Ewan Murray's day two report
Reaction to all Friday's action
A few nice words from Rory on Tiger Woods, who missed the cut earlier today.
I’ve gotten pretty close to Tiger over these last few years. And especially after the accident, and I think we’ve all sort of rallied around him down there in Jupiter [Florida]. And we all want to see him do well.
He was all our hero growing up, even though I’m maybe a touch older than some of the other guys. But we want to see him do well. We want to see him still out there competing. And this week was obviously a tough week for him. But we’re all behind him. We’re all pulling for him. And hopefully he’s back here in the next four, five years and playing in another Open Championship on The Old Course.
Viktor Hovland made a late move on Friday but is well aware of the vagaries of links golf after playing 36 holes at St Andrews.
I’m hitting a lot of great shots. I think you’ve just got to be aware that links golf isn’t always fair. I hit a good drive on 12 yesterday, for example, that was stymied up in the bunker. You’re kind of trying to hit it in that spot. Any day it might bounce over the bunker and go to the side, and you might make birdie.
You’ve just got to hit the shots that you need to hit, whether you get a bad bounce or not. That’s going to happen, and it’s all about how you get out of that situation and move on.
What do those bookmakers say as we head into the final 36 holes?
7/4 Cameron Smith
7/2 Rory McIlroy
8/1 Cameron Young
10/1 Viktor Hovland
11/1 Dustin Johnson
12/1 Scottie Scheffler
25/1 Tyrrell Hatton
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Just making the cut is still something special in an Open at St Andrews. Just ask Tony Finau, who looked absolutely thrilled to hole a 12-foot birdie putt at the last to scrape into the weekend on even par.
Playing partner Will Zalatoris also birdied to complete a 67 and finish at -4.
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Some words from second-placed Cameron Young. Not quite the sparkle of yesterday’s 64 but a 69 was a good way to back it up and he’ll play in the final group tomorrow with Cameron Smith.
I didn’t putt as well today. I think for the most part I managed it pretty well. I made a couple of greedy mistakes on 2 and on 15 were my only bogeys. Those I think were both very avoidable. I didn’t quite pick the right shots. One of them I just chunked, and one of them I picked the wrong shot, which I think I could have avoided.
My mom and dad are here. So it’s always fun having them out. I mean, I think just being the home of golf and being The Open Championship is plenty to make something special. Just having been around golf my whole life it’s something I watched as a kid, something I grew up wanting to play in at a place that is special for a lot of reasons.
Rory McIlroy speaks after the Friday 68 that left him tied third at halfway.
I think it was good. It’s the first time we’ve seen the golf course in a different wind this week. It switched on us very early on.
I thought I adapted pretty well, played well coming in and stuck to my game plan well. I’m sort of walking off thinking I could have been a couple better but I’m in a great position going into the weekend. It’s nice to be in the mix.
8.51pm BST leaderboard
The halfway leaderboard. A few groups are still out there but no-one on the course is better than -3. The cut is set to be even par.
-13: Smith
-11: Young
-10: McIlroy, Hovland
-9: D Johnson
-8: Scheffler, Hatton
-7 Gooch, Scott, Cantlay, Theegala
It’s a closing birdie for Viktor Hovland. The Norwegian has burst into contention with a run of birdie-eagle-par-par-birdie over the final five holes. His 6-under 66 takes him to 10-under and means a nice day out in the sun with pal Rory McIlroy tomorrow.
Playing partner Shane Lowry also produced a late rally, his pair of closing birdies taking him to -4 although that’s a rather hefty nine off the lead. He was the halfway leader when he won at Royal Portrush in 2019.
Leader Cameron Smith gives his thoughts on today’s 64 which secured the halfway lead.
Obviously got off to a really hot start. And it’s very easy to just keep going, getting on the front foot and maybe trying to hit some shots that are a little bit too aggressive. But just stayed patient and holed some really nice putts.
I think being off late again tomorrow afternoon it’s obviously going to be a bit firmer, more like the first day, I would say. So I would say it’s going to be pretty brutal out there.
I think there’s going to be a few more gnarly pins, and I think being smart out there is definitely going to be the key to staying at the top of the leaderboard.
I think it’s just exciting to be leading The Open after a couple of days. I think that experience tomorrow is going to be really cool. There’s a lot of Aussies in the crowd, it seems like. Had a lot of support the first couple of days and really can’t wait for the next couple.
Viktor Hovland rolls in a nine-foot par putt at 17. A birdie at the last will see him tie McIlroy at -10, meaning the two Ryder Cup colleagues will play alongside each other tomorrow. The Norwegian blasts his drive at 18 to the hollow in front of the green but since the wind turned, no-one has been able to get up on the top tier. A good chance for birdie from there though.
Rory examines the task in front of him at 18 and decides putter is his best weapon of choice. Hmmm. It’s a little frisky and rolls around 12 feet past. He’s giving this birdie attempt plenty of attention as the shadows lengthen but... no. It slips by on the left side and that’s a 4-under 68. Another strong day leaves him in solo third and three off the lead.
Xander Schauffele taps in for birdie to finish at -5 but Collin Morikawa’s reign as Open champion is officially over. Despite a closing birdie his 73 today and score of +1 overall won’t be good enough.
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Hands in pockets, Rory marches up the 18th fairway: a man pleased with his day’s work. He’s 4-under for the round and has every chance of adding another birdie which would put him just a shot behind leader Cameron Smith. The stands are still packed and there’s a huge roar as he comes clearer into view.
Viktor Hovland takes an aggressive line over the edge of the hotel at 17 and is rewarded. He’ll be playing his second from the middle of the fairway.
Attention now turns to the 18th where Rory is waiting for the green to clear. It’s one of the prettiest views in golf, enhanced further by that splash of yellow otherwise known as the Open scoreboard. Rory launches one and his ball collects in the ‘Valley of Sin’ to the front, left of the green.
Birdie for Rory McIlroy at 17! One against the head there as he pours in his 20 footer for a ‘3’ on the course’s hardest hole. A clenched fist from the Northern Irishman.
