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Golf Monthly
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Elliott Heath

The Open 2025: Scottie Scheffler Comfortably Leads By Four Strokes Going Into Final Round At Royal Portrush

Padraig Harrington Open Phil Mickelson Scottie Scheffler Portrush (Facility) Royal Portrush Rory McIlroy Matt Fitzpatrick Jacob Skov Olesen Jason Day
Scottie Scheffler walks off the green.

Scottie Scheffler led by a single shot going into the third round of The Open Championship but, at the end of play on Saturday, his lead stood at four.

Carding a four-under 67, which included an eagle and two birdies, Scheffler was in full control of his game at Royal Portrush, easing to a 14-under total that is four clear of nearest challenger, Haotong Li.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Out of the blocks, following a seven-under 64 on Friday, Scheffler did show nerves via a short missed putt at the par 5 second, with Matt Fitzpatrick joining him at the top.

However, with the duo sharing the lead in the early stages, the big move came at the par 5 seventh, where Scheffler eagled, with a birdie at the par 4 eighth putting him two clear, a lead he never looked like relinquishing.

Making seven straight pars to remain clear, a third straight birdie of the week at the par 3 16th, nicknamed 'Calamity,' saw him go three clear and, with Li bogeying the 18th, two closing pars meant Scheffler finished 14-under and four clear going into Sunday.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Rather ominously, Scheffler hasn't lost a 54-hole lead in his last nine events, claiming nine wins out of nine when leading going into the final day.

Li, who is his nearest challenger, is 10-under, while Fitzpatrick is nine-under. Arguably, Scheffler's nearest rival on Sunday will be Rory McIlroy, who posted a five-under 66 to vault into a share of fourth.

McIlroy will have the home support behind him on Sunday, with last week's Genesis Scottish Open winner, Chris Gotterup, also in contention, with the American alongside McIlroy, Harris English and Tyrrell Hatton at eight-under.

Rounding out the top 10 is defending champion Xander Schauffele, who is solo eighth at seven-under, while Russell Henley, Nicolai Hojgaard, Robert MacIntyre, Rasmus Hojgaard and Brian Harman are in a five-way share of ninth.

The Open Leaderboard 2025

Live updates from...

GOOD MORNING

Hello wherever you are in the world and welcome to our coverage of the 2025 Open.

We have the 1st tee shots being struck in less than 10 minutes' time, with Padraig Harrington getting the championship underway.

It's a stacked line-up as always with tee times running all the way from 6.35am local time up until 4.10pm.

HARRINGTON'S EARLY WAKE-UP CALL

The earliest alarm of the year for Harrington, who is surely buzzing to get the action underway this morning...

TODAY'S WEATHER FORECAST

WE'RE UNDERWAY!

A packed 1st tee grandstand (at 6.35am in the morning!) cheers as Padraig Harrington finds the fairway with an iron.

Nicolai Hojgaard does the same with a low, penetrating draw into the wind and Tom McKibbin just finds the thick rough down the left.

THE QUEUE AT 5.45AM... THE OPEN IS UNLIKE ANYTHING ELSE

OFFICIALLY UNDERWAY

DIFFICULT OPENER

The 1st at Portrush is among the most difficult first holes in The Open, with out of bounds both right and left before a green that has some severe slopes just short.

The 430 yarder is also into a 15mph wind this morning so it's playing long, too.

HARRINGTON HITS A BEAUTY INTO THE 1ST

Into a 19mph wind and uphill from around 200 yards, the Irishman sets up a birdie putt of around 20ft.

THE BREEZE IS UP

We've got a 20mph wind right now and it's cold, so it's certainly a tough start for these early morning competitors.

We've got Louis Oosthuizen, Guido Migliozzi and KJ Choi up next.

WE'VE GOT SOME DRIVERS

After the opening group all hit irons off the 1st, Oosthuizen, Migliozzi and Choi all take driver.

Nobody has gone out of bounds...yet.

JASON DAY DRESSED FOR THE OCCASION

The Aussie is warming up on the putting green prior to his tee time and he is dressed as you might have come to expect him to. I'm sure we'll get some shots of what is a bold cardigan.

MCKIBBIN BOGEYS

The LIV Golf player has dropped a shot at the 1st aftger playing it as a three-shotter following his pulled tee shot.

PADRAIG HARRINGTON BIRDIE!

The Irishman rolls in a 20-footer to make the first birdie of the 2025 Open!

A stunning start from Harrington. There will not be too many birdies at the 1st today.

KJ CHOI DID NOT REACH THE 1ST FAIRWAY

The Korean produced just 135mph of ball speed with his opening drive and popped it straight up into the sky 176 yards. He has been forced to chop it out of the rough and back up the fairway.

TOUGH START FOR CAM SMITH

In group 3, the 2022 Open champion hits a quick hook off the 1st and finds the thick stuff.

Marco Penge also pulls an iron up the left as amateur Justin Hastings gets his championship underway with a beauty.

SCENES AT THE 1ST

(Image credit: Getty Images)

HARRINGTON'S OPENING BIRDIE

NICOLAI HOJGAARD BIRDIES THE 2ND

He joins playing partner Padraig Harrington atop the early leaderboard at one-under after a 4 at the par-5 2nd.

OUT OF BOUNDS

We have our first OOB tee shot of the championship as Taylor Pendrith pulls it way left off the 1st with a fairway wood.

He's going to need to reload.

ONE PAR OUT OF NINE

The first nine players through the 1st have made one birdie, one par and seven bogeys. Ouch.

JASON DAY'S JAZZY CARDIGAN...

(Image credit: Getty Images)

SCHEFFLER vs MCILROY

Some fascinating insights from Clippd...

(Image credit: Clippd)

Read more: Scheffler vs McIlroy: The stats comparing the world's top two players

SKOV OLESEN WITH A BOMB AT THE 1ST

Former amateur champion Jacob Skov Olesen holes a monster putt from the left side of the 1st green to make birdie on the opener.

He joins countryman Nicolai Hojgaard atop the leaderboard after Harrington dropped a shot at the 3rd.

RYAN PEAKE UNDERWAY

Get to know Ryan Peake's incredible story better with these facts

(Image credit: Getty Images)

HARRINGTON DROPS BACK

The two-time Claret Jug winner has just had back-to-back three-putts to fall back to +1.

TOUGH PIN ON 5

The 5th is driveable today and David Howell admits on Sky Sports that Harrington joked with him that the greenkeeper would have been fired for a pin this difficult back in their days.

DARREN CLARKE UNDERWAY

The Portrush man, who hit the opening tee shot here in 2019, gets a huge ovation from the 1st tee grandstand as he pipes a drive down the middle.

BIG PAR SAVE FOR HOJGAARD

The Dane holes a 20-footer at the 5th to stay on top of the leaderboard after finding the native area down the right.

The signature hole at Portrush is drivable today but a tricky pin and some wayward tee shots mean that the opening group fail to make a birdie.

EARLY/LATE vs LATE/EARLY

As things stand, it looks like today's morning starters may have the best of it over the first two rounds.

It looks set to get wet this afternoon and windy tomorrow morning, with tomorrow afternoon looking calmer (but wet).

But saying that, it certainly is not easy this morning. The wind is very strong and it amazes me that this is summer in the UK...

PHIL MICKELSON JOINS THE LEAD

The 2013 Open champion is off to a strong start with a birdie at the par-5 2nd, where he holed from 9ft.

WOW!

Phil Mickelson has just made an incredible par at the 3rd.

The left-hander's ball was plugged in the pot bunker and he failed to get it out. His next shot was simply sensational, flopping it up and cutting it in from the right to find the bottom of the cup.

Stunning.

MICKELSON MAGIC

NICOLAI HOJGAARD SET TO MOVE TO -2

The Dane has just hit a gorgeous chip shot up the green on the 7th to a couple of feet. That'll be a tap-in birdie to move to two-under.

Meanwhile, Lee Westwood has just hit a beauty into the 1st to set up a great opening birdie look.

MCKIBBIN EAGLE!

The home favorite has just made the first eagle of the 2025 Open at the 7th.

After finding the par-5 green in two, he holes from arounf 15ft up the hill and back down again to move to one-under-par.

Dustin Johnson has also moved to -1 after a huge birdie putt on the 2nd.

TOUGH START FOR KJ CHOI

The Senior Open champion has got off to a nightmare start after skying his opening drive 175 yards.

The Korean legend is six-over after six holes after bogeying three of his first five...before taking a triple-bogey at the par-3 6th. It looks like he got caught up in some thick rough and then, as every bad hole goes, he three-putted.

A REMINDER OF SOME OF THE BIG TEE TIMES TODAY:

BST (ET)

  • 9:58am (4:58am): Xander Schauffele, JJ Spaun, Jon Rahm
  • 10:09am (5:09am): Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler
  • 2:48pm (9:48am): Robert MacIntyre, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose
  • 2:59pm (9:59am): Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland
  • 3:10pm (10:10am): Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood

HOW THE RANKINGS CURRENTLY LOOK

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A REMINDER OF OUR STAFF'S PICKS FOR THE OPEN

(Image credit: Future)

NICOLAI HOJGAARD GOING VERY WELL

The Dane, who only got into the field last week via his Scottish Open T4, is bogey-free after seven holes and has another birdie look on 8.

It's a huge week for the 2023 Ryder Cupper, as he is currently well outside of he qualification spots and ranked down in 94th in the OWGR.

A top-10, or better, would be huge for his hopes of becoming a Team Europe player for the second time.

MCKIBBIN TO -2

The home star, who is a member here at Portrush, has just birdied the 9th to go out in 34 and join the lead.

McKibbin was two-over after four but two birdies and an eagle over his next five have got him to two-under-par.

THE SUN IS OUT

Conditions definitely look a little more favorable now at Royal Portrush, with the sun breaking through the clouds and the wind seeming to calm a little - for now.

We may have some showers on the way but it's nice and dry right now.

TROUBLE FOR HARRINGTON

The Irishman has pushed his tee shot down the right of the 10th and he's got a lot of helpers trying to find his ball in the cabbage.

It doesn't look good...he may have to walk back to the tee.

HARRINGTON LOST BALL

Harrington did indeed lose his tee shot down the right of the 10th despite marshalls standing nearby and a good dozen people trying to find it. That's how brutal the rough can be in places.

Unlucky for the two-time Claret Jug winner who looks set to drop at least two shots and fall back to +4.

Update: He's hit a beauty and will have less than 10ft to save bogey!

NIKE'S OPEN SHOES

The special edition Nike shoes are sure to get a lot of attention at Royal Portrush this week...

(Image credit: Future)

Read more: 'A Subtle Act Of Rebellion' - Nike Unveils Special Edition Open Championship Shoes

ANOTHER STUNNER FROM MICKELSON

The 2013 Open champion has found the par-5 7th in two big blows and he has a decent look at eagle to move clear at the top of the leaderboard.

He should two-putt for birdie and move to two-under.

SKOV OLESEN JOINS THE TOP

The Danish player joins Hojgaard and McKibbin at the top with a two-putt birdie at the 7th.

Olesen is bogey-free today so far.

SOME IMPRESSIVE OPEN RECORDS

MICKELSON MOVES TO SHARE OF THE LEAD

A missed eagle chance for the LIV man on the par-5 7th leads to an easy tap-in birdie and a share of the lead.

He moves to two-under.

JORDAN SMITH IN THE RED

A lengthy put on the 6th for the Englishman makes that back-to-back birdies as he moves to one-under, following a bogey on the 1st.

Smith came second at the BMW International Open earlier in the month, so arrives at Portrush bang in form.

OLESEN DROPS BACK

The Dane was bogey-free but falls back a shot following a dropped shot on the 8th.

This is Olesen's second appearance at the Major. He finished T60 at Royal Troon last year.

K J CHOI STRUGGLING

The South Korean man is currently eight-over-par thru 10 holes, which includes a triple bogey on the 6th.

This is the 55-year-old's 16th Open Championship and hasn't featured in the Major since 2014.

GRIFFIN, BHATIA AND STRAKA OFF

This is a tee time I really like. Both Griffin and Straka have won twice on the PGA Tour this season, yet the latter has missed the cut in all three Majors so far. The same can not be said for the American though, who came T8 at the PGA Championship and T10 at the US Open.

Bhatia has struggled as of late, who's best finish is T3 at the Players Championship this season, however is a tremendous talent and has got a beautiful golf swing.

All three could go close this week, so is definitely a group to follow over the next two days.

Update: Griffin starts with a double-bogey. Maybe I spoke too soon.

MCKIBBIN DROPS AWAY

It's been an up-and-down round for the Northern Irishman so far, who drops back to level-par following a double bogey at the 11th.

WILL XANDER GO BACK-TO-BACK?

STAR-STUDDED GROUP OFF

The defending champion is away and is joined by 2023 Masters winner Jon Rahm and this year's US Open winner JJ Spaun.

Xander Schauffele has struggled this year for his high standards, but seemed to be near his best last week at the Genesis Scottish Open, where he finished T8.

He also hasn't missed a cut all season. Quite a stat for someone who hasn't been near his best form in 2025.

WESTWOOD AND FITZPATRICK AT SHARE OF THE LEAD

52-year-old Lee Westwood is still Major-less, but moves to two-under early on at Royal Portrush, and is tied for the lead. Could this be his week?

Matt Fitzpatrick also moves to two-under following a magnificent eagle on the 2nd.

SOME DRIVE BY LOWRY

The 2019 Open Champion is off and running and will be looking to repeat his past success around Portrush this week. It was some reception he received when he walked onto the first tee too.

The Irishman smashes his drive down the middle of the fairway. His playing partners Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa, 2021 Champion Golfer of the Year, both miss the fairway.

Update: Lowry stiffs his approach shot to just above the hole, a great bridie chance incoming.

LOWRY'S DRIVE

HERBERT GOING WELL

The Australian is currently at two-under after back-to-back birdies.

No-one seems to be breaking that leading mark at the moment, though.

LOWRY MISSES BIRDIE CHANCE

The Irishman's putt just lips out as he opens his round up with a par.

Morikawa has to contend with a bogey after finding the thick rough with his tee-shot, only managing to hack the ball out with his second. I like the American's chances this week, but he has to putt well, something he doesn't do as often as he would like.

He has the legendary Billy Foster on his bag this week too, and that definitely counts for something.

WE HAVE A NEW LEADER

I asked earlier if it would be this man's week... and Lee Westwood has moved to three-under for an early solo lead of the Open.

The Englishman, who qualified through final qualifying for the Major at Dundonald Links, is bogey-free from his first seven holes.

IT'S RAINING

The brollies are up around Portrush, as the rain begins to set in. It won't be constant but spells of showers are expected throughout the first day.

PADRAIG STILL BACK IN THE LEADERBOARD

After his opening birdie, the two-time Claret Jug winner is still at four-over, with four holes to play. How special was it watching him hit the first tee shot this morning.

OLESEN EAGLE

Jacob Skov Olesen moves to four-under with a superb eagle at the 12th. It was a lengthy putt he had to hole to.

The lefty has a solo lead of the final Major of the year.

MICKELSON DROPS BACK

Lefty drops a shot at the 11th following a poor tee shot finding the right-hand rough. His second shot followed the same suit and the American has had to take his medicine.

He is still in the red though and is only three-shots off the lead.

HOJGAARDS AT THE RYDER CUP?

Nicolai Hojgaard would love to be at Bethpage Black this September and he is definitely going the right way about it. He finished T4 at last week's Scottish Open and is currently going well at two-under today. He may not be a bad pick for this week.

How special would it be for him to be joined by his brother Rasmus, though. He tees off at 1.37pm

SCHEFFLER STARTS WELL

The World No.1 starts his day with back-to-back pars, as he seeks his first Open Championship success.

This follows his interesting interview earlier in the week. If you haven't seen it, make sure to give it a watch. His words weren't what you would expect from the world's best golfer.

LI MOVES TO THREE-UNDER

Haotong LI birdies the 10th as he climbs the leaderboard at three-under. He is also bogey-free and is enjoying a great opening round so far.

This is his first Open since 2022, with his best result in the Major coming in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, where he finished third.

LOWRY BIRDIES

Shane Lowry looks like a man on a mission as he birdies the 2nd at Royal Portrush. He hasn't had his best year, but he has the crowd right behind him at a golf course he loves.

Will he repeat his success in 2019? Don't count him out, he has started absolutely brilliantly, as he now has a very makeable birdie putt on the 3rd.

