enough to wonder whether or not Bryson’s style is compatible with Open success; he’s since pretty comprehensively debunked any doubts. At -2, he’s too far back this year, but these rounds will have boosted his belief ahead of Birkdale next year. Don’t rule him out.
Rory McIlroy arrives on the 1st tee to the usual Ulster ululations. Bedlam, bedlam, glorious bedlam. And he further whips up the crowd by cracking his driving iron down the fairway. No drama yet. So with the nation’s favourite son out on the course, and the leaders soon to follow, now’s a good time to take stock of how the top of the leaderboard looks …
-10: Scheffler
-9: Fitzpatrick
-8: Harman, Li
-5: R Højgaard, Hatton, MacIntyre, English, Gotterup
-4: Conners (F), Parry (16), Clark (13), Wallace (7), Finau, N Højgaard
-3: Spaun (12), D Johnson (12), Henley (10), Im (8), Glover (7), Fleetwood (6), Lindell (5), Schauffele (3), Åberg (2), Burns (1), Westwood (1), Bradley, McIlroy, Smith
Having announced Sung-jae Im’s blistering start with such a fanfare, the inevitable occurs. Bogey at 8. Just the one par on his card so far today. But John Parry is continuing in the right direction, following up his ace at 13 with birdie at 15. He’s -4 for the tournament, alongside Wyndham Clark, who makes his fourth birdie of the day at 12, and Matt Wallace, who’s made his fourth birdie of the round at 7! Yeah, there’s a score out there all right, for anyone whose irons are dialled in. If Scottie Scheffler’s driver behaves, say goodnight to the rest of the field.
… so there’s a score out there, if someone wants it. Corey Conners is the best of the bunch back in the clubhouse right now, having shot 66. The 33-year-old Canadian, who has never really done it at the Open before, is -4 overall, and that’s some good moving. And if that isn’t illustrative enough, Sung-jae Im is currently four under for his round through 7. And that’s with a bogey at 3. He’s made five birdies, at 1, 2, 4, 5 and 7, and is clearly of a mind to match his top-ten finish last year at Troon at the very least. He’s -4 for the championship.
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The weather report. Sunny intervals, not too much wind, and that’s been reflected in the early scoring, which we’ll get onto in a minute. There’s a chance the wind will pick up later, and there could even be some rain, but don’t bet the farm on any of this definitely happening, it’s the Open, it’s an Irish summer, the weather is what it will be. Rain very much likely tomorrow, mind.
Hole-in-one for Parry
Before we get into the thick of the action, let’s kick-start our day with a sugar rush: news of a hole-in-one! It’s already been a good season for John Parry: the 38-year-old from Harrogate won on the DP World Tour for the first time in 15 years, at the Mauritius Open; came second at the Kenya Open and the Alfred Dunhill, and tied for fourth at the Soudal Open. This might just be the highlight, though: a tee shot drawn into the 192-yard 13th which takes a couple of bounces and disappears into the cup! He’s warmly congratulated by his playing partner, the 1997 champion Justin Leonard. That matches the feat of Emiliano Grillo, who aced this hole during the first round back in 2019. Parry is playing in only his second Open, having teed it up at St Andrews three years ago, finishing the week in a tie for 62nd. He’s made a bigger mark this time.
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Preamble
Welcome to Moving Day at the 153rd Open Championship! After 36 holes, the top of the leaderboard looked like this …
-10: Scottie Scheffler
-9: Matt Fitzpatrick
-8: Brian Harman, Haotong Li
-5: Rasmus Højgaard, Tyrrell Hatton, Robert MacIntyre, Harris English, Chris Gotterup
-4: Tony Finau, Nicolai Højgaard
-3: Keegan Bradley, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Smith, Lee Westwood, Sam Burns
… while these (selected) big names missed the cut …
Joaquin Niemann, Jason Day, Ryan Fox, Zach Johnson, Kim Si-woo, Tom Kim, Tom McKibbin, Patrick Cantlay, Stewart Cink, Cameron Young, Min Woo Lee, Patrick Reed, Louis Oosthuizen, Darren Clarke, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Cameron Smith, Adam Scott, and Padraig Harrington
… and that left us with a tee sheet that looked like this (all times BST, GB&I unless stated). It’s on!
0935 Matti Schmid, Corey Conners
0945 Sepp Straka, Hideki Matsuyama
0955 Takumi Kanaya, Adrien Saddier
1005 Sebastian Soderberg, Henrik Stenson
1015 Thomas Detry, Jacob Skov Olesen
1025 Nathan Kimsey, Bryson DeChambeau
1035 Maverick McNealy, Thriston Lawrence
1045 Justin Leonard, John Parry
1100 Andrew Novak, Sergio Garcia
1110 Jesper Svensson, Francesco Molinari
1120 Riki Kawamoto, Wyndham Clark
1130 Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm
1140 JJ Spaun, Dustin Johnson
1150 Phil Mickelson, Jhonattan Vegas
1200 Viktor Hovland, Jordan Spieth
1215 Russell Henley, Antoine Rozner
1225 Romain Langasque, Daniel Berger
1235 Sungjae Im, Dean Burmester
1245 Matt Wallace, Akshay Bhatia
1255 Jason Kokrak, Lucas Glover
1305 Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Thomas
1315 Aaron Rai, Rickie Fowler
1330 Marc Leishman, Oliver Lindell
1340 Ryggs Johnston, Xander Schauffele
1350 Kristoffer Reitan, Matthew Jordan
1400 Ludvig Åberg, Justin Rose
1410 Harry Hall, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
1420 Sam Burns, Lee Westwood
1430 Jordan Smith, Rory McIlroy
1445 Keegan Bradley, Nicolai Højgaard
1455 Tony Finau, Chris Gotterup
1505 Harris English, Robert MacIntyre
1515 Tyrrell Hatton, Rasmus Højgaard
1525 Haotong Li, Brian Harman
1535 Matt Fitzpatrick, Scottie Scheffler