Viktor Hovland rolls in his par putt at 16 to remain at -9. Here’s that eagle hole out at 15.
A piece of Hovland magic 🪄#The150thOpen pic.twitter.com/FKUXBmFaCW
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 15, 2022
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Hovland has never been inside the top 15 after 36 holes of a major and, barring a calamity, that unwanted record will end today. At the 16th, his approach found sand but he’s splashed out to three feet so should be able to stay at nine under.
At 17, McIlroy’s approach is a beaut. He shouts for it to sit and the ball listens, ending about 20 feet away on the upper tier of the green.
Shane Lowry has a clean card today, the only deviations from par red birdie numbers at 5, 9, 10 and 12. But he started at even par today so is nine behind leader Cameron Smith. The Irishman has just found a bunker to the right of the 16th green.
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McIlroy hits a baby fade off the 17th tee, keeping well clear of the hotel on the right. The ball bounces into light rough down the left and it’s sitting up too.
As for his playing partners, Xander Schauffele is just about hanging on the edge of contention at -5, his hopes improved by a brilliant up and down from a pot bunker at 16. But defending champion Collin Morikawa needs to play the final two holes in two under to make the cut.
Another tester for Rory at 16 but this time he knocks his par putt in. Nice, confident stroke on that although McIlroy puffs out his cheeks as he hands his putter to caddie Harry Diamond. “Rory! Rory!” is the chant as he walks onto the 17th green. He’s four back. Can he cut the gap on Cameron Smith to three with a par-birdie finish?
If everything stays the same, Rory will be playing alongside Dustin Johnson in the penultimate group on Saturday.
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Viktor Hovland holes out for eagle!! What a shot from the Norwegian. His angled approach from the left rough at the par-4 15th plonks down on the green, takes a couple of mini hops and disappears into the hole for a 2! That puts him in the thick of contention at nine under, just four off the lead.
Rory McIlroy not backing off here and he larrups a mighty drive off the 16th tee. That’s playing as the fifth hardest hole today, averaging 4.25. The 17th is once again the hardest at 4.38 so McIlroy will be more than happy to go par-par at this pair of trappy par 4s.
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Despite being world No 9 Viktor Hovland is ranked 204th out of 204 in the PGA Tour’s Strokes Gained: Around The Green charts. It’s probably that blunt short game that has stopped him managing a single top 10 in the majors so far.
But he shows a wonderful touch around the 14th green with a delicate chip over a mound and holes the putt to return to -7.
Rory’s bogey means the last group out tomorrow will almost certainly be Cameron Smith and Cameron Young. If that’s not the first time two Camerons have been in such a position in a major, I’ll eat Barclay Brown’s hat.
From the rough, McIlroy gets a flier. He’s on the green but about 100 feet away. Time to lean on that strong lag putting again. He gives it a fair old whack with his first attempt to leave four feet for par but then shoves putt two to the right. Bogey. Back to nine under.
Will Zalatoris, a two-time runner-up in the majors this year, looked to be heading home after slipping to +2 with an opening bogey but he’s played his next 12 holes in six under to haul himself up to tied 24th.
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Rory McIlroy can’t get up and down from an admittedly tough position in front of the 14th green. Just a par then and he stays three behind leader Cameron Smith. At 15, out comes Rory’s right arm to signify a leaked drive. It’s into the rough stuff but a volunteer quickly locates McIlroy’s errant ball. Hopefully a decent lie from there.
Lee Westwood gets back into the top 20 with a rare birdie at the 17th, the Englishman rolling one up and down from off the green to go to five under.
As Matt says farewell, so do the winners of the last five Opens at St Andrews. The cut is hovering between even par and -1.
+1 Louis Oosthuizen (2010)
+3 John Daly (1995)
+3 Zach Johnson (2015)
+9 Tiger Woods (2000 and 2005)
Although I am disappointed to be heading home, I had an incredible week at St Andrews celebrating 150 years of history and the game we love. I want to thank this place for all the memories it has given me, and to the fans today for having the walk up 18 be added to that list. pic.twitter.com/VHD93MfeSl
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) July 15, 2022
7.15pm BST leaderboard
Rory McIlroy is just short of the par-five 14th with his approach. And with that, I leave you with Dave for the rest of today’s action.
-13: Smith (F)
-11: Young (F)
-10: McIlroy (13)
-9: Johnson (F)
-8: Scheffler (F), Hatton (F)
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Jean-Marc emails about our pal Barclay Brown: “That’s a Stanford University hat isn’t it?” Well spotted Jean-Marc. Brainy Barclay Brown goes to California.
Can Cameron Smith convert the win at the weekend? His playing partner through the first two rounds, Ireland’s Seamus Power, thinks so. A good halfway report from him here:
I could see him winning, very much so. That’s the most impressive two rounds of putting I’ve seen. I don’t know what his footage would have been today. It was amazing.
He’s as good with a wedge and a putter as I’ve seen. Like, he was very impressive.
Cameron Young signs for a 69. The American has lost his pre-round lead, but a birdie at the 18th gets him within two of Cameron Smith and one clear of Rory McIlroy.
Silver Medal update: Our friend Barclay Brown leads the amateurs at halfway on six under, Italy Filippo Celli is three under, Brown’s England team-mate Sam Bairstow and Aaron Jarvis from the Cayman Islands are level par. Japan’s Keita Nakajima and South Africa’s Aldrich Potgieter have missed the cut.
Irishman David Carey is having the week of his life. He once carded a 57 on the third tier Alps Tour but has struggled to assert himself in the pro ranks. But a 67 today has left him five under for the week and a career-changing weekend is dangling in front of him. He told the Irish media that playing in front of big crowds doesn’t faze him:
I’m a complete show off. The more people that’s there, the better. It’s great. I’ve always loved having people around, the more people the better.
Another birdie for Rory McIlroy, a third in a row. His eagle putt is nicely paced and leaves him with a tap-in at the 12th. He’s four under for the round and joins Cameron Young at 10 under for the week in second. Excellent concentration after a long wait because playing partner Xander Schauffele was tangled up in gorse.
