DeChambeau hit with two-shot penalty
Bryson DeChambeau was controversially handed a two-shot penalty after shooting a 66 which had catapulted him into second place at the Open.
The two-time major champion was adjudged to have improved his stance as he attempted to escape from the rough earlier in his round – although officials accepted that the movement DeChambeau made on the fifth hole was not intentional.
The American had produced a brilliant birdie-birdie finish which he thought had put him in the final group for Saturday on seven under par. Moments after signing his card, he was informed there were issues with how he played the driveable par-four fifth and was taken out to the spot of the alleged infringement.
After several minutes of animated discussion, which involved the 32-year-old – club in hand – attempting to show R&A officials how he had played the shot, the two-time US Open champion was driven back to the recorders’ office with a face like thunder where further discussions were held.
DeChambeau made bogey on the hole but as a result of the penalty, his score was amended to a seven on the official leaderboard, meaning his round was adjusted to a 68 – dropped him from second outright to a share of fifth place.
“Bryson has been penalised two strokes for inadvertently improving the area of his intended swing, his backswing, when he was playing his second shot,” said R&A’s executive director of governance, Grant Moir.
The two-time US Open winner walked past waiting media – to whom he has refused to speak in his previous five major rounds – and headed straight for the practice ground. “I’m going to hit some balls,” was all he would say as he went to the range at 9.40pm. PA Media
Rahm avoids penalty for throwing club
Some more disciplinary news from Reuters: Jon Rahm got away with only a warning after throwing his club in frustration during his second round.
Rahm carded a round of 67 to sit four shots off the lead, but was sweating after his outburst following a pulled tee shot on the par-three 15th. “I didn’t think about it until I saw him (the official) on 17, and when he was walking up to me,” Rahm said.
The former world No 1 avoided a penalty, and is now only one shot behind DeChambeau. “I shouldn’t have reacted that way, but I did,” Rahm added. “I mean, you guys are acting like it’s every single hole. I get it. I had a moment.” Reuters
The R&A executive director of governance, Grant Moir, is reading out a statement: “Bryson has been penalised two strokes for inadvertently improving the area of his intended back swing on the fifth hole, his second shot.” He adds that DeChambeau “gained an advantage” despite accepting the action appeared to be incidental. “The player must not move, bend or break any natural object,” he adds, quoting from the rule book. “This rule applies even when there is no intention,” he concludes, before heading off.
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Here’s the updated leaderboard:
-8: Herbert (F)
-6: Suber (F), Young (F), Gerard (F)
-5: Burns (F), SW Kim (F), DeChambeau (F)
Bryson DeChambeau handed two-shot penalty
Sky Sports are now reporting that Bryson DeChambeau, who was sitting in second place, has been penalised two shots for “inadvertently improving his lie” on the fifth hole. The giant leaderboard at Birkdale has been updated, and an official statement is coming – presumably with a fair bit of fallout, to boot.
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Thanks, David. The word among the press pack at Birkdale is that DeChambeau will receive a two-shot penalty on the fifth hole – and in fact, the official leaderboard has updated, with the American dropping from seven-under to five-under-par – and from outright second place to a tie for fifth. Still no official announcement, though.
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Still no news on DeChambeau. I’m going to hand over to Niall McVeigh while I interview key witnesses/catch the shuttle bus home. He’s live in the studio and will bring you news when we have it. This has been David Tindall, the Guardian live blog, Birkdale.
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DeChambeau investigation continues
Well, that was quite the day! Lucas Herbert just misses out on shooting a 61 and setting the lowest ever score in a men’s major. And not long after he equals the previous best mark of 62, Sam Burns holes from a bunker at 18 to match it.
But, despite those incredible scores, Herbert’s lead is only one while Burns is in the chasing pack in tied sixth.
And then there’s the late twist involving DeChambeau. Zapruder footage shows him talking with officials after playing from hay at the 5th. His ball is buried. This could be a penalty, we just don’t know. As it stands, he’s one back from Herbert.
A few groups are still out there but no-one is threatening the lead. And it’s now official that the cut will fall at +1. Let’s do some housekeeping. First, a leaderboard:
-8: Herbert (F)
-7: DeChambeau (F)
-6: Suber (F), Young (F), Gerard (F)
-5: Burns (F), SW Kim (F)
And now a look at some big names who have missed the cut:
+2: Rai,
+3: Clark, Rose
+4: M Fitzpatrick, Hovland
+10: Spieth
Here goes Gerard with his par putt at 18. In it goes. Quite a roar although they’ve been bigger for a man called Gerrard in these parts. That leaves the American at -6 and tied third.
Breaking news: Reports saying the R&A are investigating a matter involving Bryson DeChambeau that occurred out on the course. Honestly, that’s all we seem to know. All a bit odd. Apparently, all will be revealed shortly.
Ryan Gerard birdies 17 to move up to -6 and tied third. The leaderboard now shows an Australian leading the way ahead of five Americans and a Korean. The latter is Si Woo Kim who has come home in 5-under 31.
-8: Herbert (F)
-7: DeChambeau (F)
-6: Suber (F), Young (F), Gerard (17)
-5: Burns (F), SW Kim (F)
A change of mood at 18. Suddenly the lights come up, the music stops and a voice asks if the owner of an Austin Ambassador Y reg can please move it as they’re blocking the entrance. In golf terms, that’s Fleetwood missing his birdie try and, more suprisingly, Rahm doing the same. The music soon kicks back in though as Fleetwood and Rahm clear the dancefloor while waving to the crowd following rounds of 3-under 67s. Both finish the day at -4 and in a tie for eighth.
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The fun at 18 goes up a notch! Fleetwood isn’t far away from holing his second, his ball running out to 14 feet, before Rahm outdoes him with a towering iron that stops four feet away.
Some funky stuff going on back at 17 where 2017 Open hero Jordan Spieth racked up a ‘9’ a little while ago. Now we see Si Woo Kim just missing an eagle try from distance although the birdie takes him to -5, four back.
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There’s a ‘party atmosphere’ on 18. “Walking along, singing a song, walking in a Hatton wonderland” is the song being belted out. Although I think they sang the same for Justin Rose in the previous group but just changed the name. Still, there’s no need for originality when you’re that many beers in.
Before Hatton finishes up, DeChambeau has a 15 footer for birdie. The crowd go silent as he stands over the ball but then erupt as it drops. A 66 for the two-time US Open champion and he’s alone in second. Bryson in full-on entertaiment mode today and it was great to watch.
Scheffler’s par putt from eight feet wriggles around the hole so he’s in the hutch at -4 and very much in it.
Hatton adds to the positivity with a par to complete a 68 which leaves him at -3.
Jon Rahm has flipped the momentum after that bogey at 15. He birdied 16 after an approach to three feet and he’s just missed an eagle try at 17 after two hefty blows with those popeye arms. That second straight circle on the scorecard has put him back in the top 10: tied seventh at -4.
Cheers for Rahm’s birdie are followed by a ‘BOOM!’ as Fleetwood follows him in for a ‘4’ of his own. Tommy to -4 and very nicely placed to make the fairytale home win an actual thing this weekend.
Bryson blasts another tee shot into orbit down the middle of 18. He deserves that after a smile and doff of the cap for Hatton’s birdie at 17. DeChambeau needs birdie to get into the final group of the day tomorrow. Time for a leaderboard update.
-8: Herbert (F)
-6: Suber (F), Young (F), DeChambeau (17)
-5: Burns (F), Gerard (15)
Lovely touch from Bryson DeChambeau at 17. To the side of the green in two, his only chance of stopping the ball is bumping it into an upslope and he executes the shot perfectly. The tap-in takes him to -6 and tied second.
But the biggest roars are for Tyrrell Hatton. From much closer, he also has to come over the crest of a hill but there’s no need for a tap-in here as his ball takes the rise, tracks towards the hole and drops. That’s birdies at 14, 15 and 17 for the Englishman, who makes a playful move for the crowd to lap up.
Scottie Scheffler? He plays a delicate chip from a sidehill lie but he’s holed nothing today and so it continues. The par keeps him at -4.
The Silver Medal for leading amateur isn’t handed out if none of them make the weekend. And, as it stands, all 10 are outside the cut line. There is still hope though. Irishman David Howard, who came through Final Qualifying at Dundonald Links in Scotland, is +2 with five to play. If he can pick up just one more shot, he’ll be through.
Warm applause for Justin Rose as he walks up 18 but there’s a sympathetic tone to it as, at +3, he’s going to miss the cut.
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Perhaps I’ve got it wrong and the roar was just someone’s TV belting out action from earlier. It runs in the family celebrating highlights. My Dad will often provide live reaction to a wicket even though it’s old footage of a Botham five-fer from 1981.