SCHEFFLER AT ONE-UNDER

I was watching the practice round yesterday and something the commentators picked up on was that the American isn't always the finest looking player on the range. But, when it comes to the tournament he looks world-class. And he is.

The three-time Major winner moves to one-under after a birdie at the 3rd, and bombs a drive down the 4th. Scheffler looks like he is dialled in.

LEADERBOARD STAYS THE SAME

Not a lot of movement at the top of the leaderboard with Jacob Skov Olesen still leading the way, with Lee Westwood and Haotong LI just behind.

Tom McKibbin is still at level-par after bouncing back from his early two bogeys.

Padraig Harrington, too remains at four-over.

OLESEN PUTT TO LEAD

Take a look at the putt Jacob Skov Olesen made to gain a solo-lead of the Open.

THREE BRITS GOING WELL

Matthew Jordan joins fellow compatriot Matt Fitzpatrick at two-under, as he birdies the 8th. Lee Westwood is still at three-under.

Meanwhile Olesen stretches his lead out in front as he moves to five-under with a chip-in birdie at the 15th. The Dane is four-under for his back-nine.

RAHM GOING OKAY

The Spaniard is still level-par as he seeks his first Open Championship.

Rahm has enjoyed a great year on LIV so far, and is looking to win his first Major since his Masters success in 2023.

He just misses a birdie putt on the 4th.

MICKELSON DROPS BACK FURTHER

The American drops back to level-par following a second bogey on his back-nine.

He just missed the green right with his approach shot on the 14th and didn't manage to get up and down.

Still, it's a strong start for the LIV Golf star who won the Open in 2013 around Muirfield.

HARRINGTON FINISHES

The first three players are in the clubhouse.

Padraig Harrington who stripped his drive on the first to get the Championship underway, eventually making a brilliant three, ends on four-over. Work to do tomorrow if he wishes to make the cut.

The Irishman's playing partners did go well, as Nicolai Hojgaard finishes on two-under and local-man Tom McKibbin ends at level-par.

DEFENDING CHAMPION IN THE RED

Xander Schauffele is at one-under and going well at Royal Portrush.

He makes lightwork of the par-4 5th, driving the green with a 335-yard drive. He narrowly missed the eagle putt, tapping in for a comfortable birdie.

ECHAVARRIA STARTS QUICKLY

Nico Echavarria makes back-to-back birdies thru his first two holes and goes to a share of fourth in the leaderboard.

This is the Colombian's first Open Championship.

OLESEN'S CHIP IN

LOWRY STILL GOING STRONG

Lowry's not shying away is he, as he stiffs his tee shot on the 191-yard par-3 6th. Another birdie putt will come the way of the Irishman.

His playing partner Collin Morikawa follows suit, who hasn't started as well, currently sitting at one-over. He doesn't look at his best so far. There's still a long way to go though, and we all know how good he can be on his day.

THE CROWD GOES WILD

He does it! Lowry moves to two-under as the crowd erupts around the 6th green.

Morikawa follows suit, moving back to level-par. The cheer for the American is considerably quieter than the one for the Irishman, though.

ANOTHER MAJOR FOR BROOKS?

The American gets incredibly unlucky at the par-5 7th, as his approach shot - which looked good - just leaks off the back of the green.

Koepka has started well though, currently sitting at one-under, as he looks to win his sixth Major title.

GOTTERUP PLAYING WELL

Last week's Scottish Open winner, Chris Gotterup, is backing up his strong performance here at Royal Portrush, as he moves to two-under on the 11th.

It the American's second PGA Tour victory at The Renaissance Club, and is making his debut in the Open Championship this week.

LIGHTNING, UH OH

Lightning has been reported in the area, although a reported 40miles away. Let's hope it stays away and the Major can continue without any stoppages.

WESTWOOD KEEPS COMING

The Englishman moves to four-under, as he continues his bogey-free round with a birdie at the par-5 12th. He now shares the lead.

Westwood, currently on LIV, hasn't had a brilliantly season on the rival tour this year, currently sitting 45th in their individual standings.

Form is temporary and class is permanent though, something which he is highlighting during this first round.

CO-LEADER IN THE CLUBHOUSE

What a brilliant opening round by Jacob Skov Olesen, as he cards a 67 to currently co-lead this year's Open Championship.

This is his second Open, and hasn't recorded a single professional victory yet during his career.

It would be some story if he makes this week's Major his first victory since turning pro in November 2024.

MICKELSEN ENTERS CLUBHOUSE WITH A 70

A very strong display from the six-time Major winner on his opening day at Royal Portrush.

Three birdies and two bogeys, means he enters the clubhouse with a one-under 70.

In other news, the rain is starting to fall again. This probably the heaviest it's been so far today.

LOWRY'S SECOND BIRDIE

Take a look at Shane Lowry's second birdie of the day at the 6th.

He currently has yet another birdie putt to come at the par-5 7th.

EUROPEANS LEADING THE WAY

The top of the leaderboard is stacked full of Europeans, with some of its biggest names, including, Jon Rahm and Shane Lowry, at two-under.

Fellow Ryder Cup hopefuls Matt Fitzpatrick and Nicolai Hojgaard, who is now in the clubhouse, both also sit at the same number.

SCHEFFLER MOVES TO TWO-UNDER

The American makes a comfortable birdie at the par-5 7th, following a simple up-and-down.

Shane Lowry couldn't sink his putt though, as he remains at two-under.

The waterproofs are no firmly on for all players, as the Irishman finds the rough off the tee on the 8th.

LATER TEE-TIMES

Here's a reminder of some of the eye catching tee-times in todays afternoon session.

  • 2:37pm (9:37am): Russell Henley, Tyrrell Hatton, Min Woo Lee
  • 2:48pm (9:48am): Robert MacIntyre, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose
  • 2:59pm (9:59am): Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland
  • 3:10pm (10:10am): Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood

JORDAN and LI MOVE TO SHARE LEAD

Matthew Jordan and Haotong LI move to the share of the lead with Jacob Skov Olesen.

Jordan makes it three birdies on the bounce on the 12th, whereas LI birdies the 17th, to continue an impressive bogey-free round.

Lee Westwood, who was at four-under, drops a shot to be in solo fourth, after bogeying the 14th.

OLESEN'S ROUND IN NUMBERS

HORRIBLE ROUGH

Two instances in the last few minutes where we have seen examples of how treacherous the rough is at Royal Portrush.

JJ Spaun doesn't reach the green after finding the thick stuff to the right on the 9th, while Xander Schauffele's ball goes flying off the green, on the same hole. It's so hard to control the ball when coming out of the rough here.

One rule around Portrush, don't miss the fairway!

RAIN RAIN RAIN

It's still raining unfortunately, although not as heavy. At least the thunderstorms have stayed away, for now!

(Image credit: Getty Images)

CLARKE CHIPS IN

Okay, now that's the largest cheer of the day!

2011 Open Champion and home-grown hero, Darren Clarke, chips-in on the 17th as he birdies the par-4 to get back to four-over.

How great it would be to see this man make the cut this week.

LI ENTERS CLUBHOUSE AT FOUR-UNDER

Haotong LI enters the clubhouse with a very impressive four-under.

He currently has a share of the lead with Jacob Skov Olesen, after carding a bogey-free 67.

Not bad for his first Open Championship in three years.

OLESEN RATES HIS ROUND 9/10 AFTER BOGEY ON 18

GREAT START FOR SADOM KAEWKANJANA

The Thai star, who has three Asian Tour wins and was T11 at St Andrews in 2022, has got off to a flyer today.

He birdied the 2nd before driving the 5th and holing his 23ft eagle putt to move up to three-under.

DARREN CLARKE CHIP-IN

The home hero chips in on 17 for birdie and then pars the 18th to post a four-over-par round of 75.

PADRAIG HARRINGTON ON HITTING THE 1ST TEE SHOT AND SHOOTING 75 (+4)

"I hyped up the tee shot as much as I could so when I got there today, it wasn't too bad," he said.

"I was decently comfortable when I got on the tee. Obviously didn't try for too much, hit a nice smooth 3-iron down there, held the pose a little bit.

"I got a little emotional when I was clapped on, and then I calmed down, and I was kind of fine when I was hitting it. Obviously after that, I don't know through the start maybe there was a little bit of hype in it, the three-putting 3 and 4, I just struggled.

"Three three-putts in the first seven holes, it just kills you when you're always thinking about your pace as you're standing over the ball, you're always questioning your lines.

"Yeah, it was a tough day on the greens, and it just ate into my game. Might have been a little bit of the fact that I was hyped up for the 1st tee box. Who knows?

"Certainly felt like I played better, could have played better, should have played better, scored better."

FITZPATRICK TO -3

The Englishman rolls in a nice 15-footer on the 12th to move to three-under and within one.

Lee Westwood holes from around 10ft on 17 to save his par and stay two-under.

RAHM UNHAPPY WITH A FAN

"Whistling right on my back swing?" Someone definitely put Jon Rahm off on his 11th tee shot, which flies deep into the thick rough.

He's currently one-under-par.

SCHEFFLER TO TWO-UNDER

The World No.1 hit a trademark, stunning iron shot into the 10th, which had plenty of run on it but checked perfectly pin high to within 6ft. He manages to roll it home.

LEE WESTWOOD CARDS A 69 (-2)

The Englishman makes a regulation par at the 18th to finish at two-under-par.

Brilliant effort from the 52-year-old.

SCHEFFLER CHOPPING OUT OF THE ROUGH

The World No.1 found trouble down the right of 11 - like we're seeing with many players - and just about manages to chop it out of the cabbage and back onto the fairway.

His 3rd shot from 187 yards finds the left side of the green to leave a 40-footer for par.

DANIEL BROWN CHIP-IN

Last year's Open hero Daniel Brown has just chipped in for birdie at the 6th to move back to level-par after an earlier double.

SCHEFFLER BOGEY

The World No.1 is back to one-under after dropping a shot at 11 following that wayward tee shot.

Weather update: it's still coming down

DAVID HOWELL'S FUNNIEST OPEN MEMORY...

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DARREN CLARKE: 'YOU'D THINK I'VE NEVER PLAYED HERE BEFORE'

"You'd think I've never played here before, some of the places I hit it to," he said after his 75.

"That's frustrating. I know you can't hit it short of the 3rd. I know you can't hit it right on 7. I just hit it a few places that you cannot hit it here. I know better.

"Unfortunately, I just did. Then I couldn't really borrow a putt to go with it. It was a tricky day, could have been worse. Just got to play better tomorrow."

WHERE EVERY OPEN VENUE RANKS IN OUR TOP 100

(Image credit: Getty Images)
Where every Open venue ranks in our top 100

St Andrews, Old

2

Trump Turnberry, Ailsa

3

Muirfield

4

Royal Birkdale

6

Royal Portrush, Dunluce Links

7

Carnoustie, Championship

8

Royal St George's

11

Royal Liverpool

13

Royal Lytham & St Annes

16

Royal Troon, Old

20

Royal Cinque Ports

43

Prestwick

44

Prince's, Shore/Himalayas

73

Musselburgh

n/a

SKOV OLESEN'S SWING

A look at the Open co-leader's swing earlier in the week on the range at Portrush. It's a beauty...

JACOB SKOV OLESEN WHAT'S IN THE BAG?

We take a look at the equipment used by the clubhouse leader, who has new irons in the bag.

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I THINK IT HAS STOPPED RAINING

Conditions seem much calmer now which should help scoring, albeit we definitely have more rain on the way according to the weather map.

'I THINK RORY'S MADE THAT TEE SHOT A LOT SCARIER' - TOM MCKIBBIN

JASON DAY ON THE NORTHERN IRISH WEATHER...

"The weather here is the craziest weather pattern I've ever experienced in my life. There's no consistency to it whatsoever. I mean, I'd love to be a weatherman here. You just get it wrong all the time."

JON RAHM UNHAPPY WITH A FAN

This was from earlier on the 11th...

HATTON GETS UNDERWAY

Tyrrell Hatton has been fancied by many to contend this week at Royal Portrush, with the Englishman getting his round underway via a slightly pulled tee shot at the first. It finishes in the first cut, so should be no problem for Hatton.

Playing alongside Russell Henley, who finished T5 in The Open last year, the American finds the center of the fairway with a wood in hand. Min Woo Lee is the final player in the group, and he hits a 2-iron into the left rough.

FITZPATRICK JOINS THE LEADERS WITH A SLAM DUNK

GARCIA MAKES A STRONG START

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Garcia qualified for The Open Championship via the LIV Golf points list and, through the front nine, the Spaniard has made a great start. He has just birdied the par 5 seventh to move to three-under, one back of the leaders.

BRYSON ON THE TEE

Robert MacIntyre, Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Rose are on the first tee, with MacIntyre finding the right-side of the fairway with driver.

DeChambeau is up next and, with a fairway wood in hand, the big-hitting American finishes in the first cut to the left. Rose, who is another player being well-backed this week, strikes his tee shot with driver to the left-side of the fairway.

SUPERB FROM RAHMBO

Rahm has hit 12 of 15 greens today and, playing the par 3 16th, named 'Calamity', the two-time Major winner plays a delightful approach to 15-feet. He has a great chance to get to two-under-par.

ANOTHER BUMPER GROUP GET UNDERWAY

Jordan Spieth starts his first round with an excellent tee shot down the left-side of the opening fairway. Ludvig Aberg, another player tipped to go well this week, pulls his tee shot left and into the fairway bunker.

Last on the tee is Aberg's Ryder Cup teammate, Viktor Hovland, who hits his fairway wood down the left-side of the fairway, well back of Spieth and Aberg.

FITZPATRICK FINISHES WITH A 67

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Fitzpatrick two-putts the 18th hole for a par and a four-under first round of 67. That puts him into a share of the lead with Olesen and Li, who also finished four-under a few hours earlier.

NOW ON THE TEE... RORY McILROY

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RORY'S OPENING SHOT

Rory McIlroy makes his way on to the first tee with rapturous applause from the home crowd! He is alongside Justin Thomas and Tommy Fleetwood in the marquee group of the day.

First on the tee is McIlroy, who finds the second cut on the left-side. It may not be straight, but it's a lot better than his tee shot in 2019!

His round is underway, with Thomas finding the center of the fairway via a 3-wood, while Fleetwood follows the American with a strongly-hit 2-iron.

WE'RE OFF

CLASSY FROM SCOTTIE

The World No.1 hasn't had his best stuff today, but Scheffler produces an outrageously good tee shot at the par 3 16th, with the approach finishing a few feet from the flag. He'll have that to move to two-under-par.

BIRDIES GALORE

After his tee shot at the 16th, Scheffler converts to get to two-under. Along with the American, Hatton birdies the par 5 second to get one-under for his round.

BOGEY FOR RORY

After producing a good second shot from the thick rough, which finds the right-side of the green, McIlroy then produces a good lag putt to just three-feet.

It seems it'll be an opening par, but the testy putt slides by the left-side and it's an opening bogey. On the bright side, it's three better than the quadruple bogey eight he made here in 2019.

In the group, Thomas makes a big mistake with his first putt from off the green, as it doesn't make it down the hill. Eventually, Thomas makes bogey, while Fleetwood two putts for his par.

LEFT AT THE SECOND

Fleetwood finds the fairway at the par 5 second and will have a good chance to go for the green in two.

McIlroy, after his opening bogey, opens the shoulders with his drive, but it goes left and into the second cut. Last up is Thomas and, with a driver in hand, he is in the right rough.

OH SHANE!!

Back in the red Shane Lowry goes with a lengthy birdie put on the 17th. He now rises to one-under before going down the last.

His playing partner Scottie Scheffler too birdies and moves to within a shot of the lead. The world No.1 really is looking at his best today.

EUROPEANS START STRONG

Following an incredible approach shot at the par-5 second, Viktor Hovland only has a short putt for eagle, which he sinks comfortably. The Norwegian swiftly moves to two-under.

Fellow 2023 Ryder Cup star Robert MacIntyre too has started well as he birdies the par-3 third.

BOUNCE BACK

How many times this year have we seen Rory McIlroy bounce back after a mistake or dropped shot?

Well, he's done it again at the second, after a brilliant approach shot left him 15ft to the hole, which he sunk beautifully. The Northern Irishman is back to level-par.

Justin Thomas also gets back to level-par after his bizarre mistake on the first, birdying the third too.