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It seems fairly safe to assume that Cameron Smith will be the halfway leader. Rory McIlroy would need an exceptional final six holes to change that. So what is the Aussie’s record in such a position? He’s had three solo 36-hole advantages and he won the first two, including this year’s Tournament of Champions. But his most recent experience was somewhat humbling: he carded weekend rounds of 72-77 to finish tied 13th in June’s Memorial Tournament.
Cameron Smith did drop a pretty big hint about his chances this week. Here’s what he told the media on Wednesday:
I think I’ve played the best golf of my life this year, for sure. I love the golf course. It would be awesome to win an Open here for sure. I think it’s everyone’s dream growing up to win an Open at St Andrews.
So, don’t want to jinx myself, but I’m feeling pretty good.
A terrific card for the leader. One way traffic.
Have a day, Cameron Smith 👏
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 15, 2022
He cards the lowest round of the week and leads by 3 at #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/jsg2SmJS42
6.27pm BST leaderboard
Cameron Smith completes his bogey-free second lap, Viktor Hovland sneaks into contention and Rory McIlroy has found the putting surface of the par-four 12th in one blow. He was inches from finding the right level of the green, too, but it’s a great opportunity to eat into Smith’s advantage before the back nine gets a little tricky.
-13: Smith (F)
-10: Young (16)
-9: Johnson (F), McIlroy (11)
-8: Scheffler (F), Hatton (F), Hovland (10)
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Back-to-back birdies for Rory McIlroy. He hits another majestic tee shot, this time at the par-three 11th, and he takes advantage with a bold birdie putt from 20 feet. He’s up to nine under and tied for third with Dustin Johnson.
Superb from Cameron Smith at the Road Hole. He could only force his approach shot from the rough short of the green and, after electing to use putter, he left himself nine feet for par. No bother. For the second hole in succession, he was as sure with the par saver as he has been with par breakers. Nothing fancy from the 18th tee - he bunts it down the fairway with an iron.
The good news? Rory McIlroy is now eight under for the week and tied fourth. The bad news? It could have been a touch better, his eagle putt at the 10th dribbling off to the right.
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Finally! Shane Lowry has been superb tee to green through 27 holes, but has struggled with the putter. A perfect example? The par-five fifth where he launched two fine blows close and hit a horrible eagle putt. But he drains a birdie from 25 feet at the 9th and celebrates with a touch of irony. He’s two under for the week.
Rory McIlroy was errant with his driver on the way to a par-four at the 9th. But he responds in style at the 10th tee, launching a majestic blow that has left him with a 20 foot putt for eagle. A big moment coming up.
Rock solid from the leader. Cameron Smith’s birdie putt rattles six feet past the hole, but he has no difficulty saving par. He follows it with a drive at the 17th which is set off on a very conservative line and also appears to settle down in the rough.
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5.53pm BST leaderboard
Rory McIlroy had a putt at the 9th to join Tyrrell Hatton and Scottie Scheffler in a share of fourth, but it slipped by and he remains just outside the top five.
-13: Smith (15)
-11: Young (14)
-9: Johnson (F)
-8: Hatton (F), Scheffler (F)
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Birdie for Cameron Young at the 14th. The American was a little untidy with his chip at the par-five, but he converted from 10 feet to get to 11 under for the week, two behind the leader. Jonathan Salisbury emails: “He may be the nicest man in the world but can’t stand the way Cam Young never acknowledges the crowd, whether hitting eagle or par, not even at the end of the round.”
First bogey of the day for Rory McIlroy. TV cameras close in on the ball for his short-range par effort and it’s clear that it’s off-line immediately. A mildly irritated swish of the putter from the Northern Irishman in response.
Lovely reaction from Cameron Smith’s playing partners when his big eagle putt dropped on the 14th just now.
This is outrageous from Cam Smith🤯#The150thOpen pic.twitter.com/Rvf5m1gKdl
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 15, 2022
Stuart Wilson is concerned the talk of Tiger’s retirement is premature and adds in his email: “Anyway, spine-tingling, emotional stuff watching Tiger walk the 18th on TV today. I was with my dad, peering at the 18th green from outside the Tom Morris Golf Shop (technically outside the grounds!) in 2000 when he holed his final putt to complete a career Grand Slam; watched from the grandstands as he holed his winning putts in 2005 & 2006; and felt the crowd energy reach another level at Carnoustie in 2018 when he briefly led on the front-nine on Sunday. There’s been no-one else remotely as good as Tiger in the last 30 years - let’s hope he keeps going for one last moment of tear-up-the-script glory.”
Cameron Smith holes a sweeping long-range eagle putt at the 14th. He’s 13 under for the championship and three clear of Cameron Young. Ewan Murray sneaks over, sings a few random songs in my ear about Tommy Fleetwood, and suggests Smith tends to throw in a few doubles. The field might be hoping Ewan is right.
Birdie for Rory McIlroy at the 7th. It’s the first of the six hole figure-of-eight loop at the far end of the course. It involves some peril but also lots of birdie (and eagle) opportunities. A key stretch and that’s the perfect start.
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Thanks Dave. Jeremy Boyce has joined us in the Barclay Brown Fan Club and emails: “Not sure that he ever played opposite Terry Thomas. But it seems to me he very often appeared as Margaret Rutherford’s Detective Sergeant in the Marple films and with Alastair Sim and George Cole in the St Trinians films. Apparently that’s what you need at St Andrews this week, forensic Marple analysis and Sim/Cole slippery-trickery.”
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Norway’s Viktor Hovland makes his second straight birdie, this one at six, and climbs to -6.
Facially, Hovland somehow reminds me of someone you’d see on an old baseball card if flicking through a book of Yankees legends from the 1930s.
Anyway, on that rather bizarre comment, I’ll hand back to Matt.
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Kurt Perleberg emails this: “What caused the decline of Tiger Woods?”
It’s a simple but profound poser. A future ‘A’ Level history question perhaps. E-mail in (1000-1500 words please) and I’ll mark them later *
* Don’t. I won’t.