Although hang on, Min Woo Lee has just holed from 22 feet for a birdie at 18 that will sneak him inside the cut line. Perhaps that was it.
As Rahm stalls, fellow ‘rage guy’ Hatton makes it back-to-back birdies to join the Spaniard on -2. A wonderful approach over the top of the flag at 16 leaves him just over four feet and he pours it in.
Meanwhile, another big roar travels over to the Media Centere from the nearish-by 18th green. What happened there then?
As I walk back past the big TV screen in the Media Centre having just made a cup of free tea, I look up and catch sight of a furious Jon Rahm. He’s bogeyed 15. Combined with his par at 14 and he’s not a happy chappy. The Spaniard sits at -2 and will want at least one more birdie before the day is out.
DeChambeau’s birdie try from 25 feet across the 15th green pulls up just short. He grimaces but not for long. A tap-in par and then he’s touching hands with spectators as he files past and walks to 16, still at -5. It’s fair to say a few drinks have been consumed up in the stands in what is a very mild version of TPC Scottsdale’s infamous 16th.
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Next to play the par-5 14th are Jon Rahm (-3), Tommy Fleetwood (-1) and Jordan Spieth (+4). Rahm unloads an ‘f bomb’ after a poor drive that leaves him chipping out with his second while Spieth’s chip with shot three ends in a sandy grave on the opposite side of the green. Fleetwood putts up the side of a bunker with his third and it pulls to a stop four feet away. Outcomes? Two-putt par for Rahm, messy bogey for Spieth and a welcome birdie for ‘Tommy lad’ but only after his four-foot trickler does a dance around the hole. Fleetwood nudges up to -2.
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Despite nearly giving his driver a Basil Fawlty-style damn good thrashing on 14 after a vicious pull, Hatton trundles in his 10-foot birdie putt at the par 5 to get to -1. And there’s a birdie too for Scottie Scheffler, the pre-tournament favourite rising to -4 with a six-foot conversion. But Bryson misses the party. A leaked approach and modest chip combine for poor course work and result in a final mark of par.
England not reaching the World Cup final has avoided a mighty clash which the R&A seemed rather blasé about. But if you’re a spectator wanting to get away to watch Spain v Argentina, there’s not much leeway. Using a technique called ‘when did Scott Murray call the winner in the Guardian blog?’ I’ve discovered that, over the last five Opens, the champion golfer of the year was confirmed at 18:43, 18:24, 18:20, 18:40 and 18:36.
So add in time for players to get to the scorer’s hut, some TV interviews and a couple of blokes in brown coats and flat caps bringing on a wonky table to plonk the claret jug on and we’re getting worryingly near kick-off time.
Perhaps it’s therefore in everyone’s interest to hope for a winner who makes a quick and terrible speech. A candidate? Step foward Sam Burns, who could reprise his words from today. Despite shooting a 62 (a 62!) he came out with this: “I would say I’m not a huge fan of links golf. I just haven’t played well on links golf. It’s not something I’m very familiar with. I get to do it maybe once a year. I don’t know what to say.” Throw in a “thankyou and goodnight” and we’re good to clear off.
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Tyrrell Hatton hooks a tee-shot left at 14 and definitely thinks about standing on his misbehaving driver, leaving it in a tangled, sorry mess. He pulls out of the challenge but VAR are looking at it. The combustible Englishman has just one birdie and two bogeys today with five to play. At even par for the tournament, he has lots of catching up to do. Don’t presume he’ll unravel though. Hatton is in the McEnroe camp of being fuelled by his own rage.
Behind the scenes. The golf is on a couple of the TV sets in the media canteen but the sound is down, the airwaves instead filled by the sound of Bob Marley. It seemed very appropriate to be asked “just the one love?” by Sheila on the till when I purchased a kit kat. But when she then burst into tears and I replied “no lady, no tears”, it was hard not to think I’d missed an opportunity. Did the great man ever play golf? Not that I know of but you can buy a Bob Marley golf ball on eBay.
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DeChambeau is doing his best to bag a spot in Saturday’s final group. At 13, he launches a towering iron – apex height 107ft – to around eight feet. Perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself but if he holes that, DeChambeau will have the par 5s at 14 and 17 to go at. He’d need to shoot -7 to be Lucas Herbert’s playing partner tomorrow.
And… yes, I went a bit soon. His birdie try at 13 is always missing right. Still, birdies at 14 and 17 along with pars the rest of the way and -7 will be achieved. That’s presuming no-one else gets in the mix. Ryan Gerard is the one most likely to disrupt that plan as Bryson’s fellow American is also at -5 and still has seven holes to play.
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Scottie Scheffler is in Jack Nicklaus hanging around mode. The Golden Bear’s major tactic was to put himself in contention and let others make mistakes, those errors often induced by being spooked from Nicklaus’ presence on the leaderboard. It probably explains why Jack has 19 runner-up finishes in majors to go with the 18 he won. Clearly, not everyone caved in.
Anyway, Scheffler has made 11 pars and a birdie today. That’s good enough for -3 although at some stage he’ll have to push harder, won’t he?
David Howell, in commentary, describes Tommy Fleetwood as the ‘fifth Beatle’ as the locals roar a good approach. It sure is a lengthy list these days. Tommy has some John Lennon vibes or at least looks like one of the entourage that followed The Beatles and the Maharishi to India but I still think George Best’s mid-period Fab Four look wins it if the label is given to a sportsman.
At this point, I’ll trot out one of my biggest moments of incredulity: Hideki Matsuyama revealing at the 2014 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool that he’d never heard of the Beatles! Astonishing! It was bad enough that Rory thought one of them was called George Lucas or that Bubba couldn’t name any of them. But not to have actually heard of the greatest band of all time.
Bryson DeChambeau creeps closer to the lead with birdie at 11. The Open puzzle always seemed something he might struggle to solve but Bryson is now tied fourth here having finished tied eighth in 2022 (St Andrews) and tied 10th (Portrush last year) in two of the last four.
The roar at 18 is explained. It’s Jake Knapp holing one from off the green for birdie. It gets him to +2 but that’s not going to be enough, unfortunately.
Datagolf have a live prediction tracker and it reads:
Evs – 7.9%
+1 - 92.1%
+2 - 0.0 %
Thanks Scott. The Media Centre is a decent clip from the 18th but pretty sure I just heard a roar coming from that direction. Watch this space.
As you join me, Jon Rahm has just birdied 10 to get to -3. Official status: lurking.
Francesco Molinari leaves a 20-foot eagle putt on 17 ten inches short. Some slight disappointment etched across his face, but he taps in for birdie that takes him right into the thick of it.
-8: Herbert (F)
-6: Suber (F), Young (F)
-5: Burns (F), Molinari (17)
-4: Wallace (F), Cauley (F), Detry (F), MacIntyre (F), A Fitzpatrick (F), DeChambeau (10), Gerard (8)
… and with that, I’ll hand over to Dave Tindall. See you tomorrow for Moving Day!
A no-fuss two-putt par for Bryson DeChambeau on 10. But Daniel Brown can’t make his 20-foot saver on 18. A closing bogey, which of course will sting, but once he’s had a couple of draws on a calming ciggie, he’ll reflect that his eagle on 17 has done a lot to limit the damage of an otherwise disappointing day. A 71 to follow yesterday’s 66. He’s -3.
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Here’s a stat from Sky Sports. Yesterday the field collectively shot 224 over par; today they’re currently 45 under. A lot of that explained by the rough drying out: it’s a lot less lush having been baked under constant sun, and thus easier to swish out from. The low scoring may not stop over the weekend … although there is a slight chance of showers tomorrow. Winds getting stronger throughout the day, as they have yesterday and today, so Moving Day could be will be a blast.
Bryson DeChambeau needn’t worry about the face of the fairway bunker at 10. He’s got enough room to whip into the heart of the green, but doesn’t bother taking the pin on. But up on 18, Dan Brown has to chip out sideways. He wedges his third pin high, but will need to knock in a 20-footer if he’s to save his par. Meanwhile Victor Perez pulls a short par putt on 15 and slips back to -3.
Trouble off the tee at 18 for Daniel Brown, who finds a bunker down the right. The face shouldn’t be an issue, but the stance might. And Bryson DeChambeau also finds fairway sand, at 10, but his problem may be set by the steep face. More when we have it.
Bogeys for both Robert MacIntyre and Alex Fitzpatrick at the last. The former the result of a skied iron from the tee, the latter a drive yanked over some fences down the left. They sign for 69 and 67 respectively, and will start Moving Day at -4. A diminuendo end, but they’re both in the mix … as is Dan Brown, who rolls in his eagle putt to return to where he began the day at -4! Smokin’.