HOVLAND'S EAGLE

STAR GROUP FINISHES

Collin Morikawa struggles again as he bogeys the last to finish at four-over. He needs a really good day tomorrow to make the cut.

Home favourite Shane lowry finishes well though as he rolls his first putt up to around 9ft which he finishes off with ease.

Scottie Scheffler finishes the best of the three at three-under. The three-time Major winner is trying to add to that tally at Portrush and has gone the right way about that today.

THREE IN A ROW

South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout makes three birdies in a row at the 5th, 6th and 7th to quickly move to one-shot off the lead at three-under.

His best finish at the Open is T49 in 2023, and has started the right way about trying to better that this week.

RORY'S BIRDIE AT THE SECOND

RORY AGAIN WAYWARD OFF THE TEE

The Masters Champion takes driver out the bag on the tee at the fourth but again struggles to find the fairway. The ball goes sailing towards the crowd on the left-hand side.

The one thing we can take from this though is that he is not going to shy away this week, he is taking Portrush on. And so should he, considering he knows this course probably better than any of the 156-players competing at the Major.

GOLF OR BASEBALL BRYSON?

Watch the American struggle to hack his ball out of the rough, as he ended up double-bogeying fourth.

MCILROY'S GROUP STRUGGLE

All three players are a bit wayward on the fourth, with McIlroy just over-shooting the green following a very lucky break from his wayward tee-shot.

Fleetwood's ball had plugged in one of the many fairway bunkers, and had to chip out. His approach, still 181 yards away, just carries the green to join the Northern Irishman's ball.

Thomas found the fairway, but missed the green to the right, finding the rough.

GREAT PUTT FROM HIDALGO

SCHEFFLER'S ROUND IN NUMBERS

FASTEST START OF THE DAY

Welcome to Portrush Lucas Glover, who is three-under thru his first two holes.

The American birdied the first and then backed that up with a brilliant eagle at the second, where he left himself only 16ft to make the three.

LUCAS GLOVER'S EAGLE

MCILROY FINDS LEFT CUT

Iron off the tee for the Grand-Slam winner who absolutely launches his iron down the fairway to find the left cut, leaving him a perfect angle into the green.

That was a 315-yard iron shot by the way.

The scoring average on the fifth today is 3.73, so this is a great opportunity to get into the red for the first time today for McIlroy.

BIG MISTAKE FROM VICTOR

Birdie-putt on the fourth for the Norwegian who lightly taps his putt up the hill, but it doesn't reach the upslope, and rolls back down to his feet.

He then just misses his second attempt, with the ball narrowly sliding past. At least he gave it a chance that time.

A poor dropped shot for Hovland.

Update: Viktor again three-putts the fifth, dropping a shot in back-to-back holes, falling to one-over.

RAI MAKING A CHARGE

Now at four-under and a share of the lead, Aaron Rai nearly dunks his approach shot at the eighth, which spun back to three-feet. He then easily sinks the putt for birdie.

That's four birdies in his opening eight holes now.

A good Championship here will definitely put his name well in the mix for a potential European Ryder Cup spot, after an already impressive 2025.

CHEERS AND GUESS WHO GOT THEM!

You guessed it, Rory enters the red zone for the first time in his opening round.

After a poor chip onto the green which didn't get above the up-slope, McIlroy holes a beauty to birdie the fourth.

Thomas follows suit however, Fleetwood continues to struggle as he bogeys the hole and falls to two-over.

MCNEALY MOVES

Maverick McNealy just misses his eagle putt on the seventh, leaving him with a very easy birdie putt, which he makes. He moves to three-under.

What a year this guy is having.

Five top. 10's on the PGA Tour so far, which includes a second place at the Genesis Invitational. Don't rule the American out this week, he certainly is someone who could be in contention come Sunday.

RORY'S SECOND BIRDIE OF THE DAY

ROLLING BACK THE YEARS

The 1997 Open Champion at Royal Troon, Justin Leonard, is going well here at Portrush as the American moves to two-under on the ninth.

RAI DROPS AWAY

Back-to-back dropped shots for the Englishman who drops back to two-under.

Meanwhile, Asian Tour player Sadom Kaewkanjana finishes with a brilliant 68, and enters he clubhouse one off the lead at three-under.

OH RORY STOP IT!

What an approach shot Rory McIlroy!

122-yards out, he stiffs his approach shot to 3ft and is poised to birdie the par-5 seventh.

He's stuck with it since his bogey on he first. The term resilience comes to mind when thinking about the most recent Grand Slam winner, and he's showing it yet again.

RORY BIRDIES

After a stunning approach, McIlroy birdies the par 5 seventh and moves to two-under. He is two back of the three-way tie for the lead.

Up ahead, Hatton makes an excellent up-and-down after short-siding himself on the par 4 eighth. The Englishman holes a 20-footer to remain at three-under.

SCHEFFLER REACTION

ENGLISH TIES THE LEAD

Harris English is playing some excellent golf and, at the par 5 seventh, the American birdies to move four-under and into a share of the lead. Excellent start from English, who has already made five birdies today.

JT CHIPS IN

After bogeying the opening hole, Thomas has recovered excellently with the highlight being a chip-in at the par 4 eighth.

Since his bogey at the first, the two-time Major winner has birdied the second and fifth, bogeyed the sixth, and made back-to-back birdies at the seventh and eighth to sit at two-under.

In his group, Fleetwood pars the hole, while McIlroy plays a dynamite approach to six-foot, but his birdie putt slides by the right-side. He taps in for a four to remain at two-under.

BEZUIDENHOUT SHARES THE LEAD

The South African is enjoying a fine day at Portrush, with Bezuidenhout producing an eagle at the par 5 11th to make it a five-way tie for the lead.

HOW GOOD FROM THOMAS?

GLOVER JOINS THE LEADERS

We now have a six-way tie at the top of the leaderboard, with former US Open champion, Lucas Glover, birdieing the par 5 seventh. He is currently blemish free for his round in Portrush.

MISTAKES FROM THOMAS AND MACINTYRE

After finding the deep rough, Thomas has to chip out on to the fairway at the par 4 ninth. An up-and-down would be a par but, with a wedge in hand, the American is greedy and sees his shot collect into a little hollow to the right. He will have a tricky up-and-down coming up for bogey.

Up ahead, MacIntyre has been playing well but, at the par 4 10th, his chip doesn't stop and rolls off the green. He has an 18-footer coming up for par, which he misses, dropping him back to one-under for the day.

TWO-UNDER FRONT NINE FOR RORY

A par at the par 4 ninth gives McIlroy a two-under front nine of 34, with the five-time Major winner two back of a six-way tie for first.

In his group, Thomas makes a double bogey and goes from two-under to level-par, while Fleetwood bogeys the ninth to sit two-over-par for his round. Work to be done for the Englishman.

FOWLER AND GARCIA FINISH THEIR ROUNDS

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Fowler has struggled for form of late but, at Royal Portrush, he has carded a two-under 69 for an excellent day's work. As of writing, he is just outside the top 10, sitting in share of 13th spot.

Garcia, meanwhile, pars the 18th hole for a one-under-par round of 70. The Spaniard hasn't played in an Open Championship since 2022, but is making the most of it today.

ENGLISH BOGEYS THE NINTH

English had been among the six-way tie for the lead but, at the par 4 ninth, he fails to get up-and-down, eventually tapping in for a bogey. He drops to three-under, one back of the leaders.

Up ahead, Hatton fails to get up-and-down at the par 4 11th to drop back to two-under. It's the first bogey of the day for the Englishman, who is now two back.

BIRDIE FOR RORY

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McIlroy misses another tee shot left but, from the thick rough, the five-time Major winner plays a delightful wedge shot from 120-yards to eight-feet.

Leaving an uphill putt, McIlroy rams it home for birdie and gets to three-under, one back of the leaders. Excellent work from the 36-year-old.

WITHIN ONE

ANOTHER MISS LEFT

McIlroy's struggles off the tee continue, with the Northern Irishman missing yet another tee shot left! It's found, but it's not pretty.

Up ahead, Joaquin Niemann moves to two-under-par with a birdie at the 12th. His Major form isn't the best, but he has been playing some great golf lately on the LIV Golf League with four wins in nine starts. He is now just outside the top 10.

SLOW PLAY

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It's a Major championship and, with tough, changing conditions, play has been slightly slower than usual.

One player to note that is Marc Leishman, who stated after his round: "I think I got up about 8am, watched an hour. Felt like we were on the golf course for about 12 hours. We’ve been on the course for three hours through eight holes.

"That was tough to deal with, especially coming from somewhere where we play in under 4.5 (hours) every week. You got to deal with all that sort of stuff, and I felt like I dealt with it decently well. Just got a little frustrated there.

"I thought I was playing really good and not getting anything out of it, but the conditions were tough. Hopefully just get a good one going in the morning."

HATTON NARROWLY MISSES OUT ON AN EAGLE

Hatton produces two excellent shots at the par 5 12th, with the Englishman leaving a 20-footer for eagle. Striking his putt, it looks in all the way but, somehow, misses at the last second. It's a birdie, though, for Hatton, who is now three-under.

DROPPED SHOT FOR RORY

After missing his drive left, again, McIlroy has to lay-up in the fairway. Leaving 90-yards in, he puts his third to eight-foot but, with his putt, he drags it left. It's a bogey for McIlroy, who falls back to two-under.

LOWRY REACTS AFTER ONE-UNDER ROUND

ROSEY REMAINS TWO-UNDER

Justin Rose loves The Open Championship and, today, the Englishman is producing another fine performance. Birdieing the fifth and 11th, last year's runner-up pars the 12th to remain two-under, two back of the leaders.

In his group, MacIntyre just misses his birdie putt to remain one-under, while DeChambeau misses a birdie attempt, staying at three-over-par for the day.

HUGE PUTT FROM ENGLISH

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English makes another birdie! What a putt from the American, who rolls in a 42-footer for a sixth birdie of the day to move to four-under and into a share of the lead.

TROUBLE OFF THE TEE

It really hasn't been Fleetwood's day today and, at the par 5 12th, the Englishman finds a fairway bunker which halts any chance of him going for the green in two.

It's a similar story for McIlroy, who has struggled with the driver today. Missing the majority of his tee shots left, this time he goes right, finishing in the same fairway bunker as Fleetwood. Both will have to splash out.

BRYSON'S STRUGGLES CONTINUE

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The two-time Major winner has struggled today and, at the par 3 13th, DeChambeau goes long and left of the green. Hacking out, he plays a poor third shot, with the American then missing his bogey putt. He's five-over and needs a strong finish coming in.

Behind DeChambeau, Lucas Glover bogeys the 11th hole to fall back to three-under. He is now one back of a five-way tie for the lead.

BACK-TO-BACK BOGEYS FOR RORY

That's going to hurt for McIlroy, who bogeys one of the easiest holes on the golf course.

Finding the fairway bunker from the tee, he splashes out and leaves 130-yards in at the par 5 12th. Firing a wedge to the back of the green, McIlroy then three putts for a bogey six, dropping him to one-under. He is now three back.

WE HAVE A NEW LEADER

After several hours, we have a new leader at Royal Portrush! Harris English, who has been making birdies for fun this afternoon, plays a delicate chip at the par 5 12th, with it finishing five-foot from the flag.

Sitting at four-under, the American rolls in his birdie attempt, his seventh of the day, to move to five-under and into the solo lead. Excellent play from the 35-year-old.

McILROY GOES CLOSE ON THE 13TH

RORY CONTINUES TO STRUGGLE WITH THE DRIVER

McIlroy has hit just two fairways today and, at the par 4 14th, the five-time Major winner misses another fairway, this time to the right.

It's unclear as to where the ball has finished, but we believe it's in the fairway bunker. Speaking of fairway bunkers, Fleetwood has found yet another one off the tee, while Thomas has just missed one with his drive.

BIG SAVE FROM ENGLISH

His putter has been performing very well today and, at the par 3 13th, English holes a 12-footer for par to remain at five-under and one clear of the four-way tie for second.

HATTON REMAINS THREE-UNDER

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Playing the par 3 16th, nicknamed 'Calamity', Hatton puts his iron shot into the middle of the green, with his birdie attempt from 40-foot just missing on the right-side. He taps in for par to remain three-under, two back of English, who has found the left rough off the tee at the 14th.

ANOTHER BOGEY FOR RORY

That's three dropped shots in the last four holes for McIlroy, who has gone from three-under to level-par in the space of an hour. He does have some birdie holes coming up, but will need to switch back on.

In his group, both Thomas and Fleetwood par the 14th, with both men now one-over and two-over-par for their rounds.

MARQUEE GROUP GOES LONG

McIlroy, Thomas and Fleetwood reach the par 4 15th and, with their approach shots, all three men go long of the green.

Playing straight downwind, their shots land on the short grass but, with firm conditions and strong winds, they run straight over the back and into a hollow. Tough up-and-downs coming up.

ENGLISH BOGEYS

English's lead lasted for two holes but, at the par 4 14th, he plays a poor chip and sees his par putt slide by. It's a third bogey of the day for the American, who moves back into a five-way share of the lead at four-under.

BIG SAVE FROM RORY

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McIlroy plays an average chip at the 15th and, with a 15-footer for par coming up, it's a huge moment in terms of his championship.

Playing it just outside right of the hole, it's a great stroke from the 36-year-old, who finds the center of the cup to save par and remain level. That could be a big momentum builder...

HATTON ON THE LAST

He's been very steady today and, at the par 4 18th, Hatton drills his drive down the center of the fairway and puts his second to 40-foot. A two-putt will give him a three-under 68, which will be one back of the leaders.

FORMER CHAMP FINISHES FOR THE DAY

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Brian Harman won the Claret Jug in 2023 and, for his first round this year, the American signs for a two-under 69, which included five birdies and three bogeys. He is positioned nicely going into the remaining three days.

THREE-UNDER FOR HATTON

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Hatton was well-backed at the start of the week and, thanks to a three-under 68, he will be firmly in contention going into the second round and, potentially, the weekend.

His best finish at an Open Championship came in 2016, with Hatton also finishing T6 at Royal Portrush in 2019.

HOW CLOSE FOR AMATEUR ADAM

FINAU BIRDIES CALAMITY

There haven't been many birdies at the par 3 16th today but, late on, Tony Finau produces a stunning long iron that finishes just six-foot from the flag. What's more, the American holes the putt to get to two-under for his round.

CONTRASTING ROUNDS

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The group of Rose, MacIntyre and DeChambeau have had very contrasting rounds today, with the trio separated by a total of nine strokes.

Rose was one of the stars at last year's Open Championship and, for 2025, the Englishman fires a bogey-free round of 69. That's an excellent two-under score.

MacIntyre, meanwhile, started his first round superbly, sitting three-under through eight, but has faltered over the back nine, finishing level-par.

DeChambeau has never got going and, thanks to three bogeys and two doubles, his struggles on the Links layout continues. He finishes seven-over-par, carding a 78.

THAT'S BETTER RORY

That's more like it from McIlroy! After pulling his tee shot miles left, the Northern Irishman plays a superb wedge shot from the thick rough and, from 12-foot, he holes his birdie putt to get back under-par.

This has been very gutsy from McIlroy, who then receives a huge slice of luck at the 18th, with his tee shot narrowly missing the fairway bunker.

SOME BIRDIE FOR RORY

SPIETH FINISHES WITH A BIRDIE

Very gutsy from Jordan Spieth, who birdies the final hole via an 18-footer to get to two-over-par. He didn't have his best stuff, but he's given himself a great chance of making the cut tomorrow.

RORY FIRES A ONE-UNDER 70

Despite hitting just two fairways off the tee, McIlroy manages to get in to the clubhouse with a one-under-par 70, with the 2014 Open champion just three back of the leaders.

He'll be disappointed with the back nine, but even without his best stuff he is still right in it, as is Thomas and Fleetwood, who both finish their days at one-over and two-over-par. They are, currently, just five and six shots back after round one.

ENGLISH REMAINS FOUR-UNDER

The majority of players have finished their first rounds but, as of writing, there's still one player who could take the lead before the end of play, with English playing the 18th.

Finding the fairway with an iron, his second shot manages to stay on the green, but the American will have a 45-foot putt coming up for a birdie.

