Rico Hoey of the Philippines rolled in seven birdies on his way to nabbing a one-point lead at the Barracuda Championship on Friday at Tahoe Mountain Club in Truckee, Calif.

The Modified Stableford scoring system employed at the event gives golfers points for positive holes — two points for a birdie, five points for an eagle — as opposed to the traditional stroke-play method where low scores are preferable.

Hoey shot a plus-13 for the second day in a row, and at plus-26 he is one better than Max McGreevy and South Africa’s Erik van Rooyen. McGreevy had the round of the day — a plus-16 with six birdies and an eagle — and van Rooyen scored a plus-14.

Although Hoey competes under the Filipino flag, his family moved to California when he was young.

“I just feel like I’m at home,” Hoey said. “It’s California. Grew up in California. I love this event. It’s always fun doing like a point system so you feel like you want to go make a lot of birdies. Yeah, having a good time.”

Hoey started on the back nine at the Old Greenwood course Friday and birdied five of his last 11 holes, including back-to-back at Nos. 17-18 after a bogey at the par-3 16th.

McGreevy’s electric round featured four birdies on his first nine (the back nine) and an eagle putt at the 551-yard, par-5 third.

“Two holes (after the eagle) I hit it in the water,” McGreevy said of an ensuing bogey at No. 5. “If it was a normal tournament I don’t think I would have tried to hit it out of the water, but knowing you can only lose three points (for a double bogey or worse) — hopefully you’re not doing that — it kind of gives you a freeing thought of maybe a couple different shots that you would play a little bit differently.”

Hoey and McGreevy are searching for their first wins on the PGA Tour, but van Rooyen is in a different boat. He has two PGA Tour victories, the first coming at this tournament in 2021.

“I prefer to be higher up the FedEx Cup and not be in this position, but I’ve done it before,” van Rooyen said. “The game has been there all year. I just haven’t been getting it in the hole. So it’s been a game of incredible patience knowing that everything is just kind of waiting. Like you said, I did in 2021; maybe I’m peaking at just the right time.”

Frenchman Tom Vaillant is alone in fourth at plus-23 after scoring a plus-15 on Friday. Among four players tied at plus-22 is Joel Dahmen, the fan favorite who split with caddie Geno Bonnalie this week amid a frustrating rut.

–Field Level Media

The cut line at the Open Championship fell at 1 over par, allowing exactly 70 players to make the weekend at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.

A few of the more notable names to miss the cut will be kicking themselves for more reasons than one.

Brooks Koepka (75-74, 7 over par) was a never a factor near the cut line Friday, making his lone birdie of the day on the 17th hole following four bogeys. The five-time major champion continued the worst major slump of his career.

Since hoisting the Wanamaker Trophy for the third time at the 2023 PGA Championship, Koepka has just two top-20 finishes at majors and missed three out of four cuts this year for the first time in his career.

Because his LIV Golf competitions do not earn him points in the U.S. Ryder Cup team rankings, Koepka is all but certain to miss this fall’s contest at Bethpage Black after his 2023 major win helped him make the team that went to Rome. Koepka entered the week 72nd in the points; the top six after Aug. 17 automatically qualify, and captain Keegan Bradley will have plenty of better-performing options for his six selections.

For contrast, Koepka’s former rival turned LIV Golf compatriot Bryson DeChambeau entered the week fifth in the U.S. points race thanks to his strong performance in majors in the current two-year cycle. DeChambeau shot a 6-under 65 on Friday to rally to make the cut on the number.

Adam Scott of Australia flamed out Friday with an 8-over 79 that included three double bogeys and just one birdie. At 9 over, he finished close to the bottom of the 156-man leaderboard.

The 45-year-old doesn’t have Ryder Cups to worry about, but Scott may miss the FedEx Cup playoffs altogether after his latest meager performance. He was 84th in the standings entering the Open; only the top 70 qualify for the first playoff leg at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in three weeks’ time.

Other notable names on the wrong side of the cut line included Jason Day of Australia and Joaquin Niemann of Chile (2 over); Patrick Cantlay and South Koreans Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim (3 over); Cameron Young (4 over); Patrick Reed (5 over); Collin Morikawa (7 over); and Australia’s Cameron Smith (8 over), who won the Open at St Andrews in 2022.

Jacob Skov Olesen of Denmark, one of five co-leaders after the first round (4-under 67), dropped down the board with a 76 and barely made the cut at 1 over exactly. Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana followed a first-round 68 with a 79 and missed the cut entirely.

–Field Level Media

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler made sure to take full advantage of Friday’s conditions when it was feasible during the second round of the Open Championship.

Dodging rain at times, Scheffler shot a 7-under-par 64, moving into the top spot at Portrush, Northern Ireland, in his bid for a second major championship of the year.

“Fortunately, it didn’t pour the whole time,” Scheffler said. “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.”

Scheffler is at 10-under 132 at the tournament’s midway mark, leading England’s Matt Fitzpatrick by one stroke. Fitzpatrick shot 66 in the second round at Royal Portrush Golf Club.

Scheffler played the front side in 4 under and added four birdies and a bogey on the backside. He has won three times this year, with the PGA Championship in May his second title of the season.