Cameron Young sets up good birdie chances at 10 and 11 but can’t get the white round thing to fall into the little hole. They were dropping yesterday but a little of the magic has left him today.
Still, playing the first 11 holes in 2 under is a more than acceptable way to follow up his opening 64 - still the lowest round of the week. He remains in solo second and one behind Cameron Smith.
That’s the way Rory! An excellent birdie putt at 5 and he makes his first move up the leaderboard. Now -7 and four behind Smith.
And another birdie for Barclay Brown, who has a nice touch of swagger about him as he drains his putt at 16 to reach -5 (tied 13th). A reminder that an amateur, Ireland’s Paul Dunne, was tied for the 54-hole lead in the 2015 Open at St Andrews.
Rory McIlroy, as you’d expect, finds the dancefloor in two at the fifth but unfortunately on a green as big as that he’s very much in three-putt territory. Let’s have faith though: he’s judged the pace of these putting surfaces extremely well so far and will fancy his chances of scribbling in his first birdie of the day. Arggh! Blogger’s curse! His first putt isn’t hit hard enough and rolls rather apologetically to 10 feet away.
Ahead at 12, a brief moment of crisis for leader Cameron Smith as he biffs his birdie putt seven feet past but, no worries mate, he pops that in to stay at -11, one clear.
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The firm, fast and bouncy conditions pointed us towards Aussie success and that’s starting to play out.
Three Australians in the top 10 now: leader Cam Smith, Adam Scott in tied sixth and (new entry) Min Woo Lee in tied 10th after a birdie at 16.
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy has clobbered one down the fairway at the par-5 5th, a graphic showing his ball has bounded beyond a white line at 370 yards. He’ll have 176 yards in with his second. Probably a nine-iron.
Guardian Open blog favourite Barclay Brown is still leading the race to finish as top amateur.
The Englishman, who starred alongside Leslie Phillips in the Fast Lady, is having a ding-dong battle with Filippo Celli of Italy. Celli carded a superb 67 today to finish at -3 but Brown is one ahead after following a bogey 6 at 14 with a 20 foot birdie at 15.
Brown has his distinctive hat on again today although I can’t work out if he’s a Stone Roses fan or paying homage to It Ain’t Half Hot Mum. His picture on the official website suggests the former.
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4.17pm BST leaderboard
The battle to be top Cameron - first prize, a Claret Jug (possibly) - is hotting up.
Cameron Young moves to within one of leader Cameron Smith thanks to a birdie at 9. Let’s have a leaderboard check.
-11 Smith (10)
-10 Young (9)
-9: Johnson (F)
-8: Hatton (F), Scheffler (F), Cantlay (16)
-7: Gooch (F), Scott (F), Theegala (F)
Cameron Smith rolls in his birdie putt at 10 to hit the dizzy heights of -11 and that’s two clear of the field.
Rory McIlroy is now five back after missing his 15 footer for birdie at 4. Loads of time to go but Rory will want to find a spark. Matt is out there now and notes: “Group ahead of Rory not teed off on 5. Rory and group hanging around chatting and eating. Group behind only just teed off on four. Rory and Xander Schauffele sort of having a picnic in the grass.”
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The cut line: The top 70 and ties make the weekend so, as it stands, those at +1 or worse are going home.
That’s bad news for the following, who have all finished their second rounds. The list includes several former Open champions:
+1: Henrik Stenson, Louis Oosthuizen
+2: Ryan Fox, Richard Bland
+3: Padraig Harrington
+5: Stewart Cink
+6: Gary Woodland, Marc Leishman
+9: Tiger Woods
+12: David Duval
+21: Mark Calcavecchia
Rory McIlroy has a wedge from 118 yards for his second at 4 and plops it down about 15 feet away.
Playing Partners Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa will also have decent looks at birdie. Morikawa dropped a shot at 2 to fall to +1 while Schauffele drained a lengthy putt at 3 to advance to -4 and inside the top 20.
At the 10th, leader Cameron Smith finds the green but doesn’t quite get his lag putt right, leaving seven feet or so for his birdie.
The unique figure of John Daly is causing quite a stir out there right now: and in a good way. He looks to have a very real chance of making the cut.
Now resembling an extra from The Dukes of Hazzard, the 1995 St Andrews hero has a card showing three birdies, three bogeys, three pars and an eagle. His latest birdie which topples in from 15 feet at 10, takes him to -1 and inside the projected cut line.
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It’s a par-par-par start for Rory McIlroy. He sails a lovely approach into the third green which finishes around 15 feet away but shows a hint of frustration as the birdie putt won’t drop.
He won’t want Cameron Smith to get too far away - Rory is currently four back - although the Aussie won’t be making birdie at nine after going right with his approach and not threatening the hole with his long first putt.
Up at 18, Patrick Cantlay tidies up and completes a 5-under 67. Cantlay’s record in the majors is curiously poor - two top 10s in 22 events - but he liked the firm conditions at Carnoustie in 2018 (tied 12th) and is relishing them here too. The world No 4 is currently three off the lead.
Tiger speaks to Sky Sports’ Tim Barter after finishing his week two days earlier than he’d hoped. Woods doesn’t rule out playing in more Opens but says it’s a stretch that he’ll play another at St Andrews which he believes won’t host again until 2030. That’s one rumour although others have said earlier. the official dates only extend to 2025.
2023 - Royal Liverpool
2024 - Royal Troon
2025 - Royal Portrush
Thanks Matt. And the first news I bring is that Cameron Smith has become the first player this week to reach double digits under par. The Aussie is ripping it up this afternoon with five birdies in his opening eight holes. He has further good scoring opportunities at 9, 10 and 12 coming up. In other words, he leads by one but has the chance to extend it over the next hour.
The 18th isn’t the drive-it-with-your-eyes-closed hole of yesterday and earlier and Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm and Harold Varner all have to wedge in. Rahm is the only one to emerge with birdie as he curls in a 20 footer to finish at -4, as do Spieth and Varner. Good team effort, although such a notion will never catch on (wink emoji).