HATTON REACTS

"Yeah, it was a good day. I'm happy with how I played out there. It was pretty tricky at times, and certainly the last three, four holes the wind really picked up. Hit a load of good iron shots. You could say it was a frustrating day on the greens for me. It was nice to -- I felt like I hit a lot of good putts.

"One of the things that's been holding me back this year probably is my pace on the greens hasn't been what I'd like it to be. It's kind of barely getting to the hole and leaving a lot of putts short.

"I wanted to go out there today and feel like I was being a bit more aggressive, which sometimes hard because you don't want to be careless and smash it six foot past every time, but I definitely felt that was one of the things I tried to make more of an effort on and really be positive in the putts that I was hitting."

ENGLISH FINISHES WITH A PAR

Striking his putt from 45-feet, English's first attempt comes up short, with the American rolling in the five-footer for par to fire a four-under 67.

Excellent golf from English, who is among a five-way tie for the lead that includes Jacob Skov Olesen, Hoatong Li, Matt Fitzpatrick and Christiann Bezuidenhout.

PIN POSITIONS FOR ROUND TWO

RORY REACTS

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"Yeah, it was good. I had it going three-under through 10 and let a few slip there around the middle of the round. I steadied the ship well, played the last four at one-under, and it was nice to shoot under-par.

"I felt like, once we turned for home, like played 10 and turned back and played 11, the wind picked up a little bit, and it just became that little bit more difficult. Yeah, it was a tough enough day, especially either chopping out of the rough or out of the fairway bunkers most of the time. So to shoot under-par was a good effort."

HISTORIC LEADERS

LIV GOLF LEADERBOARD

Hatton enjoyed a great first round and, going into Friday, the Englishman leads the LIV Golf leaderboard, where a number of players are inside the top 20 of The Open Championship.

Among those in the top 20 include Hatton, Lee Westwood, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia and Joaquin Niemann.

FLEETWOOD'S REACTION

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The golf gods were firmly against Tommy Fleetwood today and, at the par 4 fifth, the Englishman received a huge slice of bad luck when his tee shot ended up in a bunker that hadn't been raked properly.

Speaking after his round, the Englishman stated: "Yeah, it wasn't a great - yeah, it wasn't a great rake job. I probably could have managed it - first thing is I was not very happy to be in there. That was the first thing, so that's my fault.

"It was like in somebody's hitting mark that hadn't really been raked great. I probably could have managed it better."

FINAL GROUP FINISHES

And, just like that, after the first group headed out at 6.35am, the final group of Younghan Song, George Bloor and OJ Farrell bring the first round to a close.

It's been an enthralling day and, in just eight hours time, we will be back to do it all over again, with Stewart Cink, Matteo Manassero and Marc Leishman getting the second round underway on Friday.

Be sure to check in with Golf Monthly, who will have all the live updates you need on what promises to be yet another exciting round at Royal Portrush!

WHO WILL BE LEADING BY TOMORROW?

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GOOD MORNING FROM DAY 2

The sun is shining and conditions seem fairly calm this morning.

THE OPEN FEATURED GROUPS TODAY

  • 9:47am (4:47am): Robert MacIntyre, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose
  • 9:58am (4:58am): Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland
  • 2:59pm (9:59am): Xander Schauffele, JJ Spaun, Jon Rahm
  • 3:10pm (10:10am): Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler

WHAT TIME IS RORY MCILROY OFF TODAY?

Home hero Rory McIlroy goes off in the morning today, with the five-time Major champion getting his second round underway alongside Justin Thomas and Tommy Fleetwood at 10:09am local (5:09am ET).

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TOUGH START FOR SERGIO GARCIA

The Spaniard has just double bogeyed the opening hole to drop back to one-over. Nightmare start.

SOME INTERESTING DAY 1 STATS

  • Driving distance leader: Dean Burmester 328.2 yards
  • Fairways hit: Lee Westwood 11/14, 78.6%
  • GIR: Rahm, McNealy, Hidalgo 15/18, 83.3%
  • SG: Putting: Tom Tom +5.079
  • Total Putts: Harry Hall 23

ETHAN FANG ON THE MOVE

The British Amateur champion, who was part of OSU's NCAA Division 1 title in May, has just made back-to-back birdies to move to two-over-par.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIR NICK FALDO!

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TOP 10 BUYS AT THE OPEN SHOP

Great video from our Deputy Editor Joel...

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ADAM SCOTT DROPS BACK

The Aussie was highly fancied this week but he has got off to a poor start today with a double-bogey on the par-3 3rd. He isn't in great shape on the 4th either.

Scott is now +3 for the championship.

TOUGH START FOR BUD CAULEY

The American hit his opening tee shot out of bounds and will be playing his fifth shot from the greenside rough. Could be a triple on the way if he doesn't get it up-and-down.

Cauley began the day at +1.

TRIPLE FOR CAULEY

He fails to get it up-and-down and is now three-over-par after one hole and +4 for the tournament. Disaster start.

SUPERB FROM ETHAN FANG

The amateur has just made a brilliant par save at 4 after having to lay-up before driving the green on 5. He'll have a good 50-60ft for eagle so will be delighted to make his third birdie of the day.

MARC LEISHMAN MAKING MOVES

The LIV Golfer is two-under-par for the day and level for the tournament after birdies at the 2nd and 7th, both par-5s on the front nine.

The Aussie won LIV Golf Miami this year and has a great Open record with three top-six finishes including a runner-up at St Andrews in 2015, when he lost out to Zach Johnson in a playoff.

BRILLIANT FROM FANG!

Ethan Fang, 4th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, manages to two-putt from 70ft after holing an 11-footer at the par-4 5th to get to three-under-par for the day.

He is now back to +1 and within the cutline.

FOWLER ALSO BIRDIES 5

Playing with Fang, the popular American also makes 3 after driving the green.

KEEGAN BRADLEY EAGLE

The US Ryder Cup captain has just eagled the par-5 2nd after holing from 17ft to get to one-under-par.

BEZUIDENHOUT BOGEYS THE OPENER

The South African dropped a shot at the 1st after slicing his drive into the thick rough down the right. He falls back to -3.

RORY MCILROY ON THE RANGE

The World No.2 in navy slacks, a navy sweater and a white cap is going through his warm-up on the range with less than an hour to go until his tee time.

He is in a very different position compared to round two here at Portrush six years ago, with genuine hopes to lift the Claret Jug this time around after a solid 70 yesterday.

McIlroy needs to find more fairways, though, having hit just just 14.3% of his fairways yesterday to rank 128th in SG: Off the tee.

BEZUIDENHOUT BACK TO -4

The South African re-joins the lead with a birdie at the par-5 2nd. He missed the green left but made a very tidy up-and-down.

MARC LEISHMAN FLYING

The LIV player has the best round of the day going with four birdies and six pars for his opening 10 holes.

He has jumped to two-under-par for the championship, which puts him T11th.

10 ALERT!

Shaun Norris has unfortunately made a 10 at the 4th.

The South African hit his tee shot out of bounds and then his 3rd into a fairway bunker, where I think he took four to get out. He hit his 8th shot onto the green and two-putted. Ouch, ouch, ouch.

Norris is now six-over for the day and seven-over for the championship.

(Image credit: The Open)

BAD START FOR NIEMANN

Joaquin Niemann's opening tee shot goes out of bounds left and he has had to reload.

The Chilean is one-under-par but he's facing a double-bogey start this morning.

NIEMANN DOUBLE

The Torque GC captain finds the green in regulation on the 1st with his second ball after going out of bounds and manages to two-putt from long range for double.

He's back to +1.

ADAM SCOTT UPDATE...

The Aussie doubled the par-3 3rd and he has just dropped a shot at the 9th to go out in three-over-par.

Scott, highly fancied this week after his strong US Open showing, is +4 for the tournament now and battling to make the cut.

WE'RE INTO THE BIG GROUPS NOW

Robert MacIntyre, Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Rose are underway.

The Scot finds the middle of the fairway and DeChambeau follows him. Rose's fairway wood is also a beauty.

You feel this is a big day for the Englishman, who begins at two-under-par and has to be considered among the favorites for the Claret Jug at this early stage.

NEXT TWO GROUPS...

  • 9:58am (4:58am): Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland
  • 10:09am (5:09am): Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood

LEISHMAN SHANK!

The Aussie had moved to five-under-par for the round - the best of anyone today so far - but a shank on the 13th went just 148 yards on the 200-yard par-3 and it has led to a bogey.

The LIV Golfer is -2 for the tournament currently.

BIG GROUP UNDER WAY

Spieth, Aberg and Hovland are all off, with the American finding the right semi with his driver and the two Europeans piping fairway woods down the middle.

RORY MCILROY IS OFF

The career grand slam champion arrives to a thunderous reception just like yesterday.

McIlroy finds the left semi with his utility iron and is in good shape there.

Justin Thomas hits a beautiful fairway wood down the middle before Tommy Fleetwood finds the left side of the fairway with an iron

(Image credit: Getty Images)

RASMUS HOJGAARD AND TYRRELL HATTON JOIN THE LEAD

Hojgaard is two-under-par for the round and Hatton has just birdied the 3rd to make it a seven-way tie at the top.

MCILROY BIRDIE!

The World No.2 found the top tier with his approach and has just rolled in a beautiful 20-footer with a touch of right-to-left to get to two-under-par.

Par-5 2nd up next.

EIGHT-WAY TIE FOR THE LEAD

The 2023 Champion Golfer of the Year Brian Harman is now also at four-under after starting birdie-birdie.

That will be changing soon as Rasmus Hojgaard lost his drive down the 7th so had to hit three-off-the-tee.

Meanwhile, Bryson DeChambeau has made a birdie to move back to +6. Still a long way to go to make the weekend.

WOW THAT IS CLOSE

McIlroy pushes his drive well right up the 2nd and he is in bounds by about a foot.

Inci Mehmet on the Sky Sports broadcast can't even see the ball yet as the rough is so thick. He'll be lucky to find it (I think the ball has been located) and chop it back out onto the fairway.

NIEMANN BIRDIE AT 4

The Chilean has made a brilliant birdie at the tough par-4 4th to get back to level par and +1 for the day after his double at the 1st.

He has the drivable 5th up next and the par-5 7th coming soon, too, so he has a good chance to start climbing back up the leaderboard.

RORY MCILROY'S BIRDIE ON THE 1ST:

HUGE BIRDIE FOR ROSE

The Englishman rolls in a 25-footer on the par-3 3rd and he moves to three-under-par.

A par-par-birdie start is exactly what he would have been looking for today.

MCILROY TAKING A DROP

"You absolutely couldn't see that ball," Inci Mehmet says of McIlroy's lie on the 2nd.

He is taking a two-club drop into deep rough and will be still chopping it out for his third.

I think he'd take a bogey right now.

MCILROY UPDATE

He finds a good lie with his drop and has somehow managed to get it just short of the green with his 3rd shot. He could be walking away with a par here!

His chip rolls up to within around 8ft I'd say. What a par this would be.

SUPERB START FROM FLEETWOOD

The Englishman has started birdie-birdie to get himself back to level-par. Incredibly that is still within four of the lead as nobody has got to five-under yet.

MCILROY PAR!

Wow, that was some par.

After narrowly avoiding out of bounds and then being forced to take a penalty drop, he gets up-and-down from just short of the green on the par-5 for a stunning par.

He finished it off with a great putt from 8ft that had quite a bit of right-to-left in it.

ROSE'S BIRDIE AT 3

To move within one of the lead...

FOWLER TO WITHIN TWO

Rickie Fowler is back to level for the day and two-under for the tournament after this stunning birdie at 13...

POOR FROM MCILROY

The World No.2 misses the 3rd green with only a wedge and he is going to have a very tricky stance as his ball is right on the edge of the pot bunker short-left of the green. I think he was being a little too aggressive there.

MCILROY UPDATE

He had to stand in the bunker and grip right down the shaft to play his second into the par-3 3rd and it was a good effort but it has ran on 15ft past the pin.

PLAYERS BEING CALLED UP ON 5

The drivable 5th is operating a call-up policy today which I don't believe was in use yesterday. That should help speed up play by a good 10-or-so minutes you'd hope.

TOMMY!

Fleetwood holes from 15ft at the 3rd and he is off to a flyer!

It's birdie-birdie-birdie for the Englishman and he's up to one-under for the championship now.

POOR BOGEY FROM MCILROY AT 3

He missed the green on the short par-3 with a wedge in hand and failed to get it up-and-down from a tricky spot.

Still, he's one-under-par and has just piped a drive down the 4th. A rare fairway found!

WE HAVE A SOLO LEADER!

Harris English gets to the top of the leaderboard all by himself after birdieing the par-5 2nd.

EARLY/LATE VS LATE/EARLY

It is looking like the late/early side of the draw have got the better of the conditions.

Scoring was over a stroke easier yesterday afternoon and conditions are very calm this morning.

Obviously we don't know what this afternoon holds with the unpredictability of the weather in this part of the world, but conditions for the late/early guys have been good.

BRILLIANT FROM MCILROY

After the poor 3rd, he has set up a fantastic bounce-back birdie look at the 4th after piping his drive 349 yards down the middle.

With the drivable 5th up next and the par-5 7th to come, a birdie here would be huge.

HOVLAND ON FIRE TOO

Like Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland also started birdie-birdie-birdie and the Norwegian is also one-under-par.

This is an extremely packed leaderboard right now with 71 players within six of the lead.

MCILROY BIRDIE

Yep, he does it again.

Rory McIlroy is back to two-under after a brilliant approach shot at the fourth. A confident looking putt from 5ft for the home hero. The crowd are right behind him here.

Fleetwood fights back well to make par after finding the thick left-hand rough, with Thomas also making a 4.

JUSTIN POTTER?

Watch as Justin Thomas' ball somehow doesn't drop for birdie on the third!

MCILROY WAYWARD

I feel this may yet be the story of the day for Rory McIlroy. He again fails to capitalise on a brilliant fourth hole, as his tee shot on the driveable par-4 fifth over-draws and finds its way into the fairway bunker.

He has to be better off the tee today.

MACINTYRE LEAVES IT SHORT

He will be screaming inside, as Bob leaves his birdie putt just short on the sixth, resting on the cup. He remains at two-under.

We've just seen Justin Thomas do the self-same thing, players may just be struggling with the pace of these greens still.

ENGLISH DROPS BACK

The American is back to four-under as his par putt on four just slides past.

The drivable par-4 is next. He will be hoping his ball doesn't end up where McIlory's was a few minutes ago.

The Northern Irishman's ball is now on the green after slashing it out of the bunker, but a lengthy birdie putt remains.

HARMAN LEADS

The 2023 Open Champion leads at Royal Portrush as the Americans bids to try and win his second Major.

He makes a brilliant up-and-down from the near greenside bunker on the par-5 seventh, to make birdie. Harman is now the outright leader at five-under.

OH RORY

Up-down, up-down, Rory McIlroy is back to one-under.

He decides to chip onto the up-slopped fifth green leaving himself 12-foot for par, but his ball just slides past. Two birdies and two bogeys so far for the Northern Irishman who as back down to the same mark her started on today.

Thomas again leaves a putt short as he remains at too is at one-under.

CLASSIC WALK

Everytime I see Rory walk after his shot, 99% of the time I know it's going to be good. His tee shot at 6 is no different.

He's pin-high, with 19ft for another bounce back birdie.

Fleetwood's ball just doesn't reach the green, and has an awkward pitch up.

BRYSON WATCH

Little has been shown of the American this morning but he is going well. The two-time US Open winner is currently one-under thru six holes and has a great opportunity to birdie 7, with 6ft left for a four.

He will have to go some to make the projected cut of +2/3, however, he's going the right way about it at the moment.

DAY 1 TEE SHOTS

MCILROY NOT AS WAYWARD

This is an opportunity for the Grand-Slam winner who pipes his drive down the middle of the par-5 seventh.

This poses a great opportunity to climb the leaderboard for all players today. Rory will certainly be hoping he can make a good approach here to set up a potential eagle opportunity.

LACK OF BREAKAWAY AT THE TOP

The top of the leaderboard is extremely bunched with six players on four-under just behind leader Brian Harman on five.

It does feel like there are a couple of low scores out there today and is screaming for someone to take this course by the scruff of the neck and breakaway at the top.

With the way he's going so far, Harman might just be that man.

APPRAOCH'S AT SEVEN

Both Thomas and McIlroy's balls end up just on the front fringe of the green as the latter's ball slides into the American's on its way down. Thomas is there for three, though. A chip-off between the two will commence.

