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