3.25pm BST leaderboard
Here’s the state of play as I hand back to Dave.
-9: Johnson (F), Smith (7), Young (7)
-8: Hatton (F), Scheffler (F), Cantlay (16)
-7: Gooch (F), Scott (F), Theegala (15)
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Meanwhile ... It made sense to concentrate on the drama at the 18th but there was action elsewhere. Rory McIlroy needed to drain a par putt from nine feet for par at the 1st and did it. Then the two Camerons, Smith and Young, made birdies to join Dustin Johnson at the top of the leaderboard.
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And here was the walk up the 18th for Tiger Woods. Quite a moment.
Nothing but love for @TigerWoods ❤️ pic.twitter.com/7olNGiAb5G
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 15, 2022
Tiger Woods finishes at +9 after second-round 75
Not the finish, or the week, Tiger Woods hoped for. He misses his birdie putt and he misses the cut. After a rueful look at the green, he removes his cap, smiles, and waves to the galleries. A two-time Open champion on the Old Course, in 2000 and 2005, he admitted earlier this week that he might not be playing golf next time the championship visits the town.
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The wave to the crowds on the 18th from Tiger Woods. No stopping on the bridge.
A special walk up 18 for @TigerWoods 👏 pic.twitter.com/4y572MKjz0
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 15, 2022
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Woods bumps and runs his second shot onto the green and close. He’ll have every opportunity to close his 2022 Open with a birdie.
Matt Fitzpatrick and Max Homa hang back to allow Tiger Woods to cross the Swilcan Bridge alone. He removes his cap and waves to the galleries. As he closes on the town the fans stand to applaud him. Woods wipes away tears and the noise rises. The home of golf is acclaiming one of the sport’s greatest.
Earlier I asked Bill Elliott, former golf correspondent of The Observer, about the relevance of this moment for Tiger Woods. Is this the end of the road for arguably the greatest golfer ever? He said:
I suspect this is the final time we will see Tiger Woods at St Andrews.
He certainly won’t be a celebrity golfer pitching up with no hope of winning.
His entire career has been about winning and it now looks like he’ll never win again.
That’s going to be a hard, hard thing for him to digest and take on board.
It wouldn’t surprise me, if he continues like this, if he retires quite soon.
Tiger Woods waits on the 18th tee. At the other end of the strange rectangle of land, on the 1st tee, Rory McIlroy swishes a club. A remarkable moment. One man almost certainly saying farewell to the home of golf, another trying to end a major drought from a good position, on a favourite course.
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Big cheers for Tiger as he saves par from a tricky distance at the 17th. The cheers are about to get a lot louder on the 18th however. The TV cameras close in on him. He looks a little pensive. He’s missing the cut - is he also saying goodbye?
The putter of Cameron Smith has gone cold. He misses a short birdie putt at the 6th, but he’s still three under for the day and eight under for the championship. Englishman Matt Fitzpatrrick is transformed from yesterday and his Sheffield blade is very hot. Back-to-back birdies at the 15th and 16th get him to six under for the week.
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English amateur Barclay Brown has made a solid start to his second round. He’s one under through the 10th, five under for the championship and tied 14th. His IMDB entry reveals he played a few cameos in the Ealing comedies (note: it doesn’t - as, Dave suggested yesterday, we’re both tickled that he sounds like a pal of Terry-Thomas).
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It’s a great time to be looking for a seat in the grandstands around the 1st and 18th holes. Tiger Woods has just missed the 16th green with a chip shot, he won’t be making the weekend and in 20 minutes he’ll be heading up the last, possibly for the final time here in at the home of golf. At more or less the same time, Rory McIlroy will be teeing off in his second round from the same plot of land.
Tyrrell Hatton isn’t getting carried away. The Englishman has signed for scores of 70-66 to sit second in the clubhouse but he’s playing down his chances. He just told the media:
“Although I’ve won around here in the past, the golf course is very different to how we play in October. So also the pin positions are a lot tighter.
“So we’ll see. If I play good golf, then, sure, we’ll have a chance. But it’s definitely not a time to get ahead of ourselves.
“The greens are pretty mental. They can put the pins in some crazy spots and that slows down scoring in itself. Although you’ve got shorter shots, it’s still really hard to hit it close.”
Sahith Theegala is enjoying the short par-fours around the turn. He drained an eagle putt from 50 feet at the 352-yard 9th and gives himself half that distance for another with a sensational blow from the 12th tee, some 351-yards from the green, but can’t convert this time. He’s three-under for the day and six-under for the championship.
Short game magic from Jordan Spieth at the par-five 14th. He misses the green then fidgets, frets and twitches ahead of his chip. It settles close to the hole and he converts the birdie which atones for the post-Coffin bogey. He’s back to five under for the tournament. Spieth is the best body language watch in golf since Monty. A wonderful wriggler.
A dropped shot for the first round leader. Cameron Young adds bogey at the 2nd to his card. He’s tied fifth on the leaderboard now on seven under. He’s also the only man in the current top 25 over-par for his round.
Updated
Jordan Spieth visits the Coffins at the 13th. That’s the trio of fairway bunkers to you and me. A good graphic informs us that every previous visitor to them today dropped a shot at the hole. Spieth hacks out, hits a fine approach, has around 20 feet for his par and misses it. Have the Coffins closed the lid on his chances? Not quite. He’s four under for the week, but he’ll want to find a few birdies before a late lunch.
The leader speaks. Dustin Johnson has been in the media centre after hitting the top of the leaderboard. He dodged a lot of queries about LIV. Of the event he said:
I felt like I’ve done a good job off the tee, getting into the right positions and putting it in the right position around the greens.
Probably be a few back by the end of the day, I would imagine. Still in a good spot going into the weekend.
I feel like I’ve got a good game plan and I feel like I’m swinging well.
Just avoid the bunkers as much as possible. I’ve been in three so far and two of them I had to chip out sideways.
Blistering stuff from Cameron Smith. He’s added a second birdie of the day at the 2nd ... and then again at the 3rd. Here’s how the hat trick started.