Fleetwood absolutely stiffs his approach to 15ft and has a great eagle opportunity.

GREAT SAVE FROM ROSE

The Englishman has had a great year this year and is incredibly unfortunate to not already have a Major to his name at this year's Masters. All is missing so far from 2025, is a title. In fact he hasn't won a tournament since the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 2023.

He is digging in today, currently at two-under, and makes a great par save at the eighth, after a brilliant up-and-down.

It would be great to see the 44-year-old contend this week.

TWO MOVE TO SHARE OF LEAD

Europeans Tyrell Hatton and Rasmus Hojgaard both move to five-under, with respective birdies on the 9th and 12th.

Both are Ryder Cup hopefuls and good weeks will certainly increase their chances of playing in New York in September.

MCILROY SPURS CHANCE

After a great drive, McIlroy misses a great opportunity at seven as he sends his pitch past the pin by 9ft and misses the putt back down to settle for a frustrating par.

Fleetwood though doesn't miss as he makes a brilliant birdie, moving to two-under, four-under for the day.

HOJGAARD BACK-TO-BACK

Back-to-back birdies for the Dane who now has a share for the lead at six-under with Brian Harman who keeps pace with the European at the top of the leaderboard.

Hojgaard stiffed his approach shot at the par-3 thirteenth to 11ft which he confidently makes.

Both are four-under for the day.

RASMUS' SOLID PUTT

BRYSON CONTINUES FIGHTBACK

A firm putt for birdie on the ninth, as the American moves to three-under for the day.

He is still a couple of shots of the projected cut line so expect Bryson to continue to attack. I'm sure he'll be channelling his inner break-50 thought processes right now!

OPTIMISTIC WEATHER?

Writing the weather report earlier in the week I was extremely worried it would be another wet and windy Major.

Although the brollies were up for large spells yesterday, it has been very dry so far today, surprisingly.

It is overcast, but that is expected. As long as the rain stays away we should be set fair for a good weekend's viewing of the Open Championship.

I was in Belfast two weeks ago, and it rained pretty much everyday, in spells, so I'm not overly optimistic though!

HOJGAARD DROPS BACK

A missed par save a 14 for the Dane, with a bad mistake. A poor approach shot which missed the green right, led to a missed up-and-down.

He drops back to five-under with Brian Harman taking the solo lead, still at 6.

RORY AGAIN WAYWARD

I had hoped we had seen the end of McIlroy's driver troubles at the Canadian Open but that doesn't seem to be the case as he again sends his tee shot into the rough. This time a wild left-hook.

He had 159-yards into the green now after getting a lucky break with where his ball finished and now has 53ft for birdie. What a three this would be.

McIlroy currently ranks 154th this week for Driving Accuracy, at 14.3%. Not great reading that, and yet he's still one-under!

RORY HAS HIT A FAIRWAY

I say that with the least amount of sarcasm as possible, as the Northern Irishman finds the fairway off the tee on 10, with an iron.

Elsewhere, Harman just misses a chance to move to seven-under as his birdie putt on 12 just finishes an inch to the right of the hole.

RASMUS DROPS BACK

Frustration is brewing for Rasmus Hojgaard following a extremely poor three-put on 15, where he left his first effort miles short.

Now on the par-3 16th, he pulls his tee shot right into the rough and slams his club into the ground in frustration.

He has to control his emotions here, considering he is still only two-back from the lead.

HARMAN EXTENDS

This is starting to feel a little bit like Royal Liverpool all over again.

Brian Harman is currently five-under for the day and bogey-free after yet another birdie at the 13th.

He just looks so comfortable out there and his short game is simply on fire. That is something we have got used to with the American.

A slow start to the season for Harman quickly picked up with a win at the Valero Texas Open, and back up with two top-10s since.

RASMUS VS NICOLAI

Take a look at this cool comparison between the Hojgaard brothers' careers!

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HARMAN'S BIRDIE AT 13

OLESEN STARTS WOEFULLY

Look away now if you've put some money on Jacob Skov Olesen to win this weekend, as one of the overnight leaders makes a quadruple-bogey on the first, after deciding to take driver off the tee.

Maybe not the wisest move from the 26-year-old.

He lost two off the tee, one either side of the fairway, before eventually finding the left cut with his third ball. He bounced back with a birdie at 2, with two pars since.

Olesen is back down to one-under with work to do.

HATTON TO SIX

Tyrell looks good this week, and he's up to six-under.

He finished T6 here six years ago, and looks like he's really enjoying himself around Portrush.

Seeking his first Major Championship, he is three-under for the day after another birdie at 13.

His stats look good to for the week as he is currently second for Strokes Gained, at 8.45 and fourth in Greens in Regulation, with a 78.1% success rate.

ROSE STRUGGLING

After a triple-bogey on 11 where he lost a ball off the tee, somewhat unluckily, the Englishman finds himself at two-over for the day.

Rose seemed sharp yesterday and looked good to contend in another Major but he has dropped back slightly.

He is one of the most experienced players out there this week though, being his 21st Open Championship, so don't rule him out yet.

HATTON DIALED IN

BRYSON BEAUTY

The American is four-over but hits an absolute beauty into the par-3 thirteenth.

We've just seen Harman and Hatton do similar things on the same hole, but this is arguably better.

Bryson simply has to make this 8-footer to increase his chances of playing this weekend.

Update: He makes the birdie and moves to three-over. Big cheer for DeChambeau there.

MCILROY UPDATE

It feels like a little while since I mentioned the Holywood man's name.

McIlroy is still at one-under but has just striped his driver down the middle of the twelfth fairway. He only has 207-yards into the pin and would love to take advantage of this par-5, something he didn't do back on 2 or 7.

OH THAT'S LOVELY BOB

Another brilliant shot at 13 moves MacIntyre to five-under as he drops his tee shot to four-foot away from the hole, comfortably sinking his bridie putt.

He then bombs a drive down 14. The Scot is on the march!

BOB'S APPROACH AT 13

WELL DONE RASMUS

The Dane picks himself up and ends well with a brilliant birdie on 18. His arms are up in celebration and he is smiling once again. Now over to you Nicolai.

Elsewhere English moves to six-under with a birdie at 11, but Hatton drops back after a dropped shot on 14.

"OH YOU DIRTY DOG"

Not a phrase I would necessarily use on the golf course after a poor chip shot, but Brian Harman might disagree, as he angrily talks to himself following a poor approach at 15.

It doesn't matter though, as he of course makes up-and-down to stay at seven-under.

BRYSON AT 13

MAKE THIS COUNT NOW RORY

A third birdie of the day for McIlroy who's eagle opportunity just slides by at 12.

Still, a welcome birdie for the Northern Irishman who has a couple of opportune holes next up to continue climbing the leaderboard.

Fleetwood just misses his birdie who remains at four-under for the day.

Both men are at two-under for the tournament.

FLUSHED

Two birdie opportunities incoming for the two Europeans I just mentioned with Fleetwood tucking it a tad closer than McIlroy's ball.

Their playing partner Justin Thomas too hits one close, and is level-par for the Championship. A good opportunity here for the American to enter into the red.

LI STARTS WELL

Haotong LI, an overnight leader, starts well with a birdie and three pars, as he moves nicely to five-under.

The Chinese golfer has four wins on the DP World Tour, with his best finish at the Open coming in 2017, where he finished third.

AFTERNOON TEE-TIMES

Here's a reminder of some of the key afternoon tee-times for today at Royal Portrush.

2:26pm (9:26am): Hideki Matsuyama, Ryan Fox, Matt Fitzpatrick

2:48pm (9:48am): Sam Burns, Aldrich Potgieter, Brooks Koepka

2:59pm (9:59am): Xander Schauffele, JJ Spaun, Jon Rahm

3:10pm (10:10am): Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler

HELLO, HELLO

Michael Weston taking over from Euan - thanks Mr Tickner. I join you as Hatton almost makes an unlikely two from off the green on 16. He'll take the par - a nasty hole out of the way.

HARMAN DIALLED IN

Who is this Brian Harman chap? Never heard of him. Anyway, he's in reasonably tight on 17 and will have a good opportunity to extend his lead to two. That iron shot approach was a beauty.

BRYSON BATTLING HARD

What a difference a day makes. He's -5 for his round. A classy response after the American endured a miserable day on the links yesterday. He clearly has the game to win a Claret Jug. In some ways, that round yesterday is only going to help in the long run.

FINAU UP TO -4

Big Tony is going along nicely. He has made an eagle on 12. He has a 2 and three 3s on the card. He started round two with a bogey, too, but he now finds himself just three shots off the lead.

WHAT A WAY TO SIGN OFF

There are 68s and there are 68s that finish with a monster birdie putt. Out in 34, back in 34. Tidy stuff from the Dane.

MISSED IT

Harman bends his knees as that birdie putt on 17 slides just by. Getting flashbacks from Hoylake two years ago when he hoovered everything up from that distance. He stays one ahead of Li.

MCILROY DROPS ONE

A mid range putt from Rory drops on 15. 17ft, three inches - bang. A birdie on the hardest hole on the course gets McIlroy to -3. That's worth one-and-bit on the field. Looking very calm now. Can he grab one or two more before the end of his round? He's four from home.

HARMAN HAS COMPANY

Now then. Haotong Li has joined Brian Harman with a birdie at the par-3 6th hole. The young man from China has birdied three of his first six holes. Conditions are really good for scoring out here at the moment.

MORE ON LI'S BIRDIE AT 6

It was actually very nearly an ace. He called for it to go, which it did, before rolling out to within a few inches. Lovely stuff.

McIlroy is playing the 15th, but he makes a mistake with his approach and has left himself a tricky up-and-down.

Harman, meanwhile, will surely take the lead on his own again after that approach on 18, an 8-iron that finishes about four feet behind the flag.

MAGIC ON 1 FROM FOX

A rare off day from Ryan Fox on Thursday. The Kiwi was out of sorts en route to a 75 yesterday, but he's opened up with a three (I'm giving him that two-footer) to get back to +3.

Harman does birdie the last for a 65 and he leads by one.

BIRDIES DROPPING

Not for English, who misses a good opportunity to get to -6. Bob makes one on 17, though, to get the shot back that he dropped on 16. The Scot is now -5 and three off the pace set by Harman.

Talking of Harman, here's that card. Doesn't it look nice?

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LI LOOKING GOOD

A chance coming up for Li to join Harman on -8. I did not expect to be typing that number so early.

Meanwhile, Hatton is in with a 69. He slopes off the 18th with a little smile. A lot of young fans screaming for his ball. I think his caddie has thrown a few out. A lovely round from the Englishman...

LI BURNS THE EDGE

For four birdies in seven holes. 10 feet. No. Slips by. Shame. Matthew Jordan moves to -5. Two birdies in four holes for the Englishman.

Bob is on 18. Huge galleries packed in cheering on the Scot as he looks to close out his round. Not bad from 190 meters. Comes to rest some 20 feet or so behind the hole.

Meanwhile, could DeChambeau finish with another birdie and get himself back to even par? It's on after that approach. Although scoring conditions are currently favorable, he's back in the tournament.

LI'S NEAR-ACE

The man from China is playing with a lot of freedom out here. How's this for a tee shot.

Back to the 1st, and defending champion Xander Schauffele has just teed off. It's gone right... but bounces in the first cut and seems to be sitting nicely.

JJ Spaun is up next. The US Open champion, who shot 73 yesterday, splits the fairway. Then it's Jon Rahm's turn - and the Spaniard does the same - bullets an iron. It must be sooo nice to have that shot in your locker - the game would be sooo much more enjoyable. Lots of run.

ADAM SCOTT UPDATE

It gives me no pleasure to announce that Adam Scott won't be playing the weekend. A miserable day for the Aussie, a 79 and at +9 we won't be seeing him compete over the next two days.

Just the 17/18 greens in regulation for Bryson, who taps in for a 65. He's on the cutline but I think we'll be seeing him this weekend.

Justin Rose cards a 71, his progress today being dented by that treble on 11. At -2, he's nicely placed, however.

Some very dark clouds as we see Rory wedge it in to 17. He's not too happy but he will have a reasonable chance for birdie.

BRYSON'S 65

So, DeChambeau matches Harman's 65. The problem is, he shot 78 on Thursday. Still, that was a fine response.

McIlroy will feel like he's missed an opportunity there on 17. He'll have expected to give himself a better chance after that drive.

I said earlier that he was looking calm, but he was pretty annoyed with that approach.

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SCHEFFLER, LOWRY OFF

Lowry comes up just short of the trap but Collin Morikawa shoots into it like a rat up a drain pipe. Scheffler finds the fairway.

The clouds right now look a very dark shade of gray.

ABERG IN WITH A 67

The young Swede hasn't been at his best the last few weeks. His good stuff remains very good, however. -4 for the day and -2 for the tournament.

Back to the 1st and Lowry is safely aboard, although he's going to have a lengthy putt from about 40 feet.

The heavens have opened and the umbrellas are out... albeit it not everywhere on the course. Showers of the heavy variety.

IT'S HEAVY

Conditions have changed somewhat. It's gone from very pleasant to grotesque in just a few moments. Time to fight hard. No moaning. Start to grumble and you're going to go home early. The joy of links golf in the British summer. Embrace.

Easy for me to say. I'm sat indoors drinking a hot cup of Yorkshire Tea. The Open Arms needs to start serving soup, not cold beer.

Anyway, no problems for the World No.1 who birdies the 1st hole. Iron off the tee, approach to five feet. Converts it. -4 with the par 5 coming up.

MCILROY FIVE BACK

A 69 for Rory. A 7/10 performance, maybe a 7.5. In contention and a whole lot better than six years ago.

FITZ TO -6

He's enjoying it out there. The man from Sheffield birdies the 4th to make up for that three-putt par on the 2nd. The Englishman won't be too bothered by a bit of rain.

SCHEFFLER BUNKERED

Trouble off the tee for the three-time Major champion. The par-5 2nd is one hole where the players will be hoping to pick one up - and he still might. However, he's made life difficult for himself after rolling into the trap with his tee shot.

His birdie putt is going to be a long one.

RAIN EASING

I think. Maybe. It certainly doesn't look as heavy. Another chance gone for Scheffler, although he is -1 through the first three holes. A lovely tee shot at the par-3 3rd is followed by a mediocre putt. Par.

Lowry draws a huge cheer as he gets the read spot on - makes his eight-footer for a birdie to get to -2.

LI NOT FAULTERING

28 holes without a dropped shot for Li, which is some going given the course and the bout of bad weather that's just passed through. Here's a little bit of Li magic.

"TWO SOLID DAYS"

After putting a sizeable amount of cash in the swear box, Robert MacIntyre has been speaking about his round. He's obviously very happy and says he rates his chances as "good as anyone else's".

Bob does occasionally say something naughty, as do a lot of these players, which keeps the commentators on their toes. Of course, when you're playing at somewhere like Portrush, which is a bit of a brute, it can mean a lot of colorful language.

Personally, I don't think we need the apologies. Keep it up, Bob, and go and get some more change for the jar.

LOWRY'S PERFECT PUTT

Yes it was a shorty, but there was a bit of movement on this. Listen to those cheers.

FITZ UP AND DOWN

Rollercoaster start. Birdie, par, par, birdie, bogey, birdie. The Englishman's latest birdie comes at the par-3 6th. He rolls one nicely down the slope and finds the bottom of the cup.

Lowry with a big save on the 4th. That was about 15 feet. Huge cheers again. This is just Friday. Imagine Sunday with both Rory and Lowry in the mix.

WESTWOOD SLIPPING

Not the worst of nines given the downpour we've just had, but Westwood is out in 37 (+1). A good chance goes begging at 10. The Englishman, who came through Final Open Qualifying in impressive fashion, sits at -1 for the tournament.

HAPPY IN THE RAIN

This is how Scottie Scheffler started his second round. The World No.1 just slips into a hoodie, grabs an umbrella and carries on strolling around like he's playing in 90 degree heat.

TOMMY WORKING WITH LUKE DONALD

Sort of. The Englishman says he's good friends with the Ryder Cup skipper and the former World No.1 offered him some putting assistance at last week's Scottish Open.

Fleetwood said he's struggled on the greens in Scotland, and praised Donald for offering a few words of wisdom. He's going to, of course, because he'll want Tommy to be hot with the putter in New York in September.