“I felt like I hit a few more fairways than I did (Thursday), hit some really nice iron shots, and was able to hole some putts,” Scheffler said.

Fitzpatrick had only seven pars on his card, mixing in eight birdies and three bogeys.

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

2023 champion Brian Harman (65) and China’s Haogong Li (67) share third place at 8 under.

“I’m not trying to be heroic or do anything crazy,” Harman said. “I know that I’ve got the game to do it, and it’s just a matter of executing and staying in my own head.”

Harman moved to the lead earlier in the day on his way to a bogey-free round. He birdied the first two holes as part of 3-under marks on the front and back sides. Harman is a four-time winner on the PGA Tour, including this year’s Valero Texas Open.

“Played smart when I had to, made the putts when I had chances,” Harman said.

Li said he was pleased by remaining near the top.

“I think every athlete has been working really hard to get to this point,” he said. “Yeah, just hopefully have another solid weekend.”

First-round co-leader Harris English (70), Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard (68), England’s Tyrrell Hatton (69), Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre (66) and last weekend’s Genesis Scottish Open champion Chris Gotterup (65) all are at 5 under.

English had an erratic round with four birdies and three bogeys. It was the type of ups and downs that he expects in this event.

“You can moan and complain that we had to play in 30 minutes of rain and some guys might not play in the rain, but that’s this tournament,” English said. “That’s the randomness of this tournament.”

Tony Finau (68) and Denmark’ Nicolai Hojgaard (69) are at 4 under.

Other notables included U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley (67) and Masters champion Rory McIlroy 69) of Northern Ireland being among five golfers tied for 12th place. They’re both at 3 under going to the weekend.

Bradley’s bogey-free round included an eagle on the second hole.

“The shot I hit in there was one of the best shots I’ve hit all year,” he said. “I hit a little hold 5-wood in there. It was nice because I really wanted to play the weekend for the first time in, like, years (in this tournament). But I also wanted to play well enough to get myself in position, so that was a great start to the round.”

McIlroy is receiving plenty of attention and he knows many of the fans are focused on him.

“I’m very excited for that,” he said. “I feel like my game’s definitely good enough to make a run. So as I said, I’m excited for the weekend.”

–Field Level Media

A run at The Open Championship would perform double duty for Keegan Bradley.

After shooting a second-round 67 at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland on Friday, Bradley moved to 3-under 139 for the tournament. Among the early wave of golfers, fellow American Brian Harman stood in the lead at 8-under.

Bradley, 39, has one major win to his credit — the 2011 PGA Championship. A strong finish at The Open could propel him to his best result ever there, topping his T15 in 2013.

But it also could take out of his hands the decision as to whether, as captain of the 2025 United States Ryder Cup team, he adds himself to the squad. A win, unquestionably, would put him in the ranks of the top six American golfers — all of whom receive automatic spots on the Ryder Cup team that will face the European squad in September at the Bethpage Black Course in Farmingdale, N.Y. Then, he’d need to maintain that position the rest of the season and through the playoffs.

He currently stands No. 9 on the Ryder Cup points list.

Bradley is trying to separate his two hats — Ryder Cup captain and tour competitor — at Royal Portrush.

“I’ve said this a million times, but I really can just be a player when I’m inside the ropes,” he said. “It’s the only time I can sort of not be the captain. When I’m inside the ropes with a card in my pocket, I really can just focus on playing, and then when I leave here, I’ll be the captain again. It’s impossible for me not to be. When I’m around the guys or talking to my vice captains or whatever that is or planning for Bethpage. But when I’m inside those ropes and I don’t have my phone on, I’m a player, and that’s a big help.”

Those vice captains will be a big help when it comes to ultimately picking that 12-player team. He likely will turn to Tiger Woods, too, who has “been one of the most helpful people that I’ve had” during the Ryder Cup process, he said.

Bradley and his brain trust “have a plan,” he said. “We have a ‘for instance’ that could happen. That can obviously change during the week. You’ve got to see how each player is playing. But we’re learning as we go just like everybody else.”

Bradley said he’s watching the leaderboard this weekend, both as a captain and an opponent. As a captain, he’s watching the Americans who are doing well. As a competitor, he’s keeping track of the full field.

Speaking after his Friday round, Bradley the player was happy.

“That was fun. Played really, really well. I’ve been playing so poorly here over the last couple years,” he said. “It feels nice to put a nice round together, nice two days together. I played nice yesterday as well. But what a fun day.”

He has missed the cut at The Open in each of his past five appearances. What makes 2025 different?

“Just playing a lot better. I’ve really struggled on the greens over here the last handful of years,” he said. “I’ve struggled on slower greens, had a better game plan and had to feel a longer stroke and made a lot more putts, but also driving the ball well, which is huge.”

His Friday round consisted on an eagle on the par-5 second hole and two birdies on the back nine.

“I really am proud of that,” he said of the bogey-free round. “Like I said, I’ve struggled here, so to be in contention, to have played the way I did today means a lot. I never know what I’m going to get when I come over here, so this is a nice bonus.”

–Field Level Media