Never in doubt#The150thOpen pic.twitter.com/wt6mJHBigV
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 15, 2022
Updated
Rebels together? After his excellent second round of 69 Talor Gooch was asked about the rancour of this week regarding LIV Golf, the circuit he has signed up to. He said:
“Everybody, it feels like, is against us, and that’s okay. It’s kind of banded us together, I think.”
Garrick clubbing well. South Africa’s Garrick Higgo transformed his career with three victories last summer - two in Europe, one in the States - and he’s jumped from the blocks on the B of the Bang this afternoon. Birdies at each of the first four holes to be four under for the championship.
1.26pm BST leaderboard
Scottie Scheffler joins Tyrrell Hatton in second. His tap-in birdie at the 18th completes a second 68 of the week.
-9: Johnson (F)
-8: Hatton (F), Scheffler (F), Young (-)
-7: Gooch (F), Scott (F), Cantlay (10)
Updated
Early statement from Cameron Smith. The Aussie has 50 feet for birdie on the 1st. His aim is true, the roll perfect. He’s now six under for the week and the birdies are dropping everywhere. Tyrrell Hatton makes a sixth of the day. A 66 for him and he’ll take lunch in second place on the clubhouse leaderboard.
Terrific golf from Sahith Theegala this week. An eagle at the par-four 9th gets him to two under for the round and five under for the tournament. The American has Indian ancestry and the Indian journalists here are excited by his potential. “A bit early to say,” says one before adding: “A bit like Seve.” The comparison is based on his capacity to find trouble from the tee followed by outrageous escapes thereafter.
Weather update. With quite a few of the leading contenders set to start their second round in the next two hours it seems to make sense to check conditions. The late-early starters have played catch-up this morning but the bad news? The Met Office expects a nice afternoon: sunny, with the wind as it was this morning ... and easing as the day goes on.
Thanks Dave. Bit of a buzz about the place during my wander. Might be the golf, might be the talk about Niall Horan’s whereabouts. The singer is a massive golf fan and is around this week.
As Johnson bids for that birdie at 18, I’ll hand you back to Matt ‘live at St Andrews’ Cooper for a couple of hours.
“Cut” is the shout from Dustin Johnson as his drive at 18 bounds left of its intended target, the green. But that’s fine and he’ll be putting from the ‘Valley of Sin’ for eagle. A birdie the most likely outcome from there and if he makes it, the LIV man will have the outright lead on 9-under.
Americans now flooding the leaderboard and Patrick Cantlay has made a real surge. An outward 5-under 31 has lifted him to -7 overall.
Joint-leader Dustin Johnson found the back of the 17th green with his approach and hits a fine lag putt to kick-in range. A par keeps him at -8.
Good news for Jordan Spieth fans as the three-time major champion rolls in a 15-footer for birdie at 9 to be out in 4-under 32. At -5 overall, Spieth is just three back.
Sergio Garcia’s attempt so shoot something daft rather petered out. The Spaniard was 7-under for the day after 14 but finished par-par-bogey-par to end the day at 3-under. That 66 matches his best round in an Open since he set out with a 65 at Carnoustie in 2007.
Adam Scott is also 6-under for the day after 16 (-6 overall) while big-hitting Belgian Thomas Pieters could be another one to watch for low-score fans. He’s -5 for the day after 10 holes (-2 overall).
Could we see a hole-in-one at a par 4 this week? There are plenty of opportunities and Jon Rahm goes relatively close at 9 as his ball bounds onto the green, has a little look at the cup and rolls off the back edge.
It would be the first in Open history if someone could manage an albatross on one of the par 4s. Here are some on par 3s. A chance to see Frank Lickliter in action.
Leader Cameron Young had a hole-in-one at last month’s US Open by the way.
Updated
At last, Cameron Young has company at the top as Dustin Johnson pours in a 20-foot birdie at 16 to hit -8. DJ bogeyed the first hole today but has since sprinkled birdies at 3, 9, 10, 14 and 16.
Scottie Scheffler’s bid to join that same club just fails at 15 as his 15 footer wobbles wide of the hole.
“Light the candle” shouts some buffoon in the crowd as Johnson finds the fairway on the tough 17th.
For the viewing public at St Andrews, the mornings on the first two days are more fun than the afternoons. The first group today completed lap two in just under four hours. As the day goes on and players back up on tees and wait for double greens to clear, those 18 holes will be taking six hours and more.
Updated
Jordan Spieth is always a thrilling watch at an Open but he struggled to go through the gears in his first-round 71.
But he’s making a move today and a mix of three birdies and four pars over his first seven holes have lifted the 2017 Claret Jug winner to tied 12th and only four back.
Up ahead at 14, Hatton seems to have taken note of that last update chronicling the lack of English winners and he taps in for birdie to make it a four-way tie for second place at 7-under.
Poulter has responded too. There was a very odd period in Open history when Poulter’s choice of trousers kept the nation guessing. Just what would they be? How maverick would he go? No one gives a shit now. But perhaps we need to keep an eye on his golf as he’s just birdied the first to go tied 12th on -4.
Updated
It still seems a bit weird that an English golfer hasn’t won the Open since Nick Faldo in 1992. Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter have all finished runner-up since Sir Nick triumphed at Muirfield 30 long years ago.
The current leaderboard shows a quartet of Americans (Young, Gooch, Johnson and Scheffler) leading the way, with Tyrrell Hatton the best-placed Englishman at -6, just two back. Hatton has twice won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on these very grounds so perhaps this is the week.
Poulter has just teed off by the way. The good news: he didn’t flirt with out of bounds left this time. The bad news: he got booed again. Poulter went to LIV if you didn’t know.
12.11pm BST leaderboard
Talor Gooch drives the green at 18 and two swishes of the blade later his ball has vanished below ground and he’s set the clubhouse lead of -7. That prompts a scores on the doors and here it is.