If you listen to Sir Nick Faldo, another former World No.1, he'll tell you that Fleetwood needs to learn how to fade the ball more. The six-time Major champion made this point again earlier in commentary.

Tommy did miss a few putts again today, but he also hit some very good shots and is right back in the mix.

Meanwhile, sound the new leader alarm...

NEW LEADER

And there is the alarm. Not the klaxon telling the players to get off the course (the rain has passed through).

It's the new leader alarm. Haotong Li birdies the par-5 12th. The man from China is -5 for the day with six holes to play and has gone one clear of Brian Harman.

GOTTERUP MAKING A MOVE

The Scottish Open champ is on a bit of a charge. The man who held off Rory McIlroy last week is into the top-10. He eagled the par-5 2nd and picked up further shots at the 7th and 10th, and is in fine shape at the 12th. -4 for the day and could soon be -5.

Elsewhere, Matt Fitzpatrick has made his fourth birdie on the front nine, his latest one coming at the 7th, which sees him move up to -7 and just two off the lead.

Li has a putt to get into double digits under par - but it's a bit of a shocker. We'll let him off. Correction on Gotterup. That last pitch led to a tidy up-and-down so he remains -4.

RORY: "GOOD ENOUGH TO MAKE A RUN"

"Another solid day. A couple under, improved a little bit on yesterday, hit it in play a little bit more off the tee, which was nice to have some looks out of the fairway and into some of these greens. Yeah, it was a good day. I feel like I maybe could be a couple closer to the lead, but overall in a decent position heading into the weekend.

"I’m excited for that opportunity. I didn’t have this opportunity six years ago, so to play an extra two days in this atmosphere in front of these crowds, I’m very excited for that. I feel like my game’s definitely good enough to make a run. So as I said, I’m excited for the weekend."

AMATEURS STRUGGLING

It's not looking like we're going to have one of those great amateur stories this weekend. Nine amateurs are vying for the Silver Medal this week: Cameron Adam, Sebastian Cave, Ethan Fang, Connor Graham, Justin Hastings, Filip Jakubcik, Frazer Jones, Bryan Newman, and Richard Teder.

As it stands, it's not looking like any of them will make the cut.

Meanwhile, Scheffler up to -5 and safely aboard the par-3 6th, just four shots back and looking very in control of things, as he always does.

LEADER LOOKING STRONG

Li not showing any signs of nerves. This is a player who has five wins to his name on the DP World Tour - so he knows how to get the job done.

Five holes to go for the leader and he's rolling the ball very nicely.

"NOT IN MY WILDEST DREAMS..."

... did I feel like this is how my life would pan out. More from Rory McIlroy. It might only be Friday, but I think there was a little bit of a lump in his throat there after summarizing what it means to be playing in front of his home fans with a chance to win the Claret Jug.

SCHEFFLER TO -6

Now just three back. Three birdies in the first third of his round - not getting too excited though. The rest of the field are in trouble if the World No.1 starts dropping putts from that distance - that was 30 feet on the par-3 6th. Par for Lowry.

BOGEY FOR THE LEADER

He's still the leader, but he now shares it again with Harman. That's a first dropped shot for Li, who now has just four holes left to play. Scheffler is two shots off the lead now. I fancy he could be leading come the end of the day...

RAHMBO BIRDIES

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Rahm has made a good start to his second round on Friday and, at the par 5 seventh, he makes his second birdie of the day to move to three-under.

GOTTERUP ON A CHARGE

WESTWOOD MOVES BACK TO TWO-UNDER

The 52-year-old fired a two-under 69 yesterday and, despite a poor start today, Lee Westwood has birdied the par 3 13th to get back to two-under for the championship.

BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK BIRDIES FOR SCOTTIE

Scheffler has started his second round brilliantly and, after birdies at the first, fifth and sixth, the World No.1 plays the seventh hole perfectly, with Scheffler rolling in a seven-footer for birdie to get to seven-under and solo third.

FITZY TO SEVEN-UNDER

Fitzpatrick was annoyed with his second shot at the par 4 10th, with the ball heading left. However, kicking off the bank, it finishes 12-foot from the flag and, with a putter in hand, he rolls it into the center of the cup for birdie, moving the Englishman to seven-under and alongside Scheffler. They're both one back of the leaders.

GO ON TOMMY LAD

BIRDIES FOR THE MATT'S

Matthew Fitzpatrick and Matthew Jordan are playing some great golf this week and, at their respective holes, both Englishmen make birdies.

Fitzpatrick finds a birdie at the par 4 11th to get into a three-way share of the lead at eight-under, while Jordan birdies the par 3 13th to get to four-under and a share of ninth.

In other news, the umbrellas are up and the rain has arrived. It appears that we will be in for another shower.

DROPPED SHOT FOR RAHM

Rahm pulls his tee shot left at the par 4 eighth and, with his second shot, he chips in to the rough on the right side. Playing a wedge to the front edge, he just misses the par attempt, tapping-in for bogey to fall back to two-under.

LI CARDS BACK-TO-BACK 67s

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Another excellent round from Haotong Li, who cards another four-under round of 67 to finish at eight-under. He has dropped just one shot through 36 holes at Royal Portrush.

In his group, Jordan Smith cards a three-under 68 to finish three-under, while Dustin Johnson birdies three of his final four holes to finish level-par and make the cut comfortably.

NEW LEADER

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Fitzpatrick has been playing some excellent golf today and, at the par 5 12th, he makes a third consecutive birdie to get to nine-under-par.

He produced a two-under 34 on the front and, with birdies at the 10th, 11th and 12th, he finds himself leading by one.

ANOTHER BIRDIE FOR FITZ

This is splendid golf from Fitzpatrick, who plays an incredible approach at the par 3 13th. Sticking his tee shot to six-foot, the US Open winner rolls it in for a fourth straight birdie to move to 10-under-par.

Leading by two from Li and Harman, the duo are then joined by World No.1 Scheffler, who birdies the par 4 10th to get to eight-under, two back of Fitzpatrick.

THE FIRST PLAYER TO 10-UNDER

RAHM FRUSTRATED

THE RAIN IS FALLING

We are currently in a strong rain shower at Royal Portrush and, for the time being, it doesn't appear to be easing up.

Conditions are tough out there and, at the par 4 11th, both Lowry and Scheffler are forced to hack out of the thick rough, with both men finding it with their tee shots.

At the par 5 12th, Schauffele has found the fairway, while Rahm found the fairway bunker and will be forced to lay-up with his second shot.

WESTWOOD IS PUMPED

SCHEFFLER DROPS A SHOT

The World No.1 was five-under for his round through 10 holes, thanks to five birdies, but at the par 4 11th, which has been the fourth hardest hole today, the American bogeys it after failing to get up-and-down. He is now seven-under.

FITZY BACK TO NINE-UNDER

Just as Scheffler drops a shot, Fitzpatrick does the same! Having made four straight birdies, the Englishman three-putts from distance for a bogey five at the 14th, dropping him back to nine-under and just one ahead of Li and Harman.

BILLY LOVING THE ACTION

ANOTHER BIRDIE PUTT MISSED FOR RAHM

Rahm hasn't had much luck today and, at the par 3 13th, the Spaniard's putt from mid-range comes up just short. It's another par for Rahm, who is level for today and one-under for the championship.

CUT WATCH

There are plenty of players in contention here but, just recently, the cutline has now moved from two-over to one-over!

Currently, a number of players will miss the cut, including Joaquin Niemann and Collin Morikawa, but there's still time for that number to jump back...

EXCELLENT FROM SCOTTIE

At the par 3 13th, Scheffler puts his tee shot to eight-foot and, with the putter in hand, he rolls in his birdie attempt to get to eight-under, one back of Fitzpatrick, who has parred the 15th and 16th.

BRYSON REACTS AFTER 13-SHOT IMPROVEMENT

NARROW MISS FOR SCHEFFLER

Scheffler has a great chance to join Fitzpatrick at the top of the leaderboard but, at the par 4 14th, he just misreads his birdie attempt as it slides by the right-side. He taps in for par to remain at eight-under.

WOW... BIG MISS FROM FITZPATRICK

He hasn't missed a beat today and, at the par 4 17th, Fitzpatrick plays a great pitch to just a few-feet.

It seems that it's a guaranteed birdie for the Englishman, who would move to 10-under, but his attempt goes in one side of the hole and comes out the other. It's a poor par, in the end, for Fitzpatrick, who remains nine-under heading down the last.

BOGEYS FOR SPAUN AND REITAN

The US Open champion, Spaun, bogeys the par 4 15th to drop back to one-under, while Reitan, who recently claimed the Soudal Open, bogeys the final hole for a three-under 68. He heads into the weekend at two-under.

POSSIBLE PENALTY?

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Lowry has endured a frustrating day and it could get worse for the former Champion Golfer of the Year...

Playing the par 4 12th, it seemed that his golf ball moved as Lowry prepared to hit his second shot. Currently, The R&A has not determined if the Major winner will be assessed a penalty, but they will wait to speak with Lowry and review the video footage with him after the round.

RAHM BOGEYS

Rahm's frustrations continue, with the Spaniard missing a short par putt at the par 3 16th. He is now level for the championship and one-over for the round.

HUGE PAR AT THE LAST FOR FITZPATRICK

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Excellent par at the last for Matt Fitzpatrick, who cards a five-under 66 to sit at nine-under and, currently, lead by a single stroke.

Finding a gnarly lie following his second shot, the Englishman's chip finishes 23-foot from the flag. Needing to hole his par attempt to remain one clear, it never looks anywhere else, dropping in for a four, keeping Fitzpatrick one clear.

PAR SAVE

SCOTTIE TIES THE LEAD

Just as Fitzpatrick ends his round, he is joined by Scheffler at nine-under-par!

The Englishman pars the 18th but, back at the par 3 16th, Scheffler holes a birdie putt for a second gain in four holes. He is now nine-under and in a share of the lead with the former US Open winner.

ALMOST AN EPIC FINISH FOR FOXY

SCHEFFLER JOINS THE LEAD

SCOTTIE LEADS

It's taken 35 holes, but Scottie Scheffler leads The Open Championship via a birdie at the 17th.

Pulling his tee shot left, the World No.1 receives a big slice of luck as it finishes on a lovely lie. Putting a wedge on to the green, Scheffler rolls in a 17-footer for a third birdie in five holes.

He is now 10-under and one clear of Fitzpatrick.

SUPERB SCOTTIE

PARS AND BOGEYS

Schauffele, Spaun and Rahm haven't been at their best today and, at the final hole, Schauffele finishes his round at two-under, while both Spaun and Rahm are level-par, with Rahm bogeying the last via a poor par attempt.

FITZPATRICK REACTS

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"I felt like every facet of my game was on today and I felt like I really played solid. To take advantage of the opportunities I had out there was obviously really positive.

"(I'm)Giving myself an opportunity to win the golf tournament, but there's still a hell of a long way to go. Obviously the aim of the game is to stay in it for as long as possible and hopefully you can pull away right at the death.

"I'm obviously 50 percent there. We'll see what the weekend brings."

SCHEFFLER LEADS AT THE HALFWAY STAGE

Scheffler has a great chance to get to 11-under after two great shots at the 18th but, with his birdie putt, it comes up a few rolls short. He taps in for a par and a seven-under 64, which puts him 10-under and one clear.

Lowry, who has struggled today, just misses his birdie putt, with the former Claret Jug winner finishing at one-under-par. We will wait to see what happens with his incident at the par 4 12th.

EPIC ROUND FROM SCOTTIE

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TWO-SHOT PENALTY FOR LOWRY

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It was expected, but Lowry has been given a two-shot penalty for causing his golf ball to move from a practice swing at the par 5 12th.

His score has gone from a par to a double bogey seven, with Lowry now level-par for the championship.

PENALTY MOMENT

EXCELLENT PLAY FROM 53-YEAR-OLD JUSTIN LEONARD

FINAL GROUP FINISH

The final group are in at Royal Portrush, with Sadom Kaewkanjana, Riki Kawamoto and Sampson Zheng finshing up their second rounds.

Kaewkanjana started his day three-under, but has fallen back to five-over-par following an eight-over-par second round. Kawamoto has seen himself get into the weekend via a level-par score, while Zheng is eight-over.

We are now at the halfway stage of The 153rd Open Championship and, going into the weekend, Scottie Scheffler leads at 10-under, one ahead of Matt Fitzpatrick.

Make sure to tune in to Golf Monthly's blog tomorrow for what promises to be a thrilling day of action in Northern Ireland, where several players will want to make a charge on Moving Day!

GOOD MORNING FROM ROYAL PORTRUSH

Hello and welcome to round three of the 2025 Open.

Conditions are breezy and cloudy this morning, and we've just seen Bryson DeChambeau pull it miles out of bounds left on the first. Tough start for the American, who carded a supreme 65 yesterday to make the cut on the number.

TODAY'S WEATHER FORECAST:

The forecast actually (!) looks okay today. Maybe a bit of rain at times but it should stay dry for the majority of the third round. Those 20mph gusts are getting me excited.

LEADERBOARD AT THE HALFWAY STAGE

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LOWRY PENALTY 'VERY HARSH' - PAUL MCGINLEY

OPEN TEE TIMES: FINAL GROUPS TODAY

All times local (BST)

  • 2pm: Ludvig Aberg, Justin Rose
  • 2.10pm: Harry Hall, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
  • 2.20pm: Sam Burns, Lee Westwood
  • 2.30pm: Jordan Smith, Rory McIlroy
  • 2.45pm: Keegan Bradley, Nicolai Hojgaard
  • 2.55pm: Tony Finau, Chris Gotterup
  • 3.05pm: Harris English, Robert MacIntyre
  • 3.15pm: Tyrrell Hatton, Rasmus Hojgaard
  • 3.25pm: Haotong Li, Brian Harman
  • 3.35pm: Matt Fitzpatrick, Scottie Scheffler

BOGEY FOR BRYSON AT 1

After pulling his opening tee shot out of bounds (by some way), the LIV star manages a birdie with his second ball to limit the damage to just a bogey.

He went on to birdie the par-5 2nd to get the shot straight back.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO CAM SMITH?

The 2022 Open champion is, incredibly, the only man to have played in all four Majors and miss all four cuts this year.

Smith was +8 for 36 holes to miss the weekend by seven strokes. He has now missed five consecutive Major cuts and has not had a top-10 in one since the 2024 Masters.

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THE 2025 MAJOR MEN

While Smith has missed all four Major cuts this year, these 16 men have made the cut in every single one...

STATS AT THE HALFWAY STAGE

  • Driving Distance: Jon Rahm 326.5 yards
  • Driving Accuracy: Lee Westwood 82.1%
  • Greens In Regulation: Haotong Li 83.3%
  • Par 5 Scoring: Sergio Garcia -8
  • Strokes Gained Off The Tee: Lee Westwood +4.749
  • Strokes Gained Approach: Scottie Scheffler +6.821
  • Strokes Gained Around The Greens: Thriston Lawrence +3.625
  • Strokes Gained Putting: Harry Hall +6.489

DECHAMBEAU BIRDIE-BIRDIE

After bogeying the 1st, DeChambeau has responded excellently with back-to-back birdies and he's now even par for the tournament.

An incredible fightback considering his 78 on Thursday.

COREY CONNERS OFF TO A FAST START

The Canadian has birdied the 1st, 7th and 8th this morning to move to two-under-par for the tournament.

STUNNER FROM HENRIK STENSON!

The 2016 Open champion has just hit a trademark Stenson iron shot into the par-3 6th that rests within a foot of the hole.

He is going to move to one-under-par for the tournament, a very impressive score for the 49-year-old.

INCREDIBLE PHIL MICKELSON STAT

The six-time Major winner has now surpassed Gary Player after making his 103rd cut in a Major Championship. That's longevity.

LOWRY AND RAHM UNDERWAY

Another fantastic reception for Shane Lowry, who pulls a long iron left and very close to the out of bounds. It looks like he's caught a good lie, though.

Jon Rahm finds the bunker up the right after pushing his fairway wood shot.

OPENING BIRDIE FOR WYNDHAM CLARK

The 2023 US Open champion shot 66 yesterday to make the cut and has just birdied the 1st to get under-par for the tournament.

ANOTHER BRYSON BIRDIE

DeChambeau drove the green on the par-4 5th and managed to two-putt for another birdie. He is now under-par for the tournament!

