If Scottie Scheffler is still wrestling with just why he wants to win the Open Championship, he’s doing a remarkable job of hiding it.
If Scottie Scheffler is still wrestling with just why he wants to win the Open Championship, he’s doing a remarkable job of hiding it.
Three days after his extensive, existential rumination on the fleeting fulfilment of success, the world No. 1 ripped through the Royal Portrush course on Friday with the lowest major round of his career to take a one shot lead into the weekend in Northern Ireland.
Eight birdies lifted the American to a seven-under 64 round, eclipsing the 65 he shot en route to his third major crown at the PGA Championship in May. Mere inches denied him from going one better, as his putted effort for a third consecutive birdie at the final hole pulled up agonizingly short.
Already at 10-under par overall, it’s an ominous sign for his competitors for the pre-tournament favorite to look so at ease in a tournament he has, by his sky-high standards, typically found harder to bend to his will.
It remains the sole event in which Scheffler has yet to record a top-five finish, with just two of the 29-year-old’s 15 top-10 major finishes coming at the game’s oldest tournament.
Yet, even wildly fluctuating weather doesn’t seem to be stopping him from figuring it all out on his fifth Open start.
“We get to the first hole, it’s still sunny. Then all of a sudden, you look around and it’s super dark and it starts pouring rain. You’re like, ‘Boy, I wonder how long this is going to last,’” Scheffler told reporters on his return to the clubhouse.
“Fortunately, it didn’t pour the whole time. We only had maybe four or five holes where it was really coming down, and I was able to take advantage of the holes where we had some good weather.”
England’s Matt Fitzpatrick sits within touching distance after shooting 66, a run of four straight birdies after the turn, the latest sign of a return to his best play.
The 30-year-old clinched the US Open in 2022 but, since last winning an event in October 2023, has endured a dip in form that cratered, with him experiencing the “lowest” feeling of his career after missing the cut with rounds of 78 and 72 at The Players Championship in March.
Yet a tied-eighth finish at the US Open hinted that something was clicking, with the world No. 59 now full of belief that he can take the challenge to Scheffler.
“I wouldn’t say I necessarily feel as much pressure … He’s going to have the expectation to go out and dominate,” Fitzpatrick said.
“He’s an exceptional player. He’s World No. 1, and we’re seeing Tiger-like stuff. I think the pressure is for him to win the golf tournament. For me, obviously, I hope I’m going to have some more home support than him, but it’s an exciting position for me to be in, given where I was earlier this year.”
Hunter Harman and ‘most handsome man in China’ Li in hot pursuit
American Brian Harman and China’s Haotong Li lead the chasing pack, the pair shooting 65 and 67 respectively to head into the weekend one stroke back.
Harman posted an identical second round en route to a commanding six shot victory at Royal Liverpool two years ago, when his love of hunting became a staple topic of press conferences and a source of controversy for some British tabloids.
“I was curious why everyone was asking so many questions about it,” he reflected after his bogey-free Friday.
“I didn’t realize that everyone was so upset about it. It’s a hill I’ll die on. I’ll sleep like a baby tonight.”
Li may not boast the major-winning pedigree of his American counterpart, but the world No. 111 has history at The Open. The four-time European Tour winner fired a stunning closing 63 at Royal Birkdale in 2017 to climb to third and register the best ever finish by a Chinese golfer at a men’s major.
It’s a source of confidence to a player that doesn’t seem lacking in it, with Li once owning a wedge inscribed with the words, “Haotong is the most handsome man in China.”
“I took an image [of the club] for Phil Mickelson, texted him, and he goes, ‘Shame for your country.’ It was fun,” Li told reporters.
“I think if I play my best, I can compete with anyone,” he added.
Harman and Li sit three shots ahead of a five-strong group level at five-under par overall with American duo Chris Gotterup and Harris English, Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre, England’s Tyrrell Hatton and Denmark’s Rasmus Højgaard.
McIlroy with work to do as DeChambeau completes great escape
Home hero Rory McIlroy overcame struggles off the tee to shoot 69, a one-stroke improvement on his up-and-down opening round that leaves him with work to do if he is to secure what would be a storybook sixth career major.
“I’ve been somewhat close to my best over the first two days in little bits here and there,” said McIlroy, seven shots adrift from Scheffler.
“I’m going to need to have it all under control and have it all firing over the weekend to make a run.”
The 36-year-old is at three-under par overall, safely clear of a cut line that he tearfully fell short of when the major returned to Royal Portrush for the first time in 68 years in 2019.
Two-time US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau had looked destined to meet the same fate after toiling to a first round seven-over 78, only to follow it up with a stunning 65 to soar to one-over par overall, right on the cut mark.
The American has historically found it more difficult to adapt his big-hitting game to the links courses across the pond, with the Open the only major he has yet to record a top-five finish in, yet DeChambeau looked in complete control as he made a 13-stroke improvement.
“I woke up this morning and I said, ‘You know what, I can’t give up,’” the American said.
“My dad always told me never to give up, to keep going, and that’s what I did today. I was proud of the way I fought back, really persevered through some emotionally difficult moments, and to hold myself together and not get pissed and slam clubs and throw things and all that like I wanted to.”
Yet plenty of big names will be departing the Causeway Coast prematurely, with 2021 victor Collin Morikawa, 2022 champion Cameron Smith and five-time major winner Brooks Koepka all falling well short of making the weekend.
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Category: General Sports