Tommy Fleetwood finds a fairway bunker from the tee at 8, and having been forced to take his medicine by splashing out carefully, there goes his first shot of the day. He’s back to -2. As is his playing partner Jon Rahm, but from the other direction, making birdie. Meanwhile Bryson’s tee shot at 9 ended up in a swale to the right of the green, not quite as bad as the dramatic camerawork suggested. A delicate little bump and run to tap-in distance, and he’ll be moving to -4 in a minute.
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Daniel Brown has struggled to build on his 66 yesterday. He’s currently two over for his round coming up 17 … but from 227 yards, he creams a long iron straight at the flag, the ball landing on the front portion of the green and rolling up to eight feet. He’ll have a huge chance for an eagle that would take him back to where he started the day at -4. Meanwhile Bryson DeChambeau goes for the green at the drivable par-four 9th, where Rory McIlroy got so close earlier … and sends one way out right that doesn’t look like hooking back as per the plan. More when we have it.
A careless three-putt bogey for Im Sung-jae on 16. Meanwhile bogey for Francesco Molinari on 13 … and an immediate bounce back with birdie at 14. And so here’s the state of the new-look leaderboard …
-8: Herbert (F)
-6: Suber (F), Young (F)
-5: Burns (F), MacIntyre (17), A Fitzpatrick (17)
-4: Wallace (F), Cauley (F), Detry (F), Molinari (14), Perez (13), Smalley (11), Gerard (5)
A couple of outrageous shots on the par-five 17th. Bob MacIntyre, whose drive took a lucky kick off the bank to the left of the hole, sends his fairway wood away to the left, and surely into the big bunker. But it somehow skirts around it on the outside, the camber after the trap taking the ball back into the green. Then he rakes in the 40-footer that remains! Talk about taking advantage of your good fortune! That’s exactly what you have to do if you’re to win the Open. Meanwhile his playing partner Alex Fitzpatrick, up against the face of the bunker Bob Mac had somehow circumvented, opens the club and absolutely hammers his shot up and out; it lands a couple of feet from the hole, an amazing escape from a very unpromising lie, in a bunker 25 yards out. He taps in for birdie, and both players move to -5. What drama! The crowd give it plenty.
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Jon Rahm tries he very best to salvage that par at 6. He powers out from the rough to the right of the fairway, from 70 yards to seven feet. But he doesn’t commit to the putt, which dribbles by apologetically. His second bogey of the day, and he slips to -1, much closer to the projected cutline than the lead. (The cut looks likely to be level par, maybe +1.)
So who is this unexpected presence sitting in a share of second on the current leaderboard? Andy Bull has your back.
Trouble for Jon Rahm on 6. His drive ends up in thick rough down the left, and unlike most of the trouble around Birkdale this week, the patch he’s found hasn’t been frazzled by the sun. It’s still lush and verdant. And so it grabs the hosel of his six iron, the ball squirting off to the right, across the fairway and into more rubbish. Serious work to be done if he’s to escape with a par.
Back-to-back birdies at 11 and 12 for Victor Perez, who inserts himself into the story at -4. The 33-year-old Frenchman, now a LIV golfer, is in good nick after the tie for ninth at the Scottish Open last week that got him into this championship. Meanwhile on 6, Bryson DeChambeau very nearly bounces back with birdie, but his 15-foot putt slips by on the low side. And Thomas Detry, after that 100mph birdie on 15, pars his way in for a 69 that sits very nicely alongside yesterday’s 67.
-8: Herbert (F)
-6: Suber (F), Young (F)
-5: Burns (F)
-4: Wallace (F), Cauley (F), Detry (F), A Fitzpatrick (16), Im (14), Perez (12), Smalley (9), Gerard (4)
Im Sung-jae makes one of the pars of the week on the par-five 14. His drive stops just short of a fairway bunker on the left of the hole. He’s got a downhill lie, but reckons he’s got enough loft with his fairway wood to get over the tall face of the bunker and have a shy for the green. Reader, he does not have enough loft. His ball slaps into the face and plops back into the sand. Trouble now, because he’s forced to take his medicine and splash out. He’s left hitting four in from 210 yards … and knocks it to 20 feet before curling in his par putt. That is preposterous. Magnificent viewing, and Im remains at -4. If he wins this tournament, they’ll roll the film back to that hole more than once.
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Bryson is wedging downhill, and downwind, from a tousled lie on the bank to the left of 5. He chops out as delicately as he can, and the ball doesn’t release, leaving a tricky 12-footer for an unlikely par. He nearly makes it, but the ball trickles off to the right as his knees buckle in theatrical angst. That would have been an absurd par, really, given not only the initial drive, but the trouble he’d found on the other side of the hole with his provisional, and the luck it took to find the first ball. Bogey is not a bad outcome. Meanwhile Scottie Scheffler screeches a chip from over a bunker on the left to a couple of feet, and that’s a birdie. Both of the USA’s stellar stars are now -3.
Bryson’s ball is under a mat of thickest rough. The average golfer would take one look and think NO WAY. The average professional golfer would think the same. But Bryson is a special one. He literally scythes through the reeds with his wedge, and powers his ball out, over rough, over water … and over the green, onto the grassy knoll on the other side. But that’s not the worst result all considered. On that evidence, Bryson may even be able to make a score around this place …
Meanwhile back on 4, the gallery goes wild as Tommy Fleetwood makes it two birdies in three holes. A 25-foot left-to-right slider that never looks like missing. The fast start he was so desperate for. He’s -3 now. His partner Jon Rahm can’t get up and down from a greenside bunker and slips back to -1.
Apologies to Bryson DeChambeau for the good notice of the previous entry. The golfing gods having been piqued, Bryson carves a wild drive miles right of the short par-four 5th. Over the water, and into the thick reeds. “I wouldn’t look for my kids in there,” Sky commentator Rich Beem observed earlier, when Viktor Hovland sent his tee shot in there. But look for it the spotters do, and it appears they’ve found it. That could be a huge break if so, because he’d hooked his provisional a ways left. Maybe the golfing gods aren’t quite so irritated after all.
Bryson DeChambeau sends a gentle draw into the heart of the par-three 4th and rolls in the 20-foot putt. He’s missed the cut in all three previous majors this season, but looks right back on his game this week. He might take some stopping. A birdie for Ryan Gerard on 2. And Bob MacIntyre has been quiet after dropping an early stroke at 3, but he’s just sent a 20-foot left-to-right slider into the cup at the par-five 14th, and he’s finally back where he started the day at -3. Some scoring opportunities still to come, so the chance to turn a bang-average day into a positive one remains.
-8: Herbert (F)
-6: Suber (F), Young (F)
-5: Burns (F)
-4: Wallace (F), Cauley (F), Detry (16), A Fitzpatrick (13), Im (12), Molinari (10), Smalley (7), DeChambeau (4), Gerard (2)
The 2018 champion Francesco Molinari fell off the radar a bit after his near miss at the Masters the following year. A lot of missed cuts in the majors. This is the 43-year-old Italian’s first appearance in any of them for a year, and he’s making the most of it. A 67 yesterday, and birdie at 3 earlier this afternoon. He finds trouble at 10, though, taking an unplayable in thick rough to the left of the green. He’s battling to limit the damage … but then chops out, his ball rolling 60 feet across the dancefloor and straight into the cup. A par that will feel like a birdie, perhaps even more. He remains at -4 overall and it’s good to see that infectious smile again. Think how happy Tommy Fleetwood will be for him, too.
Rory McIlroy, slightly deflated but putting on a brave face, talks to Sky Sports and kind of promises a devil-may-care firework display tomorrow. “A little better today … not as many mistakes … I played OK … I stalled a little on the back … overall a decent score … I look at the leaderboard and I’m a long way back … get off to a good start tomorrow and you never know … I’ve driven the ball really well … we’ll see what the wind does … when I can get it close to the green I’m going to try to do that.”
Im Sung-jae can’t get up and down from the side of 11, and the 28-year-old Korean slips back to -4. He’s joined there by Thomas Detry, who absolutely whistles home a 30-foot birdie attempt on the new par-three 15th. Had the cup not been in the way, that ball might have ended up near the site of the old par-three 14th. We’re only kind of joking; he certainly wasn’t going to die wondering.
A couple of popular birdies on 2. Jon Rahm walks one in from 30 feet, to great acclaim, though nothing like the cheer that erupts when Tommy Fleetwood, Southport’s finest, follows him in. It wasn’t quite as confident a roll, the hole requiring a couple of attempts to grasp the ball as it swivels around the edge, but it drops eventually and Fleetwood gives the air a little punch. So important to get a fast start after yesterday’s 69, which he admitted afterwards probably flattered his play a bit. They’re both -2.