A STENSON LASER

Another incredible iron shot from Henrik Stenson, who comes close to holing out for albatross on the par-5 7th. He'll have around 10ft for eagle to move to three-under-par.

STENSON EAGLE!

The Swede duly converts at the 7th and he is now four-under-par for the round and three-under for the championship. Big move!

STENSON'S EAGLE AT 7:

RORY MCILROY EXCITED FOR THE WEEKEND:

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SHANE LOWRY IN TROUBLE ON 2

The Irishman hooked his fairway wood second shot into the gorse bushes down the left and he has had to take a drop onto the other fairway.

From 75 yards he hits a stunning little wedge shot that gets to within a foot of the hole but it spins back off the green. Ouch.

ANOTHER BRYSON BIRDIE

DeChambeau finds the par-5 7th in two blows and two-putts for his fourth birdie of the day.

He is now two-under for the championship, incredible. Reminder, he was seven-over after day one!

HOVLAND AND SPIETH UNDERWAY

The two potential Ryder Cup rivals have struck their tee shots down the first. Hovland found the first cut on the right while Spieth is just in the wispy grass on the same side.

LOWRY GOES CROSS COUNTRY

Shane Lowry opted to take a line back into the adjacent fairway after taking an unplayable, and he almost escaped with a sublime par. But that flag is perched so close to the far left corner that he flirted with danger and was bitten. Lowry almost holed his fourth, but it spun back and slid away down a slope into the rough.

From there, he sensibly found the putting surface before holing a pretty long effort for bogey on the par-5. That is a hole a lot of players were gaining shots yesterday, but a glance at the giant scoreboard here in the media centre tells me it's proving much tougher so far today. Just seven birdies through 13 groups.

RAHM BOGEYS THREE

Jon Rahm is slipping backwards on a day where I believe the course record could be in real danger. There's barely any wind out there - you might call it a breeze, but nothing more. The sun is supposed to be out for most of the day as well. Ideal scoring conditions, in theory.

Rahm has three-putted the par-3 third from off the green, and that's the Spaniard's second bogey already.

JJ SPAUN FLYING

We saw Tommy Fleetwood come out hot yesterday, and now JJ Spaun is going great guns on Moving Day via birdies at each of the first two. That takes him to two-under for the championship as well.

DeChambeau, Takumi Kanaya and Corey Conners are among the group of lowest scorers in the early stages.

SVENSSON FROM RANGE

A DP World Tour regular who a lot of fans might not be fully aware of, Sweden's Jesper Svensson has begun really well through the first third of his round. He has just canned a birdie from miles out on the sixth to move up to two-under for the week and three-under for his day.

A few of the players who squeezed through to the weekend are proving what is possible ahead of the chasers beginning their rounds in the next few hours.

SCOTTIE HAS ARRIVED

The leader is on site. He strolls in to the Open clubhouse looking like he doesn't have a care in the world. Scheffler is off just after 3:35 BST (10:35am ET).

NOT ALL SUNSHINE AND RAINBOWS

While a lot of players are going along nicely, Matti Schmid is not having a good time out there. He's carded three double bogeys and a bogey at the 14th to sit at seven-over for the championship.

Remarkably, his playing partner Conners is at three-under via five birdies. You often see groups kind of follow the same pattern - when one struggles, the other follows and vice versa - but that's not true in this instance.

Elsewhere, Jon Rahm makes his first birdie of the day at the fifth and sarcastically raises both fists to the sky, with the on-looking fans laughing and applauding in response. Viktor Hovland looks quite tuned up with the putter so far, draining a long-range effort at the third to reach two-under.

HAOTONG LI ARRIVES

A very happy Haotong rocks up at Royal Portrush with a big grin on his face. The Chinese pro always wears his heart on his sleeve, so you can tell what he's thinking. He's loving being in this situation, just two strokes off the lead of The Open.

THE SEVENTH

Not-so-humble brag incoming, but I'm at Royal Portrush this week and I've been lucky enough to walk the course a few times. The seventh, which is where Rahm and Lowry currently are, is one of my favorite holes here. It is one of the two new holes built ahead of the 2019 Championship.

It's not the toughest, admittedly, but it looks unbelievable from the tee - sat in a valley - and is just an enjoyable place to be with the high sandhills on the right and a green which is well guarded.

Rahm has received a good break off the tee, with his ball just missing the left fairway bunker at roughly 335 yards (carry). From there, it's possible to reach the raised green as the hole rises in front of the players. If he was in that bunker, that was an eagle chance gone for sure. Lowry, meanwhile, has found the middle of the fairway with no issues.

DECHAMBEAU FINDING HIS GROOVE

The American has really found his feet in Northern Ireland since a rough Thursday. Four birdies today have pushed DeChambeau up to two-under, and he almost bagged another gain at the par-4 11th from 12 feet or so.

His ball was tracking towards the hole but slammed the brakes on inches out. DeChambeau complains out loud as he walks away, but he's playing well.

FLEETWOOD AND THOMAS UNDERWAY

Another of the Ryder Cup-themed groupings today, Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Thomas begin round three. Both take a hybrid of some kind, and both find the fairway. The Englishman and his American rival chat away as the leave the tee box.

WAGNER MASTERCLASS

NBC Sports' Johnson Wagner is out on the 18th, explaining the literal lay of the land on and around the green today. There is a run off over the back left - near the hole - which is likely to attract plenty of golf balls throughout the day.

But as Wagner proves, a firmly-struck thwack up the slope can leave you with a perfectly makeable par putt - a potentially vital tactic for those looking jostling for position ahead of the final round.

BRYSON THREE-PUTT

DeChambeau had a pretty good look at eagle from mid-range on the par-5 12th but left it around three feet short. The subsequent birdie putt had a little left-to-right in it, but you'd have expected the LIV man to make it.

Quite surprisingly, however, DeChambeau barely touches the hole with his putt and must walk away with a par. Five pars in a row might suggest the momentum is fizzling away...

At the very next hole, the par-3 13th, DeChambeau cards his second bogey of the day and is back to one-under for the week.

ROUGH START FOR RYDER CUPPERS

Justin Thomas and Tommy Fleetwood were in good positions down the first, but wayward approaches to the front-left hole location left them fighting to make par. They didn't manage it and both suffer early setbacks to fall back to even par.

They will have half-chances to bounce back at the par-5 second, however.

CONNERS SIGNS FOR A 66

The Canadian was in the first group out this morning and he's shown what is possible via six birdies and a single bogey. Conners closed with a lovely mid-range birdie putt, moving on to four-under.

He can now go back to his accommodation and enjoy the golf with his feet up. Maybe grab an ice cream and take a stroll along the beach. The ideal reward for a brilliant round.

BOUNCE-BACK EAGLE

The eagle has landed for Tommy Fleetwood at the second! From one side of the green to the other, Fleetwood sinks a massive eagle putt to recover the bogey situation from the first and then some.

His playing partner, Thomas, misses a five-foot birdie attempt, though, and has started with two fives.

FRUSTRATING FRONT NINE

The latest player to pour one in from long range is Shane Lowry. He finds the hole from considerable range at the ninth to save par, making the turn in 36 strokes, with his only error coming at the second after a penalty drop. There hasn't been much to smile about for the 2019 Open champion so far today.

GAINS FOR US STARS

DeChambeau immediately responds to his bogey at the 13th with a birdie at the 14th. Elsewhere, Jordan Spieth goes birdie-bogey-birdie between the fifth and seventh.

JOHN PARRY ACE

The first hole-in-one of the week has arrived! DP World Tour pro, John Parry has managed it at the par-3 13th from around 193 yards. He clipped an iron down the hill with a little helping wind and watched it take a couple of wee bounces before running into the hole.

That has to be the best place to make an ace at Royal Portrush because of the back-to-back greens (13 and 17), the two grandstands that run either side of both and the adjoining hospitality tent. What a roar when that went in. Sensational from the Englishman!

FAST-START STAT

So far today, through 23 groups, four players have birdied the first and second holes. They are JJ Spaun, Sungjae Im, Matt Wallace and Oliver Lindell. There are 11 groups still to go, so that number is very likely to increase with some extremely friendly weather around.

WHO CAN CATCH SCOTTIE?

Hello, Michael Weston taking over from Jonny here. Jonny is off to walk the course and probably get himself an ice cream. It's not exactly summery out there but sometimes you've got to make yourself feel like it is actually British summertime.

Anyway, the answer to the above question is no one. No one is catching Scottie. It's done. I just passed the engraver and he's already put the American's name on the Claret Jug (for the next three years).

OUT OF BOUNDS LEFT AND RIGHT

Has anyone else played a course where there is out of bounds left and right, as there is on the 1st at Royal Portrush? I can't think of anywhere... but there must be others.

Surely it's a help. If there's OB right, club golfers like myself hit it right. Left and they hit it left. OB left and right and surely you button it down the center of the fairway. Is that now how it works?

Anyway, back to the action...

POOR START FOR ROSE

Back to -1. Looks skywards - not the start he wanted, a bogey at the 1st hole.

SIR NICK FALDO TALKING...

The six-time Major winner believes this tournament isn't done and that Scottie Scheffler can't keep getting away with driving the ball poorly.

I see it differently: when he starts driving it well, he'll go even further clear. I hope I'm wrong and we still get an exciting weekend.

On Faldo, I'm a huge fan. I know he can go on about himself a fair bit, but I still think he's great to listen to and his understanding of the game is second to none.

SCHEFFLER V FITZPATRICK

This week's stats

Scheffler

Fitzpatrick

Off-the-tee

93rd

14th

Approach

1st

9th

Around the green

100th

2nd

Putting

2nd

43rd

WESTWOOD AWAY

Lee Westwood (-3) finds the right rough off the 1st. Up ahead, Fleetwood is flying after his slow start. He bogeyed the 1st but eagled the 2nd, and the Englishman has just picked up another one to get to -3.

Both of these English players would be popular winners - two of the best there are without a Major to their name.

Rory McIlroy is now making his way to the 1st tee... Don't hit it left, don't hit it left, or right...

SMITH AND RORY OFF

Jordan Smith is first away. The bearded Englishman stripes it down the fairway. Rory in red (could be orange) hits a driving iron down the left side. Two crackers.

Rory's shirt... I'm guessing it's burnt orange. Looks good, anyway. Will he catch fire today? He needs to, seven back of Scottie, his arch-rival.

BRYSON'S BACK

He'll finish at -2. He's not going to win it but what a turnaround after Thursday's horror show.

From 18 to 1... Rory. About 150 yards. He's right, but on the putting surface. A tricky putt upcoming. Would have liked to have seen him stiff one there.

Two birdies on the bounce from Aberg. Fleetwood goes eagle hunting on 7 and goes 10 feet past, a poor one that.

BOOM!

Wow. What a putt. A bonus, that. -4. He'd have taken a two-putt, but McIlroy boxes it from 40 feet. Birdie start, six back.

CAN RORY BACK IT UP?

Driver on the 2nd, obviously. First cut. That should be Ok and allow him to have a crack at the green. Needs to back it up at the par 5 to really take advantage of that incredible putt at the 1st. The noise is incredible.

Back at the 1st, US Ryder Cup captain (for now) Keegan Bradley is on the tee. No dropped shots yesterday. Finds the fairway. He's playing with Nicolai Hojgaard. Holds his finish after that one, beauty down the left side.

Up at the 2nd, just a par for Westwood, who leaves his birdie putt fractionally short.

GOOD READ

Here's that tramliner from Rory. He's followed that up by finding the heart of the green in two at the 2nd and will have a decent look at eagle.

RORY BIRDIE AT 2

The eagle effort was right on line but it comes up just short. The perfect start, just about. Rory moves to -5 and is now just five shots back. Scheffler will be teeing off shortly. Can Rory continue to up the noise and make the World No.1 feel some pressure on that 1st tee?

WANT TO PLAY LIKE SCOTTIE?

They're talking about this grip training aid again, which the World No.1 uses. Ok, it won't make you play like Scheffler, but you will improve your grip - the American is pretty obsessive in this department and we amateurs should be too.

I've bought one. It's currently sitting unused in my garage.

BACK AT THE 1ST

10 OB left and 2 OB right on the 1st this week, which is where we find Harris English. Lovely swing. Fairway. Then huge applause and cheers for Bob MacIntyre. He's not missed one putt from 10 feet or under so far this week - and he's not missed the 1st fairway, either. Lovely stuff.

LONG PUTT ON 3

Rory judges that one beautifully. That was another lengthy putt and it's the easiest of tap-ins. Par.

Up at 5, Rose converts a lengthy putt to get to -4. Xander makes a big jump from -2 to -4 with an eagle. Matt Wallace is on the same score. It's hard to keep up with all the birdies at the moment. This could not feel any more like a Moving Day.

The drive on the difficult 4th from McIlroy is a beauty - fairway found and a good angle to attack the pin if he wishes.

WIDE FROM BOB

It's Okay. Not his best swing, but the ball trickles off the bank on the 1st towards the green. English with a far better approach, below the hole with a birdie putt of some 15 feet upcoming.

Fleetwood (-4) makes the turn in 33.

THE CHAMP MAKES HIS MOVE

Here's Xander Schauffele's eagle putt on 7, which found the bottom of the cup. He's been going about his business fairly quietly - but he's now right up there and in the mix.

RAHM TO -2

A birdie on 16 for the best-dressed man on the course. Purple slacks and blue shirt - lovely.

One of the biggest moves of the day has come from Russell Henley, who's now up to -6. The American has just eagled the 12th.

Hatton and Rasmus Hojgaard are away. No dramas with the opening tee shots.

RORY IN CLOSE - MAKES IT!

The Northern Irishman takes advantage of that lovely drive on the 4th to hit an iron in close - and we have more very loud cheers. He needed this fast start - and so did the tournament. This is warming up fairly rapidly.

Makes the five-footer and he's up to -6, now just four adrift.

Rose to -5 at the par-3 6th. Four birdies in five for the former US Open champion. Birdies, birdies, birdies. Wyndham Clark moves into the top 10 as well, another former US Open champ of course and someone who has been struggling a bit of late.

Both Hatton and Rasmus show the 1st a lot of respect and find the right side of the green. No harm there.

WOW, THAT WAS CLOSE

On the 2nd, Chris Gotterup grazes the edge from range with his eagle putt. I said earlier that no one is going to catch Scottie, but I think he'll have company at the top before he tees off.

There are a lot of birdies out there. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a few 64s.

PUTTS DROPPING IN FROM ALL OVER

Here's that eagle putt from Henley.

Li with a beautiful tee shot off the 1st. Laughs in the face of the OOB down the 1st, taking on the white stakes down the left with a huge cut.

Lefty Brian Harman tugs his tee shot just a little, but he's fine down the right side.

ROSE FIGHTING HARD

Justin Rose is pretty pumped up right now - and his putter has caught fire. Another birdie putt coming up for the Englishman. Can he get to -5? Putting down a spine on the par-5 7th. Judges it perfectly. -6. That's five birdies in six holes.

Back to the 1st. Game number 35. Matt Fitzpatrick has the honor. The man from Sheffield hits his tee shot arrow straight. Scheffler in the first cut down the left.

That's the leaders off. Sit back and enjoy!

TROUBLES FOR HARMAN

Horror start for Brian Harman. His bunker shot rolls back into the trap at the 1st. Did he try to get a little cute there? He's out the second time and staring a double in the face. The lengthy bogey putt is a fine effort, but he slips back to -6.

McIlroy is playing the 5th and has pitched out of the rough to 10 feet. It has a lot of break on it, though, and Rory bends his knees as his birdie try slips just wide of the cup.

SHANK!

Oh no, that's a shank. Rose was going along so nicely but that's a shank right there. His tee shot came to rest in some heavy rough and he had a long way to go. Obviously given how well he's playing, he wasn't thinking about chipping out, but maybe he'll wish he did. What damage will that cause?

Scheffler tidies up from a few feet on the 1st, as does Matt Fitzpatrick... er, no he does not. A short one missed. Ouch. Scheffler leads by two.

TOMORROW'S FINAL GROUP

Rory and Scheffler? It's on. It's happening, right?

BOGEYS

For the first time today, we're seeing a few mistakes from the chasing pack, which they can ill afford given who's leading.

Harman, however, does repair some of the damage from 1 with a birdie on the 2nd. Rose escapes with a bogey after that shank and Rasmus has three-putted to give one back.