-8: Young (-)
-7: Gooch (F), D Johnson (14), Scheffler (13)
-6: SW Kim (F), Scott (14), Hatton (13), McIlroy (-)
-5: Wise (F), Cantlay (5), Smith (-)
Updated
Si Woo Kim almost beats Gooch to that 7-under clubhouse target as his eagle chip from the left of the 18th green smacks into the pin but stays out. On lots of other days that drops. Still, he taps in and those pair of 69s give him a halfway total of 6-under which is good right now for tied third.
Kim caused quite the stir when winning The Players Championship at Sawgrass as a 21-year-old but his best major finish in 22 appearances is tied 12th. His Open record before this week was MC-67-MC while he’s missed the cut at each of his last three events, including the Scottish Open. In short, he wouldn’t have found his way onto many betting slips at the start of this week.
There’s a narrow strip of grass between the path and the road by the 17th green and Talor Gooch finds it. That gives him a better lie than he might have expected and the world No 40 cashes in by nearly holing his delicate chip up the bank. A par at the Road Hole should always bring pleasure and Gooch will now focus on making birdie at 18 and posting a clubhouse lead of 7-under 137.
Updated
Scottie Scheffler and Talor Gooch flip positions at the top. Scheffler two-putts the short par-4 12th for his third birdie on the spin. He’s now -7 but Gooch drops to -6 after a clumsy bogey at 16.
Another young American, Aaron Wise, has climbed into the top 10 after six birdies against two bogeys in his first 17 holes to land at -4.
The Las Vegas resident, who was born in South Africa before moving to America aged three, has been in good form on the PGA Tour over the last couple of months, finishing second at the prestigious Memorial Tournament and sixth at the Mexico Open.
Tiger famously avoided all 112 bunkers when winning here in 2000 but he’s found sand at 6 and has to just play out. He’s a tough watch this morning. The quick turnaround from his late finish last night clearly hasn’t helped him and, basically, he looks in pain and way off 100%.
A minor consolation is that he’s even par for the day after five holes but he probably has to play the final 13 in six under or better to make the cut. Make that seven under or better as he’s just dropped a shot at 6 following his visit to sand.
Updated
The pin on the par-5 5th hole is more tucked than Tom Daley during his highest degree of difficulty dive in an Olympics. Jon Rahm sensibly ignores going anywhere near the thing, smashing his second to the right edge of the green before hitting a decent lag putt from a mile away.
Rahm definitely had the grumps yesterday but a birdie-birdie start has improved his mood and if he holes his second putt at 5 that’ll take the 2021 US Open champion to -2. And he does! Official status: lurking.
Talking of Spaniards, Sergio birdies the other par 5 on the course, the 14th, and he’s -7 for his round! Garcia has vaulted 108 spots up the board this morning and, at 4-under overall, he’s only four off the pace.
Updated
The question now is will Cameron Young still be leading when he tees off at 1.26pm?
The chasing pack is growing and Scheffler drops a 15-foot birdie try into the hole at 11 to expand the bunch at 6-under to five (Kim, Johnson, Scheffler, Hatton and McIlroy). They’re two behind the leader, who heads out in exactly two hours’ time.
Best score out there right now belongs to Sergio Garcia. The 2017 Masters winner used to be a top 10 staple in this event (10 of them from 2001 to 2016) but he’s basically been useless in the majors since finally winning his first at Augusta five years ago.
But look at him go today: four birdies and an eagle in his first 12 holes. A par at 13 keeps him 6-under for the day and -3 overall after a poor opening round (75). Does it spoil it to say he’s another who signed up for LIV?
Updated
11.16am BST leaderboard
Thanks Matt. There seem to birdies flying in everywhere at the moment. Just in the last few moments, Scottie Scheffler and Adam Scott have picked up shots at 10 and 11 respectively. Time for a leaderboard update.
-8: Young (-)
-7: Gooch (14)
-6: SW Kim (15), D Johnson (11), Hatton (10), McIlroy (-)
-5: Scott (11), Scheffler (10), Dinwiddie (-), Smith (-)
Updated
Tyrrell Hatton’s hot spell continues. Birdie at the 10th is a fourth par breaker in five holes and vaults him to six under for the week. He’s tied third. With that, I’m off for a wander and will leave you in Dave’s safe hands.
High polish for Adrian Meronk. The story of first Pole to play in the Open became something of a theme yesterday, but he struggled out on the course. A big difference today, however. He’s made 13 pars and three birdies to give himself every opportunity of making the cut. He’s level par for the week and tied 60th on the leaderboard. Par-birdie ought to get him into the weekend.
Bogey for Tiger. He misses a short par putt at the 4th and is back to level par for the round. He badly needs a spark. Meanwhile, playing partner Matt Fitzpatrick moves to two under for the day and the week. He was oddly grumpy yesterday and couldn’t get anything going. He’s looking more focused this morning.
Updated
Tyrrell Hatton joins the party. A burst of three birdies in the final four holes of the front nine gets him to five under for the week. He has Old Course pedigree as a two-time Dunhill Links Championship winner - and he’s also a two-time top six finisher in the Open.
DJ spinning them close. Dustin Johnson played the front nine in one under, his birdie at the 9th allowing him to join the chasing pack on five under for the week. And now he flips his approach up onto the 10th green and the spin drags it close to the pin. He was the 18- and 36-hole leader on the Old Course in 2015 before a pair of 75s destroyed his hopes.
Birdie for Tiger! He converts from about 25 feet at the 3rd. He’s five over for the week so probably needs a 66 (minimum) to make the weekend. A long way to go, in other words.
Not a great deal of turnaround time for Jordan Spieth between rounds. His first lap, a scrappy (in both senses) 71, ended in the near dark last night and he was back at the course just before eight o’clock. He left a birdie putt at the 1st absurdly short, but saved par and has added a birdie at the 2nd. He’s two under for the week.
10.39am BST leaderboard
More on the Harrington move. He carded a birdie at the 1st and then again at the 2nd. He’s five under for the week.