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Sam Burns – who chipped in from a bunker on 18 to set the seal on his 62 – gets to talk to Sky Sports about it. “My finish yesterday was extremely frustrating … I was not very happy when I came off the golf course … I played a really solid round and then to bogey the last three holes … so it felt good to finish the way I did today … it’s a pretty tough little bunker shot so I was fortunate to land it where I did … it trickled in … I had no idea [about the record] … I didn’t realise that was the case … I was just trying to put a solid round together.”
He also makes sure to call his wife Caroline a “superhero”. The pair were expecting their second child Tuesday just gone, and Burns wasn’t expecting to play, but baby came early, on July 3, so Caroline encouraged him to give it a whirl. So in effect, he’s playing with house money, and as such could be very dangerous this weekend!
While Matt Fitzpatrick heads for home, his younger brother Alex is keeping the family flame alive. Birdies at 3, 5 and now 12, the latest reward for a downhill right-to-left tickler from the fringe, and he’s -4. At this rate we might have to start referring to the 2022 US Open champion as Alex’s older brother. Pars meanwhile at 1 for the afternoon marquee trio of Scottie, Bryson and Tyrrell. Not sure whether that sounds more like a firm of solicitors or a manufacturer of traditional luxury knitwear.
Rory McIlroy pars the last for a 67. Not spectacular by his own standards, and he’s not brought his best stuff at any point so far this week, but that’s hauled him back into the story after yesterday’s 72. He’s -1. He’ll need one heck of a weekend, though. Birdie for Xander Schauffele, who makes sure of his weekend participation with a 69 to follow his opening 71. He’s level par. But the third member of the group and one of the pre-tournament favourites, Matt Fitzpatrick, bids farewell after his second 72 of the week. He departs on +4.
Cameron Young fires a dart at the flag on 18, then cleans up from four feet for a closing birdie. His second 67 of the week, and the Players champion lurks ominously at -6. He’ll surely break his major duck at some point, so why not now? His playing partner Ludvig Åberg’s birdie putt shaves the cup, but he signs for a 66 and is firmly in the mix at -3. But the third member of the group, Wyndham Clark, leaves it all too late. Despite birdies at 15 and 16 and eagle at 17, the two-time US Open champion ends with par and a round of 70, which put alongside yesterday’s 73 is no good for the weekend. At +3, he’ll be away home.
Penny for the thoughts of the world number one Scottie Scheffler. He starts the day at -2 after a really strange first round: four birdies in the first six holes, then the remainder populated by ten pars and a couple of bogeys. He’ll contend with more difficult conditions than the Herbert-Burns collective, the wind having switched and picked up a little, but he’ll still back himself to go low today. Which is why, maybe, he slams his driver back into the bag after sending his opening drive into the rough down the right. Bryson DeChambeau, coming off the back of a 67, follows him into the thick stuff. Tyrrell Hatton, 69 yesterday, splits the fairway. This group should provide fireworks, one way or another.
Shane Lowry, who is about to find out that Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns have joined him on the major-championship 62 roll of honour, birdies the last. He signs for a 68, and the 2019 champion is positioned nicely at -3. In the group behind, Cameron Young birdies 17 to move to -5, and the reigning Players champ looks set for a productive weekend.
-8: Herbert (F)
-6: Suber (F)
-5: Burns (F), Young (17), Im (8)
-4: Wallace (F), Cauley (F), Molinari (6), Smalley (3), Hisatsune (3)
Collin Morikawa’s finish was as miserable as Sam Burns’ was sensational. The last four holes: bogey, bogey, birdie, double bogey. Back in 39, and what looked a very promising round for the 2021 champion has turned into an average 70.
Sam Burns shoots 62 as well!
They come in pairs all right! Sam Burns has torn around the back nine, with birdies at 10, 11, 13, 16, 17 and 18 to come home in 30 strokes for a 62 of his own! Burns, who came within a whisker of winning the US Open last month, didn’t have much of a record at the Open coming into this week, his best performance a tie for 31st at Troon in 2024. He’s made his mark on the oldest championship now! He’s -5, just three off Lucas Herbert’s lead.
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The record-equalling Lucas Herbert speaks to Sky Sports. “It was a lot of fun … those first 12 holes [when he was eight under for his round] … I dunno if I’ve played golf that well before … it was very very cool to experience that … experience the nerves coming down the stretch … everyone wanted [a new record of 61] to happen … I felt I kinda let everyone down on the last missing that putt … an incredible experience … something I’ll be able to remember for the rest of my life … feel like I’ve got a record at the Open … it’s really special.”
You’ve let nobody down, sir. It was a ride.
That round, though! Lucas Herbert becomes just the fifth player in the history of men’s major championships to shoot 62. Branden Grace broke through the 44-year-old barrier of 63 here at Birkdale in 2017, and that’s since been matched by Rickie Fowler (2023 US Open), Xander Schauffele (2023 US Open and 2024 PGA Championship) and Shane Lowry (2024 PGA Championship). Given that Fowler and Schauffele did it at the same US Open at LA Country Club, Schauffele and Lowry did it at the same PGA at Valhalla, and the year Grace did it at Birkdale, Li Haotong shot 63 one day later … well, these things have a habit of coming in pairs, is all it would seem. Who’s next?!
Thanks David. Did I miss anything important while I was away? No? Thank goodness for that.
Well, that was fun. Thanks Lucas Herbert. What a ride. Time now to hand you over to Scott Murray for his second round of the day. He’ll bring you hot news of Rory’s final few holes and much more.
Collin Morikawa has taken a couple of step backs after bogeys at 15 and 16 but there could be another twist. The 2021 champ has flushed two shots down 17 and has 13 feet for eagle. It stays left but a two-putt birdie gets him back to 4-under and into the top five again.
Meanwhile, there’s an Open going on out there. With Herbert chasing history, we’ve rather neglected the leaderboard. Let’s catch up now. Sam Burns making a move. Former Open winner Francesco Molinari also lurking.
-8: Herbert (F)
-6: Suber (F)
-5: Im (5), Brown (4)
-4: Wallace (F), Cauley (F), Burns (17), Young (15), F Molinari (4)
Lucas Herbert shoots 62 to match the lowest round in a men's major
Here goes Lucas Herbert to make history. It’s a hair over five feet. He’s been knocking those in all day. But, no! The weight of history proves too much. The head moves a little, the ball stays left and it’s a closing bogey. No record of 61 on his own but he’s now the holder of the joint-lowest score in the history of men’s majors, a 62. He matches the mark set by Brandon Grace, Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele.
As he walks off after his monumental round, Herbert leads The Open by two strokes.
Updated
Beyond those sunglasses, Herbert is still smiling. Those who know him say he’s never one to back off when getting a score going. You can say that again. Out in 28, he just hasn’t taken his foot off the gas. Bud Cauley is first to go with his own putt from off the green and shows great touch to knock it to kick-in distance. Can Herbert follow suit? It’s a good effort but he faces a four-feet or so knee-knocker to make history.
Herbert gets a free drop from the fences and that’s a significant break. The Aussie has a path to the green and the grass is growing with him so he can to the back of the ball. It’s 173 yards to the pin. The tension builds as his playing partners hit first. Here goes… it comes out a little dead, stopping some 30 feet short of the green. Not a bad miss though. Nothing in his way. Up and down for a 61. Easy!
Updated
A quick update on Rory McIlroy. Four straight pars on the back nine have kept him at even par, nine back. Cameron Young is stalking the leaders and he birdies 14 to move to -5.
Here we go at 18. Herbert launches his drive and carves one way right this time. It’s flirting with the out of bounds but kicks back near some spectator fences. He could well get a decent drop from there. This is on! Off he sets down the fairway, sharing a joke with caddie Titus Salt.
Here goes Herbert with a 10-footer to get to -10 for the day. Arghhh! A misread. The ball sets off left and never turns back. A par 5. Okay, a par at the tough par-4 closer will give him the record.
Out on the course, Matt Cooper messages: “Herbert’s caddie is local. His mate’s out here. I’m next to Herbert’s partner, Erika, on 17. Apparently he’s been in town for a week and played next door Hillside a lot.”
Herbert’s attempt to make 18-hole history is clearly the story but let’s not forget he’s leading The Open by three. Well, it could soon be four! From his sandy lie way left of the green he plays it like a bunker shot and does a marvellous job. Add in a bit of down the hill trickle and his ball finishes 10 feet away. Let’s do the maths again. If he holes that and pars the last he’ll shoot 60. Gulp! Two putts and a par at the last for 61. Oh, go on then, birdie-birdie and it’s a 59!
A reminder of those lowest rounds in a men’s major.