LOOK AWAY NOW

The unmentionables. I'll mention it - THIS IS A SHANK. I take no pleasure in sharing this, as I have money on Rose and I back him all the time. Arghhhh.

He escapes with a bogey, though, and that's some save. Onto the par-5 7th and McIlroy hits a monster. He could do with an eagle as I don't think it will be long before Scheffler stretches his lead to three.

MAKING MOVES

Fitzpatrick joins Scheffler at the top on -10. He eagles the 2nd. Just when you think it's going to swing one way, it goes the other. I better show you it...

3RD HOLE, SCHEFFLER

7-iron. Lovely strike - but it rolls off the back. That looked for all the world like it was going to stop about seven or eight feet from the pin.

His second is a bit heavy handed. The par putt from 10 feet finds the bottom of the cup, though.

McIlroy looking for another birdie on the par-5 7th. He's pitch from the side of the green looked a little clumsy. He'd have been hoping to have a closer look. It's 12 feet with a fair bit of movement and it breaks across the face of the hole. Just a par.

TO THE LEADERS

Fitz from 154 yards on the 4th. 20 feet. Scheffler more like 35. Despite the former's eagle on 2, neither player looks totally settled right now.

Up at 8, McIlroy tidies up from close range from the type of distance that had me thinking of Pinehurst for a second. We're nowhere near the finishing line yet, but all these putts feel huge given who's out in front.

BACK TO 4

A fine effort from distance from Scheffler who makes a stress free par, as does fellow leader Matt Fitzpatrick.

The low score of the day has been made by Russell Henley, who makes a par on 18 and will sign for a 65.

TAKE A BREAK

With everyone going for the green on the 5th, we're having a bit of a hold up and waiting around. Pace of play has been an issue again this week, but I'm not going to go there - it's a Major, it's The Open, and it's good fun right now. I would take the opportunity to go and grab a cup of tea, but there's still plenty going on out there.

Xander Schauffele to -6 with another eagle - that's one on 7 and one on 12. I told you there was a lot going on. Welcome to all the fun, Mr Defending Champ.

SHANK!

Another shank from Rose out of the heavy rough - that's two in the space of a few holes. I can't even talk about it.

Rory's second to 9 goes a bit long, but he couldn't get any spin with that approach. No major harm done. The putt from range is more than acceptable. Par.

Update on Li. Looking good is the young man from China, -9 and just one shot back.

BOB MAC EAGLE

Li for par on 5. It's a tricky one with a fair bit of break, but he makes it. He's got a lot of heart, has Li.

The leaders are now playing the drivable 5th. Fitzpatrick is short but in a decent position. Scheffler takes out the big stick and has a real crack, but he's found himself in an awkward spot. His next shot is not going to be much fun.

MacIntyre with a big move on the 7th with an eagle - deserved it after that stunning approach shot.

JUSTIN'S UP-AND-DOWN DAY

Shank number two from Rose. A good job he's made five birdies. He's still right in this - as is Hatton, who's just holed out for an eagle on the 7th.

It's going to be some job putting together a highlights package together for day three.

Rory pars 10. That putt looked good all the way. Stress free par and onto 11 he goes.

BACK TO THE LEADERS

Fitzpatrick hits a beauty at the par-3 6th, as does Scheffler. The former is short, the latter slightly long. Both will have good looks at birdie.

Here's that wedge from Hatton that thinks about sitting on the edge of the cup, before dropping.

BIRDIE EFFORTS...

Scheffler misses his try. Fitzpatrick for the lead... Nope. The leaders remain at -10. No one getting away from the field.

I'VE NEVER SEEN THAT BEFORE

Well... that's a first! Playing the par 4 11th, McIlroy hits his second shot from the rough and, as he strikes it, another golf ball embedded in the turf bounces out from underneath!

His actual shot comes up short of the green, but the five-time Major winner can only laugh as he picks up the golf ball that jumped out from the turf.

DROPPED SHOT FOR RORY

After that bizarre moment, McIlroy plays an average pitch to 15-feet and, needing to hole that putt for a par, his attempt slides by the left-side.

It's his first bogey in 24 holes and drops McIlroy back to five-under, five back of Scheffler and Fitzpatrick, who both have eagle attempts coming up at the par 5 seventh.

THE EAGLE HAS LANDED

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Scheffler plays two great shots on the par 5 seventh and, leaving himself eight-foot for eagle, the World No.1 converts to jump to 12-under-par.

His lead is two, momentarily, but Fitzpatrick does well to get up-and-down for a birdie to remain within one shot of the American, who is now two-under for the day following a slow start.

THIS IS INSANE

RORY MAKES AN EAGLE

There's eagles going in from everywhere here at Royal Portrush! After dropping a shot at the 11th, McIlroy finds the green with his second shot at the par 5 12th.

Realistically, a two-putt is on the cards but, from 56-foot, his putt finds the center of the cup for eagle! McIlroy is now seven-under for the championship, five back of Scheffler.

INCREDIBLE RUN FOR SCOTTIE

After a stunning eagle at the par 5 seventh, Scheffler then rolls in a 16-footer for birdie at the par 4 eighth.

It's the third hardest hole on the course, but the World No.1 has made it look very easy. Scheffler jumps to 13-under, two clear of Fitzpatrick, who two-putts the hole for a par.

SPECIAL FROM RORY

LI GOING ALONG NICELY

He hasn't been shown much on the broadcast as McIlroy, Scheffler and others light up the course, but Li has been very steady this front nine, producing one birdie and eight pars.

He is one-under for the round and nine-under for the championship. Currently, he finds himself four back of Scheffler, who is in the fairway at the par 4 ninth.

SOLID AGAIN FROM SCOTTIE

Robotic golf from Scheffler, who finds the fairway with his tee shot and puts a pitching wedge from 140-yards into the center of the green.

He will leave himself an 18-footer for birdie, while playing partner, Fitzpatrick, missed the green to the left from 155-yards. Faced with a chip, the Englishman puts it to seven-feet, leaving a mid-range putt for par.

PAR FOR THE WORLD NO.1

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Scheffler's birdie putt at the ninth just slides by, but it's a tap-in for the American, who sits at 13-under-par.

He is two shots clear with 27 holes remaining of The Open Championship, with Fitzpatrick parring the hole after getting up-and-down from the left-side.

GOTTERUP MAKES AN EAGLE

Around 30 minutes after McIlroy's eagle at the par 5 12th, Chris Gotterup, who won the Genesis Scottish Open last week, makes the 15th eagle at that hole today.

On a very similar line to that of McIlroy, Gotterup's putt never looks anywhere else, dropping in to get the American to eight-under-par.

RIGHT DOWN THE FLAG

Another laser-like approach at the par 4 10th leaves Scheffler 15-feet below the flag. He will have an uphill putt coming up to move to four-under for his round.

After Scheffler, Fitzpatrick plays a decent wedge approach into the green. That shot finishes past the flag, but slightly closer than the World No.1.

EXCELLENT FROM RORY

Pulling his tee shot left at the par 4 15th, McIlroy plays a gorgeous wedge shot that almost hits the flag!

From 150-yards, the five-time Major winner's approach lands on the green and finishes just three-feet from the hole. If he holes that he will jump to eight-under.

GOTTERUP EAGLES THE 12TH

PARS AT THE 10TH

Scheffler is first up at the par 4 10th and, with 15-feet left for birdie, his attempt just slides by, with the World No.1 tapping-in for par to remain 13-under.

Fitzpatrick has a chance to cut the deficit in half, but his putt is left and never threatens the hole. He remains two back of his playing partner.

Up ahead, Li's consistent run continues as the Chinese star birdies the par 4 11th to get to 10-under, jus three back of Scheffler.

BIRDIE FOR RORY

The second shot at the 15th deserved it and, holing his three-footer for birdie, McIlroy is now eight-under and continuing to charge on Saturday. He will need to find some more birdies, but this has been an exceptional round from the 2014 Open champion.

HATTON BIRDIES THE 12TH

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Following his hole-out eagle at the par 5 eighth, Hatton has gone slightly off the boil. However, at the par 5 12th, the Englishman nearly chips in for eagle.

Finding the fairway with his tee shot, his second comes up short of the green, with his following chip just a few rolls short of dropping. It's a tap-in birdie, though, with Hatton now nine-under for the championship with six holes remaining.

CLUTCH FROM SCHEFFLER

The final group are struggling at the par 4 11th, the eighth hardest hole on the course today.

Fitzpatrick comes up short with his approach and, with a tricky third, he chunks his chip as it finishes 50-foot from the flag. He two-putts for bogey, dropping back to 10-under and into a share of second with Li.

In the group, Scheffler misses the green left from the fairway. Playing his chip from thick rough, it's a good shot from the American and, to back it up, he drains the 10-footer for par, giving out a fist pump in the process. He leads by three.

UP-AND-DOWN AT CALAMITY

McIlroy comes up short with his tee shot at the par 3 16th but, following a great chip, he rolls in the five-footer to save par and remain eight-under. He is five-under for his round, which is one of the best scores on the course right now...

SPLASH OUT AT THE 12TH

Fitzpatrick finds the back edge of the green with his second shot at the par 5 12th, with the Englishman leaving a tough two-putt for birdie.

Scheffler, meanwhile, finds the fairway bunker and is forced to splash out, leaving himself 100-yards in. From there, he puts it to 20-foot, leaving another birdie attempt.

MISTAKES FROM RORY AND ROBERT

That's a huge miss from McIlroy at the par 4 17th, who fans his tee shot well right and into the crowd. It's unclear as to how bad the lie is, but he will have a tough approach left in from 80-yards.

MacIntyre, meanwhile, has left himself a long putt for par at the par 4 14th which, on impact, never looks in. He does well to hole the return putt, though, making a bogey to fall back to six-under.

LI BOGEYS THE 13TH

(Image credit: Getty Images)

He had been going along nicely, but Li has missed a short putt at the par 3 13th for his first bogey of the day at Royal Portrush.

Finding the green with his tee shot, the first putt comes up five-foot short. Needing to hole that putt to remain at 10-under, his attempt never hits the hole, with Li tapping-in to fall back to nine-under.

GO ON ROSEY

SAUCY FROM RORY

That was a delightful driving iron at the last from Rory, who registered an apex of just 29-feet! It lands on the fairway and runs out, just missing the fairway bunker. It should be a green-light flag for the five-time Major winner now.

HISTORY FOR WESTWOOD

That is a round of two halves for Lee Westwood!

Carding a four-over-par front nine of 40, Lee Westwood makes six birdies on the back nine for a six-under 29, which ties the lowest back nine score in Open history!

Amazing work from the 52-year-old, who is making his 28th appearance in this historic championship.

ALL CHANGE FOR SECOND

Playing the par 3 13th, Scheffler just misses his birdie attempt and remains at 13-under-par.

Up ahead, Li birdies the par 4 14th to join Fitzpatrick at 10-under, but the Englishman bogeys the par 3 13th to drop back to nine-under. Li is now second, while Fitzpatrick is in a two-way tie for third.

SOME SHOT FROM SCOTTIE

Scheffler finds thick rough off the tee and, for a second, there's hope that he may well drop a shot.

However, with the ball nestled down, the World No.1 plays a seriously good shot that finishes short of the green. That should be a relatively straightforward up-and-down for the 29-year-old.

THAT BACK NINE FROM WESTWOOD

RORY FINISHES HIS ROUND

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McIlroy pars the last for a five-under 66. He is eight-under for the championship, five back of Scheffler, who has a 10-footer coming up for par at the par 4 14th.

ANOTHER BIG SAVE

Was it ever in doubt? Despite playing a poor chip to 10-foot, Scheffler rams his par putt home to remain at 13-under. That's another big save from the World No.1, who remains three clear.

HATTON DROPS A SHOT

A poor tee shot at the par 3 16th from Hatton finishes, awkwardly, on the edge of the bunker.

He can only advance it to the middle of the green and, with his par putt, it never troubles the hole. It's a bogey four for the Englishman, who drops back into a four-way tie for fourth.

DEFENDING CHAMPION FIRES A 66

(Image credit: Getty Images)

We haven't heard much from him today, but defending champion, Xander Schauffele, fires a five-under 66 to get to seven-under for the championship.

Producing two eagles, two birdies and a bogey, the American is six back of fellow countryman, Scheffler, who has just parred the par 4 15th to remain 13-under.

BIRDIE FOR FITZY

It's not been his day today, but Fitzpatrick finally gets the fans to cheer him on as the Englishman drains an excellent birdie putt.

Putting his approach to 16-foot, Fitzpatrick pounds his putt into the center of the hole for a birdie, moving him 10-under-par and three back of Scheffler.

SCHEFFLER LEADS BY FOUR

This has been quality from Scheffler, who has made a third straight birdie at the par 3 16th, which just so happens to be called 'Calamity.'

Scheffler has mastered the 230-yard monster the last three days and, with an eagle and two birdies on the card, he is now four clear of Fitzpatrick and Li, with the World No.1 14-under.

BIRDIE FOR LI

What a birdie from Li at the par 4 17th, who plays a stunning approach from a gnarly lie. Finishing 20-foot from the flag, he rolls in the birdie putt to jump to 11-under, three back of Scheffler.

BIRDIE AT CALAMITY

SCHEFFLER IS CRUISING

After two excellent shots at the par 4 17th, Scheffler almost drains his long putt for birdie, with the ball just grazing the left-edge.

Tapping-in for par, Scheffler's lead could be extended, especially as Fitzpatrick has bogeyed the 17th to fall back to nine-under, while Li has had to chip out from a fairway bunker at the final hole.

RORY REACTS AFTER SPECIAL DAY

(Image credit: Getty Images)

"Yeah, it was incredible. It was so much fun. I got off to the perfect start, three-under through four. Felt like at the end of the front nine there, at least through 11, the par on seven felt like a bogey, and then the bogey on 11.

"To play those last seven holes at three-under I thought was a good effort. Yeah, I played well. I rode my luck at times, but yeah, it was an incredible atmosphere out there. I feel like I've at least given myself half a chance tomorrow."

FAIRWAY FINDERS

Both Scheffler and Fitzpatrick are playing the final hole and, on the tee, both find the fairway with fairway woods in hand.

CLOSING BOGEY FOR LI

(Image credit: Getty Images)

It's a closing bogey for Haotong Li, who was forced to pitch out from a fairway bunker. Leaving 160-yards in, Li finds the green, but two-putts for bogey. He finishes his day 10-under and will likely be in the final group.

Alongside Li, Brian Harman has had a day to forget, with the American finishing two-over-par for the round and six-under for the championship. He is just hanging on to the top 10.

BLEMISH FREE ROUND FROM SCOTTIE

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Another seriously strong performance from Scottie Scheffler on Saturday, who cards a four-under 67 to extend his lead from one shot to four.

Going into Sunday, he leads Haotong Li by four strokes, as well as Matt Fitzpatrick by five.

The World No.1 carded an eagle and two birdies on Saturday and, if he gets over the line tomorrow, he'll be three-quarters of the way towards the Career Grand Slam.

HATTON REACTS

(Image credit: Getty Images)

"Going into tomorrow at the moment we're six shots behind, so it's a long way back. So far I'm in a decent position.

"I don't feel like I've played my best golf. Although I've hit a lot of greens, I haven't been that close to the hole. So it's quite hard to hole putts. I feel like I'm constantly just trying to get it up there close and walk off with par. That side of it has been a bit frustrating for me. Hopefully tomorrow I can play a bit better."

SCHEFFLER SPEAKS AFTER 67

(Image credit: Getty Images)

"I feel good. I had another good day today. I made a couple nice par saves. I had a really good par save on 11, really good par save on 14 and I did some good stuff.

"Like you said, I was pretty patient most of the day but felt like I was hitting it really nice. Just sometimes Major championships it can be tough to make birdies, and today was one of those days where I just had to give myself some looks and was able to hole a few.

"I'm just trying to execute, not overthinking things. I feel like I've been doing the right thing so far, and I'm looking forward to the challenge of tomorrow. I'm going to be going home, trying to get some rest and get some recovery and then get ready for tomorrow."

CAN ANYONE CATCH SCOTTIE?

Scottie Scheffler leads by four strokes going into Sunday and, if he were to win, he would be three quarters of the day way to the Career Grand Slam.

Will the World No.1 claim the Claret Jug? We shall find out tomorrow...

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