62 Branden Grace (2017 Open Championship, Royal Birkdale)
62 Rickie Fowler (2023 US Open, Los Angeles Country Club)
62 Xander Schauffele (2023 US Open, Los Angeles Country Club)
Lucas Herbert, after hitting the longest drive of the day so far at 17, hoicks his second way, way left. Is the realisation kicking in? Spectators scatter but he’s had some luck as the ball seems to be resting on a sandy path. Birdie maybe doubtful now but, remember, a par-par finish still gives him the record of 61.
Herbert, in white trousers, maroon shirt/cap and sunglasses, stalks his birdie putt at 16. In it goes! Never in doubt! That’s 9-under for the round and par-par=61 and the record. But, of course, the 17th is a par 5. ‘What on earth’s going on out there?’, as one of his famous countrymen used to ask.
I’ll tell you what’s going on – he’s just smashed a brilliant drive down 17!
Lucas Herbert looks his approach up and down at 16. You know when a golfer does that, the little twitches will soon reveal a very satisfactory outcome. And that’s absolutely the case as the Aussie’s ball lands, grips and ends up seven feet away. We’re very much on 61 watch, folks!
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Shane Lowry, the 2019 Open champion at Portrush, is going along nicely today. The Irishman birdied 1 and 9 while everything else through the first 13 holes has been a par. Lowry is tied 11th, five back. That’s a now a shot better than Robert MacIntyre, who has opened par-par-bogey to slip back to -2.
Up at 13, Rory has pumped a drive about 700 yards down the fairway.
The dream is still on for Lucas Herbert. His tee-shot at the lengthy par-3 15th wanders away off the green but he stays strong and holes his five-footer for par. Mission update: play the final three holes in -1 or better to shoot 61 – a record in a men’s major.
-8: Herbert (15)
-6: Suber (F)
-5: Coody (16), Morikawa (13)
-4: Wallace (F), Cauley (15), Reed (14), Young (12), Im (2), Brown (2)
Matt Fitzpatrick holes a big breaking birdie putt at 11 that topples in at the death. That’s the good news. The bad is that he’s still outside the cut line (+2, 97th). He was a popular pick this week due to his superb form in 2026 but go through Fitzpatrick’s Open record and it’s surprisingly poor. Fourth at Portrush last year was a good knock obviously but his best before that was only 20th. So that’s just one finish better than 19th in his 10 Opens.
A two-putt par for McIlroy at 11 keeps him at even par and tied 49th.
Updated
Lucas Herbert is eating a snack on 15, according to roving reporter Matt Cooper. Cornflakes? Has he copied me and smuggled his own in? Good to get energy levels boosted when trying to pull off similar feats:
a) Writing a Guardian live blog for four straight hours
b) Trying to shoot the lowest score in the history of the majors
Another Matt update: “There’s a fella in the gallery who got caught in the arm by a Bud Cauley shot. He’s gutted it wasn’t Herbert so he could say he got clobbered by the man shooting the best major round ever.”
Some quotes from Eric Cole who shot a 64 earlier today. Cole admitted he fell over when teeing off at 11 yesterday, the slip causing a double bogey in what went on to be a 6-over 76. It sparked this exchange.
Q. I take you you’ve never heard of Richard Boxall?
ERIC COLE: Why would I have heard of that?
Q. He broke his leg hitting a tee shot. He hit a tee shot on No. 9.
ERIC COLE: Oh, over here? I have heard that story.
Q. Took him off on a stretcher.
ERIC COLE: Yeah.
After two bogeys in his opening five holes, Thomas Detry balances the books with a brilliant eagle at 5. As it’s a par 4, that means a ‘2’ on the card courtesy of a smashed drive onto the green and a 12-foot conversion. The Belgian is back to -3.
As for our leader, the 14th is a par 5 of course so Herbert has some leeway. The Aussie needs to get up and down to save his par and he’s given himself a very good shot at it after splashing from sand to four feet. In it goes! He needs to play the final four holes in -1 to get a conversation going in the McWhirter household tonight.
Back-to-back birdies for Rory McIlroy! He smashes his tee-shot onto the green at the par-4 9th and has just 11 feet for eagle. Not to be but another birdie sees him out in -2 and going in the right direction. As he plays 10, McIlroy is even par for the tournament and eight behind Herbert, who is rather strugglng up 14. A note from our man on the course, Matt Cooper, who has just messaged me this: “I’m on 14. Noticeable that it has just got breezy out of nowhere.”
Jackson Suber posts new clubhouse target of -6
The overnight leader signs for a 1-under 69 to set the 36-hole clubhouse lead of 6-under. A bag of the mixed variety: five birdies and four bogeys. Still, to follow up that opening 65 with another round in the 60s is strong stuff from the American who is playing on a UK links for the very first time.
Notes from my eight-minute walk outside.
1/ The wind has definitely picked up. Flags fluttering and sometimes in different directions. Like the 12th tee at Augusta, you don’t quite know which way’s it’s swirling.
2/ I had a brief chat with caddie Billy Foster by the putting green. He’s a friend (we live near each other around Saltaire, West Yorks) so, given the running joke about Lucas Herbert’s caddie looking like Titus Salt, it seemed very appropriate to be discussing the leader. “Lucas Herbert eh, 8-under, we’ve seen what happens on LIV when he gets on a roll,” said Billy. I only keep half an ear on LIV but just checked to see that Herbert opened 64-63 when winning LIV Golf Virginia at Trump International in May.
3/ Billy is on Matthew Southgate’s bag this week. I asked if the Englishman’s noteworthy 1-under 69 was an impressive one. “Scrapped it round, Dave. Managed to score well. Great spirit.”
4/ I saw David Duval’s caddie but not the 2001 Open champ himself. Herbert has Duval-style sunglasses on today. Not quite the black wraparounds that DD rocked, Herbert’s are reddish, but perhaps it’s a good omen.
So how did Rory get on there? I know the idea of this blog is me imparting info to you lot but hey ho. What’s that? He made birdie? Nice. Back to +1 I see. Hot putting green news coming up shortly…
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I’m going to stick my head out of the media tent for a few minutes. I’ll do it under the pretence of gauging the wind direction when, as you can guess, I fancy a screen break and a leg stretch.
As I leave my chair, Rory has just set up a good birdie chance at 8. He’ll have nine feet. Back shortly.
Another birdie for Lucas Herbert! That’s eight for today! It’s like putting a marble into a bucket for the Aussie. This latest swish of the blade converts his 12-footer at 12.
Let’s work this out. This is a par 70 and he’s -8. If he pars in, that’ll be a round of 62 which would match the joint-lowest round in majors history. Are we looking at a 61? A 60? We can’t have a 59 in a major, surely. This isn’t the Travelers Championship. This is Royal Birkdale. Watch this space.
To bring him back to earth a little, Herbert’s lead is still only two as Jackson Suber delivers a birdie of his own after two-putting from 59 feet at the par-5 17th.
As Lucas Herbert and Titus Salt-lookalike caddie, Nick Pugh, make merry around Royal Birkdale, here’s the leaderboard. Collin Morikawa looking like a big dangerman. The 2021 Open champ has gone out in 31 after holing a 15-footer for birdie at 9 to move into a tie for second. Also note that The Players Championship winner, Cameron Young, has snuck up to tied fifth.
-7: Herbert (11)
-5: Suber (16), Cauley (11), Morikawa (9)
-4: Wallace (F), Coodey (12), Young (8), Im (-), Brown (-)
While McIlroy and Fizpatrick get buffeted around by the vagaries of links golf, Lucas Herbet is making this look a doddle. A seventh birdie of the day, this one at 11, takes him to the giddy heights of -7. That’s two clear of Jackson Suber and Bud Cauley.
I caught a glimpse of Cauley yesterday when walking the course and couldn’t help but notice how tiny he is. I guess being surrounded by strapping types such as Ludvig Aberg doesn’t help when you’re 5ft 7in. Cauley has other ways to win a round of Top Trumps though and last month’s Canadian Open champion is playing some superb golf so far this week.
Matt Fitzpatrick is aghast as he gets a flier from rough at the par-4 6th. “Of course it does. Of course everyone’s comes out like that,” he chunters sarcastically. His ball rockets through and off the green. Rory is also hitting from hay and it’s a classic wrap around the hosel job as his approach is tugged way left. Both are currently in a tie for 67th so have work to do to even make the cut never mind getting in contention.
Fitzpatrick’s third doesn’t quite creep onto the green and his fourth comes up short too. Six feet short. Thankfully he knocks the bogey putt in. Playing partner McIlroy leaves himself a 10-footer for par but it’s always drifting right. With his hand, he makes the motion of the way his putt travelled and lets out a sigh. McIlroy and Fitzpatrick are now tied 90th. Should those hoping to watch them this weekend be concerned?
Great diary entries from Michael Kim yesterday. He’s the best golfer to follow on social media for those who love little insights and reflections. Here’s a sample from the American’s opening round yesterday.
“+3…. Rubbish as they say around here.”
“It is a really cool walk to 1 tee. Each yr I feel like I’m walking into the Roman coliseum. It’s amazing how quiet it got when I got over the ball. Shoutout to all the fans that came out by 645.”
“Btw… IMG rented the house next to mine and had a party with live music and club music until 1130 last night even though they assured us it would be til 10pm… I hope their players get some bad lies in the rough.”
After a two-putt par at 4, McIlroy has nine feet for birdie at the short par-4 5th hole. Matt Fitzpatrick shows him the way by draining his 16-footer to return to +1 but Rory’s attempt drifts right. He looks back at the hole, shooting it quite a stare. A really good birdie opportunity missed.
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Lucas Herbert matches all-time record Open nine of 28
My word! Lucas Herbert holes one for birdie from off the green at 9 and he’s out in a ludicrous 28. That matches Denis Durnian’s all-time low for nine holes of golf at an Open. In a nice piece of symmetry that also came at Birkdale in round two (1983). Durnian went on to finish tied eighth but his Open record is bizarre. The man from Wigan played in 11 Opens and missed the cut in 10 of them. To say 1983 was an outlier is something of an understatement.
Anyway, that amazing burst of scoring has taken Herbert to -6, a shot clear of Jackson Suber, who has just birdied the 14th.
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Matt Wallace leads in the clubhouse with -4
Matt Wallace tickles in a par putt at 18 to post the clubhouse lead of -4. Great save after he had to play his third from an extremely awkward stance from a greenside bunker. The 36-year-old traded five birdies with two bogeys today and, as we speak, he’s in a tie for second place, a spot behind Lucas Herbert. Still a bonkers stat that no Englishman has won The Open on English soil since Tony Jacklin at Lytham in 1969.
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The hot man on the course right now is Patrick Reed. This is his scorecard: birdie, birdie, par, birdie, par, birdie, birdie. That seven-hole burst has lifted the former Masters winner to 3-under and just two back.
Rory has a 25-footer for birdie on Birkdale’s opening par 3 but his double breaker at 3 doesn’t go back the other way in time. A safe par but Fitzpatrick bogeys to drop to +2.
I felt envious eyes on me in the media canteen earlier. Options for early tucker are a cooked breakfast with all the works or a bit of fruit/yoghurt. But what about cereal lovers? They live among us more than we think. I smuggled in two small boxes of cornflakes from a variety pack and and could see grown men - just men - drooling as I poured them into a soup bowl I had to ask for. #winning
Eric Cole shoot 64
Eric Cole completes a 6-under 64 – the lowest round of the week so far. The American journeyman has jumped 97 spots to 45th with that superb lap of Royal Birkdale. Seven birdies and a single bogey today and he’ll surely be rueing yesterday’s opening 76. Some effort to get back to even par though and that’ll be two cuts out of two in this event. He was 31st on his Open debut at Royal Troon in 2024.
Summary
A leaderboard update. Very much day two stuff you would imagine with a variety of surprise names swapping places at the top. Perhaps -3 is where the real lead lies. Ryder Cup stars Collin Morikawa and Cameron Young are both on that mark after five and three holes respectively this morning.
-5: Herbert (7)
-4: Wallace (17), Norris (13), Suber (13), Coody (8), Im (-), Brown (-)
McIlroy splits the fairway a the 3rd. He has 182 yards in but it’s not his best. A shot where he lets out one of those Rory sighs as the ball ends a long way left of where he was aiming. It’s on the dancefloor but he’ll be putting from over 40 feet away.
Meanwhile, Herbert goes to -5 for the day and the tournament after draining a 35-footer for birdie at 7. He hands his putter to Titus Salt/Pughy with a broad smile. And suddenly the Aussie leads on his own as Suber and Norris both drop shots at 13.
Wandering around the course this week I can’t stop catching sight of Lucas Herbert’s caddie. I live in Saltaire, West Yorkshire, the creation of Titus Salt. Herbert’s caddie, Nick Pugh, has a long, white fluffy beard absolutely in the Titus style. His man Herbert is just one off the lead after four early birdies today so look out for ‘Pughy’ in the coverage.
Matt Fitzpatrick rolls in a 12-footer at 2 to get himself to +1. Or, through a sibling lens, to within a shot off his brother Alex. And, perhap lifted by seeing a white ball going into a little hole after being hit with a stick, McIlroy converts his seven-footer so he’s also back to +1. That’s more like it. Rory is 36th in Strokes Gained: Putting on the PGA Tour this year so yesterday’s mishaps on the greens were out of character.
Rory McIlroy has just 58 yards left at this 414-yard second. He nips a wedge that settles down seven feet from the hole. The first leg of his bid to get into red figures for the tournament this morning? Lots of slumped shoulders from McIlroy yesterday with short putt after short putt missing so this will be a confidence builder if he can knock it in.
Up at 12, Norris birdies and ties the lead with Suber at -5. An unlikely pair of pacesetters.
Updated
Thanks Scott. And good morning from Royal Birkdale. I’ve just walked the first hole and, blimey, it’s busy. There’s a bottleneck down the left side of the fairway which was tricky to negotiate with Rory in the vicinity. Beautiful day out there. A very light breeze.
Jackson Suber throws a bit of a hissy fit as he sends a short iron into 11. He considers burying the hosel of his club into the ground, but checks himself just in time. No idea why he’s so vexed: he’s pin high, 20 feet to the left. And then he rolls in the birdie putt. This is a seriously impressive response to that earlier sticky patch from the unheralded young American. He’s back to where he started the day! Meanwhile more birdies for Shaun Norris and Lucas Herbert, at 11 and 5 respectively, and here’s how the top of the leaderboard looks like now …
-5: Suber (11)
-4: Wallace (15), Norris (11), Coody (7), Herbert (5), Im, Brown
… and with that, I’ll hand you over to your friend and mine, Mr David Tindall. See you again later!
Rory McIlroy is out and about. On the 1st green in regulation, facing an 18-foot birdie putt. He doesn’t hang about taking it, but it’s always missing on the right. Still, he got the pace pretty much spot on, which was his big problem yesterday. He remains at +2.
Updated
So much for giving Cameron Young the big build-up. He knifes a chip from tousled greenside rough at the 1st a good 12 feet past. He can’t make the one coming back and slips to -2. His playing partner, the new US Open champion Wyndham Clark, takes putter from a similar lie … and holes it. Birdie, and it’s nice to hear the gallery give him a warm reception as he moves to +2. A big smile on his face … which then quickly disappears as he flays his tee shot at 2 into thick cabbage down the left … but you get the general point.
Jackson Suber gets moving in the right direction again! After that miserable sequence towards the back end of the front nine, the overnight leader warms that misbehaving putter at long last. He rolls in a 20-footer for birdie at 10, and he reclaims a share of top spot at -4.
The veteran South African Shaun Norris is going well. Birdies at 5 and now 9 sees him hit the turn in 32. He’s -3 and, capitulation notwithstanding, is well on course to snap a run of four consecutive missed cuts at the Open. Also at -3: the 2021 champ Collin Morikawa, who rolls in a 50-foot left-to-right swinger from the fringe at the back of 2.
-4: Wallace (13), Coody (5), Im, Brown
-3: Norris (9), Suber (9), Cauley (4), Herbert (4), Morikawa (2), C Young, Detry, MacIntyre, Molinari, Smalley, DeChambeau, Gerard, Daffue
The Players champion Cameron Young sends his opening tee shot towards the rough down the left … but gets a fortunate bounce back out onto the short stuff. The 29-year-old New Yorker, who came second in this championship at St Andrews in 2022, is surely a major champion in waiting, having also finished high at the Masters, PGA and US Open. Yes, we said this sort of thing about Rickie Fowler and Colin Montgomerie also, but it’s way too early for that sort of defeatist talk. A 67 yesterday, and perhaps this, finally, is his time. We’ll know a lot more in the next couple of hours.
Lucas Herbert picks up the consecutive-birdie baton from Eric Cole. The 30-year-old Aussie, who finished in a tie for 15th behind his compatriot Cam Smith at St Andrews in 2022, adds to his birdies at 1 and 2 with another at 3. The perfect start, and he joins the group tucked in behind the leaders at -3. As does his playing partner Bud Cauley, the new Canadian Open champ, who curls in a 40-footer from the fringe at the back of 3.
Gritty work from Matt Wallace. He wedges from a tight spot to the right of 13, from 40 yards to six feet, and tidies up for his par. That keeps him in a share of the lead. Meanwhile Eric Cole’s run of four consecutive birdies comes to an end with par at 14. He remains at level par for the tournament.
-4: Wallace (13), Coody (4), Im, Brown
-3: Suber (8), C Young, Detry, MacIntyre, Molinari, Smalley, DeChambeau, Gerard, Daffue
Jackson Suber is getting really ragged now. After those two three-putt bogeys, he now flays his drive at 8 into thick oomska, and that ends up in another dropped shot. Three consecutive bogeys, and it’s barely three-quarters of an hour since he had a two-stroke lead; he’s now one off the pace at -3. Leaderboard update in a moment, because Matt Wallace is out of position on 13, having carved his approach into thick rough to the right.
The conditions are clearly ripe for low scoring this morning. Eric Cole and Matt Wallace we already know about. Marco Penge has birdied 1, 4 and 5; Max Greuserman is three under for his round through 12. Johnny Keefer, who qualified after finishing third at the Scottish Open last week, birdies 2 and 3. Lucas Herbert birdies 1 and 2. These lads will want to make hay while the sun shines … or more literally before the wind switches, which it usually does around 11am or so. It’ll pick up a bit later as well.
Updated
A fourth birdie in a row for Eric Cole. This is getting old. This one’s the result of whipping an iron from 204 yards to three feet, one of those that lands softly on the front of the green before rolling regally towards the pin. He’s six under for his round, currently on course for a 64 with two par fives still to come. A reminder that Branden Grace became the first men’s player to shoot 62 in a major here in 2017. It’s on.
Unforced errors by Matt Wallace and Pierceson Coody. The former sends a hot chip 12 feet past, from a swale to the side of 12, while the latter fails to get up and down from the back of 3, to the extent of requiring a five-footer for his bogey. Dropped strokes for both, and the top of the leaderboard has been getting a little bit excitable of late.
-4: Wallace (12), Suber (7), Coody (3), Im, Brown
-3: C Young, Detry, MacIntyre, Molinari, Smalley, DeChambeau, Gerard, Daffue
Eric Cole and Matt Wallace are the two hottest properties out on the course this morning. They’re five under and four under for their rounds respectively, through 12 and 11. Meanwhile the 2022 champion Cameron Smith is going along nicely too: he’s hit the turn in 31 after birdies at 2, 4, 7 and 8, and bogey at 6. Smith’s form fell off a cliff back there, missing six major cuts in a row until breaking the run with a top-ten finish at this year’s PGA. This could be another staging post on the road to recovery, defying yesterday’s downbeat 73.
Jackson Suber’s putting woes continue. Another (!) birdie putt raced a few feet past, this time at 7, and now he’s missing the ones coming back. A second three-putt bogey in a row, and the overnight leader slips off the top of the board. He’s replaced there by Matt Wallace, who cards his fifth birdie of the day by making a 15-footer on 11.
-5: Wallace (11), Coody (2)
-4: Suber (7), Im, Brown
-3: C Young, Detry, MacIntyre, Molinari, Smalley, DeChambeau, Gerard, Daffue
Updated
Eric Cole’s dad, Bobby Cole, came close to winning the 1975 Open. He was the 54-hole leader, but a final round of 76 did for the South African, who ended up in a tie for third behind the eventual winner Tom Watson. His mother Laura Baugh won the 1971 US Women’s Amateur. And he grew up playing golf with Arnold Palmer. So the 38-year-old Californian has pedigree, if not too much on his resumé. A 76 yesterday, followed by bogey at 3 this morning, and you’d assume Cole was going home today. However he’s since been on a heater, with birdies at 4, 5, 6, 10, 11 and now 12, whistling his way up the leaderboard to +1. That’s a jump of 81 places from the start of play. Imagine what he might get up to on Moving Day.
All change at the top! Jackson Suber charges another birdie putt six feet past – that’s the third time he’s done it in the first six holes – but this time he can’t make the one coming back. Meanwhile over on 2, his old mucker Pierceson Coody rakes one in from downtown, and all of a sudden, two good pals on debut are joint leaders of the Open!
-5: Suber (6), Coody (2)
-4: Wallace (10), Im, Brown
It was a bit of an inauspicious start for Sahith Theegala this morning. The 28-year-old Californian let go of his driver on the follow-through of his opening tee shot, the club bouncing apologetically around the tee box. He was fortunate to stay in bounds down the right, and ended up with bogey. But since then he’s found some form, with birdies at 4, 5 and now 8. He’s -1 overall.
You can’t keep a good man down. Padraig Harrington won his second Open title here in 2008 – remember Sunday’s 5-wood into the heart of 17 for eagle – but he’s 54 now so we’re not expecting too much. An 80 yesterday, and he starts the day propping up the entire field at +10. Then he zig-zags his way up 1, from a native area on the left to another on the right. Hacking out, he does well to limit the damage to bogey … and follows up with a textbook birdie on 2: a fairway finder, a wedge to eight feet, one putt. He’s back to +10, and with the cut expected to be around the +2 mark, the great man won’t be here for the weekend … but he’s not going to go down without a fight, is he?
Birdie at 1 for Pierceson Coody! And a bounceback birdie at 9 for Matt Wallace, who hits the turn in an extremely impressive 31. Wallace making hay while the wind is relatively low and coming in from the direction of least hurt.
-6: Suber (5)
-4: Wallace (9), Coody (1), Im, Brown
-3: C Young, Detry, MacIntyre, Molinari, Smalley, DeChambeau, Gerard, Daffue
I’ve not got a huge data set to work with, but based on the few clips I’ve seen, Jackson Suber doesn’t hang about over his putts. You have to wonder whether slowing down a little bit might help, on account of his trundling another wild birdie effort six feet past the hole, this time on 5. But he springs into action when it’s his turn again, and rattles the par saver into the cup in short order. No fuss, no faff, really positive. Great to see, though like I say, small data set, so don’t be quoting this if he turns out to be the second coming of JB Holmes. He’s -6.
Jackson Suber understandably grabbed all the headlines with his Open debut round of 65. But his pal – and fellow Liverpool tourist, the aforementioned Pierceson Coody – was dipping his toe in these waters for the first time as well, and to similar effect. A 67 on debut for the 26-year-old Texan, the grandson of 1971 Masters winner Charles Coody. He’s out and about now, having sent his opening drive into semi rough down the left of 1. Eyes will be kept peeled.
A backwards step for Matt Wallace. He sends his tee shot at 8 onto the top of a grassy knoll to the left of the fairway. He can’t reach the green from there, and though he wedges his third to eight feet, his putt heads right straight off the bat, and that’s bogey. Meanwhile Suber isn’t able to convert his birdie chance at 4.
-6: Suber (4)
-4: Im, Brown
-3: Wallace (8), Coody, C Young, Detry, MacIntyre, Molinari, Smalley, DeChambeau, Gerard, Daffue
Jackson Suber holes his second staunch par saver of the day. This one comes at 3, where he’s left a 60-foot lag putt six feet short. But he sends the second putt straight into the middle of the cup to remain at -6. If he is suffering from understandable nerves, unexpectedly in the spotlight, he’s not letting them overwhelm him for too long … and now he’s sent his tee shot at the par-three 4th to 13 feet. All very impressive.
Some top-drawer effin’ and jeffin’ from the 2011 PGA champion Keegan Bradley. Having sent his opening drive into a large bush down the left of 1, he’s forced to take a penalty drop. Then a bogey putt lips out. EFF! JEFF! A small tanty-stamp of the feet, too, and so Sky Sports are forced to issue their boiler-plate pre-watershed apology. The lads on commentary then point out that poor Keegan has never been the same since last year’s Ryder Cup captaincy and concomitant heartache. He’s certainly cutting a pained figure. After yesterday’s fine 69, he topples down the standings to +1.
Matt Wallace should make it three birdies in a row, after sending his tee shot at the par-three 7th dancing and prancing to 12 feet. But he misses the putt on the low side. A big chance to move to within one of Jackson Suber’s lead gone. He does his best to keep the fume inside, a brave effort featuring a barely perceptible thin-lipped smile. He remains at -4.
Matt Wallace is on a roll! He bangs a big drive past the dogleg right on the long par-four 6th, then finds the centre of the green, from where he peers after a 21-foot putt that only just drops into the cup. Birdie on a hole that played the hardest on day one with a stroke average of 4.35. That’s a huge gain on the rest of the field.
-6: Suber (2)
-4: Wallace (6), Im, Brown
-3: Coody, C Young, Detry, MacIntyre, Molinari, Smalley, DeChambeau, Gerard, Daffue
An opening birdie for the 2011 champion Darren Clarke. He’s +2. Apropos of nothing, and just because I happen to have the stat to hand, so may as well share it, Clarke is joint holder of the record for most appearances by an Open champion before his first victory. That’s 19, after his 2011 win, and he shares the number with Phil Mickelson (2013). Nick Price (1994) is next on the list.
Updated
Birdie for Jackson Suber at 2, and the leader stretches his advantage at the top! He tugged his drive into the rough down the left, but got a decent lie, and was able to wedge over the flag from 90 yards to 12 feet. One fairly straight roll later, and he moves to -6. Meanwhile Laurie Canter nearly aces the 4th. His tee shot lands just past the bunker guarding the front left and serenely glides to kick-in distance, though it was never threatening to drop, always on a route below the hole. The 36-year-old Englishman is -2.
-6: Suber (2)
-4: Im, Brown
A second birdie of the morning for Matt Wallace. He lays up at the drivable par-four 5th, and it’s a good decision. A wedge to eight feet, and a putt poured straight into the cup. A fast start, and the first significant change to the overnight leaderboard.
-5: Suber (1)
-4: Im, Brown
-3: Wallace (5), Coody, C Young, Detry, MacIntyre, Molinari, Smalley, DeChambeau, Gerard, Daffue
Suber wedges his second at 1 to 12 feet, and he’s left with a very makeable putt. A little bit of left-to-right movement. He absolutely rattles it through the break, and leaves himself a testing five footer coming back. That one goes in confidently to save his par. A strange mix of three nerveless strokes and one jittery one. He made 207 feet of putts yesterday; there’s another 22 feet and seven inches to his running total.
If Suber is feeling the nerves this morning, they’ve not been betrayed by his opening tee shot. A confident drive, striped down the middle of the fairway. He’s going around with Sami Valimaki, who became the first Finnish player to win on the PGA Tour last year, with victory at the RSM Classic. It was Valimaki’s 28th birthday yesterday, and the gallery sang Happy Birthday to him on 18. “I thought that was pretty cool,” said Suber.
Suber seems to be enjoying discovering life on this side of the pond. He’d never been to Europe before, but has travelled “pretty much everywhere in Latin American and Canada”. He thinks the UK is “awesome … the golf is really cool, and just the towns, how the train system works.” He went into Liverpool earlier this week with pal Pierceson Coody and partners. “That was really cool to see a European city.” And when he was asked why he’s not going to try driving on the other side of the road, he gave a reply as tinder-dry as the Birkdale rough: “Because I’m trying to make it here for four days.”
Updated
Now then, our 18-hole leader Jackson Suber. Or to give him his full name, John Weatherington Suber III. He’s 26 years old, from Tampa, Florida, and is in his second year on the PGA Tour since moving up from the Korn Ferry. His best finish to date is the tie for fourth at this year’s Canadian Open that got him into this championship. He subsequently missed the cut at the US Open, and only played his first round of links golf this Monday. And now he’s bidding to become the 11th player to win the Open on debut. For the record, here are the other ten …
Willie Park Sr (Prestwick) 1860
Tom Kidd (St Andrews) 1873
Mungo Park (Musselburgh) 1874
Jock Hutchison (St Andrews) 1921
Denny Shute (St Andrews) 1933
Ben Hogan (Carnoustie) 1953
Tony Lema (St Andrews) 1964
Tom Watson (Carnoustie) 1975
Ben Curtis (Royal St George’s) 2003
Collin Morikawa (Royal St George’s) 2021
Matt Wallace has never really built on his early promise of the late 2010s, when he won four European Tour events and tied for third at the 2019 PGA Championship. But the Londoner got his career back on track a couple of years ago with a win at the European Masters and a PGA Tour alternate event … so perhaps, now 36, it transpires that he’s going to be a late bloomer after all? A decent opening round of 69 yesterday afternoon, and now he’s birdied the opening hole this morning. He’s -2.
The surprise leader Jackson Suber is out early, at 7.30am BST. Other than that, it’s a nice quiet start to day two. The calm before the storm. Though of course there’ll be no actual storm. On that subject, hats off to Sky Sports for their continued use of …
Preamble
… and we’re back. Just over nine hours ago, the first day of the 154th edition of the Open Championship came to a close. Now we’re up and running again! Friday promises to be another monster trek, and we’ll be blogging about it ♫♪ all day looooooonng♫♪. Here’s how the very top of the leaderboard looked at the end of play last night …
-5: Jackson Suber
-4: Im Sung-jae, Daniel Brown
-3: Thomas Detry, Robert MacIntyre, Francesco Molinari, Alex Smalley, Bryson DeChambeau, Ryan Gerard, MJ Daffue, Pierceson Coody, Cameron Young
… and here are the tee times (BST). Off we go! It’s on!
6.46 am: Eugenio Chacarra, Matt Wallace, Max Greyserman
6.57 am: Michael Brennan, Sahith Theegala, Laurie Canter
7.08 am: Cameron Smith, Keith Mitchell, Stuart Grehan (a)
7.19 am: Sepp Straka, Joaquin Niemann, Kurt Kitayama
7.30 am: Sami Valimaki, Shaun Norris, Jackson Suber
7.41 am: Darren Clarke, Adrien Saddier, Bernd Wiesberger
7.52 am: Keegan Bradley, Corey Conners, Casey Jarvis
8.03 am: Matt McCarty, Harry Hall, Haotong Li
8.14 am: Padraig Harrington, Marco Penge, Michael Hollick
8.25 am: Tom Kim, Billy Horschel, Mason Howell (a)
8.26 am: Johnny Kiefer, Pierceson Coody, Keita Nakajima
8.47 am: Aldrich Potgieter, Jesper Svansson, Jack Buchanan (a)
9.03 am: Bud Cauley, Jayden Schaper, Lucas Herbert
9.14 am: Kristoffer Reitan, Patrick Reed, JT Poston
9.25 am: Chris Gotterup, Sam Burns, Adam Scott
9.36 am: Collin Morikawa, JJ Spaun, Nicolai Hojgaard
9.47 am: Shane Lowry, Aaron Rai, Brooks Koepka
9.58 am: Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Luvig Aberg
10.09 am: Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick
10.20 am: Jacob Bridgeman, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Tim Wiedemeyer (a)
10.31 am: Patrick Cantlay, Daniel Berger, Nico Echavarria
10.42 am: Peter Uihlein, Alistair Docherty, Francesco Laporta
10.53 am: Cameron John, Austen Truslow, Sam Bairstow
11.04 am: Naoyuki Kataoka, Marcus Plunkett, Baard Bjoernevik Skogen
11.15 am: Kazuki Higa, Jiho Yang, Nevill Ruiter (a)
11.41 am: Matthew Baldwin, Thomas Detry, James Nicholas
11.52 am: Michael Kim, Daniel Hillier, Andy Sullivan
12.03 pm: Ryan Fox, Andrew Novak, Matthew Jordan
12.14 pm: Henrik Stenson, Max Homa, Joe Dean
12.25 pm: Robert MacIntyre, Rickie Fowler, Alex Fitzpatrick
12.36 pm: David Duval, Martin Couvra, Matthew Southgate
12.47 pm: Sungjae Im, Daniel Brown, Fifa Laopakdee (a)
12.58 pm: Gary Woodland, Jake Knapp, Jordan Smith
1.09 pm: Francesco Molinari, Tom McKibbin, Lev Grinberg (a)
1.20 pm: Hennie Du Plessis, Jose Luis Ballester, Dan Bradbury
1.31 pm: Angel Ayora, Victor Perez, Mateo Pulcini (a)
1.42 pm: Stewart Cink, Scott Vincent, Joakim Lagergren
1.53 pm: Michael Thorbjornsen, Kota Kaneko, Travis Smyth
2.09 pm: Alex Smalley, Sam Stevens, Ryo Hisatsune
2.20 pm: Akshay Bhatia, Harris English, Rasmus Hojgaard
2.31 pm: Ben Griffin, Hideki Matsuyama, Min Woo Lee
2.42 pm: Russell Henley, Justin Rose, Viktor Hovland
2.53 pm: Justin Thomas, Alex Noren, Jason Day
3.04 pm: Scottie Scheffler, Tyrrell Hatton, Bryson DeChambeau
3.15 pm: Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm
3.26 pm: Brian Harman, Si Woo Kim, Nick Taylor
3.37 pm: Ryan Gerard, Maverick McNealy, David Puig
3.48 pm: Kazuma Kobori, Tom Sloman, David Howard (a)
3.59 pm: Antoine Rozner, Ren Yonezawa, Caleb Surratt
4.10 pm: MJ Daffue, Frederic Lacroix, Jack McDonald
4.21 pm: Jeongwoo Ham, Ryutaro Nagano, Alejandro De Castro Piera (a)