-8: Young (-)
-6: Gooch (12), McIlroy (-)
-5: Kim (13), Harrington (3), Dinwiddie (-), Smith (-)
Updated
A St Andrews farewell for Mark Calcavecchia. The 1989 champion makes his way up the 18th for the final time after he gained a special exemption to play this year. It almost turns into a special opportunity to land face first on the Swilcan Bridge, but he just about keeps upright after a little trip and looks a little emotional as he waves to the galleries.
Padraig Harrington is making a move. The two-time Open champion won the U.S. Senior Open last week and was very chipper when asked last week if he could win another Claret Jug. He said:
100%. Phil did it. Tom Watson proved that it’s possible and it’s even more of a chance on links and at St Andrews. I don’t have a barrier of 50 years of age. Coming down the stretch in a major everybody else is going to feel the same way as I do.
Updated
Yorkshire amateur Sam Bairstow is one under for the week through the 14th. He overcame defeat in the final of the Amateur Championship at Royal Lytham last month to come through Final Qualifying at St Anne’s Links. He’s a left-hander who impresses the staff at England Golf with his all-round qualities, including a level head and competitive instinct, rather than any particular great strength. Believed to be no relation to Jonny.
Adam Scott is ticking along nicely this morning. He’s been in Fife since the start of last week, enjoying courses such as Kingsbarns and Crail in addition to the Old Course. His father was reporting that he was in great form which made his son’s decision to change his equipment on Sunday a little peculiar. But maybe Scott knew something? He was three over through the 8th yesterday, but is now two under for the tournament as he walks to the 9th tee.
Tiger at the first update: The approach didn’t find the burn, the distant birdie putt didn’t reach the hole, the longer-than-he-would-have-liked-it-to-have-been par putt found the bottom of the cup. Phew.
Updated
I’ll take Dave’s early stat baton and offer you the ‘Total 3 Putts Over 25 feet’ rankings on the PGA Tour this year. A niche category, no doubt, but avoiding such errors is key on the Old Course. It’s also a topsy turvy ranking - higher up is bad. Here’s the top (i.e. bottom) five and their round one score: Keith Mitchell 76, KH Lee 69, Sebastian Munoz 73, Luke List 76, Tom Hoge 74. And the bottom (i.e. top) five: Tyrrell Hatton 70, Lucas Herbert 70, Webb Simpson 71, Danny Willett 69, Cameron Smith 67. Quietly persuasive maybe?
Thanks Dave. For the first time this week the auld grey toun is living up to its name. In the skies above at least. Tiger’s first hole yesterday set the tone of the day so fingers crossed for the next 10 minutes - a good start and then ride the wave. That’s the hope.
With Tiger about to tee off, I’ll hand the baton to Matt - live from St Andrews!
Just a par for Scottie Scheffler at 5 so he remains at -3. But a move from Si Woo Kim, who adds to his birdie at 1 with a second of the day at 10 and the South Korean is up to the giddy heights of tied fourth.
A little further down and Paul Casey is revving things up with birdies at 2, 5 and 6 to leap 28 places to -4 and tied seventh.
No spark from Scottie Scheffler yet. Since that opening bogey dropped him back to -3 he’s made three pars although the Masters champ will fancy a first red number of the day at the par-5 fifth. Scheffler has just boomed one down the fairway to increase the chances of that.
Marcus Armitage adds a par at 10 to remain in tied sixth. The Huddersfield pro is nicknamed ‘The Bullet’ but for less glamorous reasons than you might think. That moniker is due to him ordering a golf glove from America that was supposed to say ‘The Bulldog’. Something got lost in translation and his glove arrived with ‘The Bullet’ embroidered on it instead. Still, it all adds to his cult status.
Updated
In contrast to Paul McGinley, Nick Faldo reckons today’s pins are “tucked a yard closer” than yesterday.
I’ve just totted up the numbers and the field is a combined 15-over so far today. Not that easy then!
You’ll do well to find many player stats from yesterday but there are some clever people recording them.
Datagolf have all the R1 Strokes Gained numbers so what were the strengths (or weaknesses) of Rory McIlroy’s game in his 6-under 66 yesterday?
Here’s how he ranked [in a field of 156] in the various statistical categories:
Off The Tee: 7th
Approach: 65th
Around The Green: 29th
Tee To Green: 8th
Putting: 6th
Strong in most areas but perhaps those approach numbers are a slight concern. Rory may need to tighten up his iron play a little.
Updated
England’s Marcus Armitage continues his surge up the leaderboard and a birdie at 9 takes him out in 3-under 33. Now -4, he’s up to tied sixth, a leap of 29 spots on the day. Is he the 2022 incarnation of 1995 Steven Bottomley?
Dustin Johnson balances the books with a birdie at 3 wiping out his opening bogey. He’s also at -4, four behind Cameron Young.
Updated
Will the softer conditions lead to the crazy-low scoring that was predicted at the start of this week?
Former European Ryder Cup captain, Paul McGinley, thinks so.
Oh boy just what the old course didn’t need - light rain overnight and early this morning - with pins now slightly more accessible & firm fairways it’s a cocktail for some really good scoring today @SkySportsGolf @GolfChannel
— Paul McGinley (@mcginleygolf) July 15, 2022
However, the locals aren’t as convinced. Matt just sent me this:
“On my first night, when I sat outside the Jigger Inn with a pint, an old boy who plays golf in the town (and is very good) said: “They’ll defend the course with the pin positions. They’ll be tighter than we’ve seen here ever before.”
The current BBC weather forecast suggests the rain will ease and wind speeds won’t get above 11mph. A bit of sun may poke through around 4pm but otherwise it’s cloudy. Actually a slight fog at the moment.
Tiger Woods slumped to a six-over 78 in round one, the agony strung out over six hours and 18 minutes. He finally spoke to the press at 9.25pm. Here’s what he had to say after shooting the joint-highest opening round of his Open career.
Overall thoughts: “Well, probably highest score as I could have shot. Didn’t get off to a great start. Hit a good tee shot down 1, ended up right in the middle of a fresh divot. And I hit a good shot. Wind gusts hit it and ended up in the burn.
“So I think I had maybe four or five 3-putts today. Just wasn’t very good on the greens. And every putt I left short. I struggled with hitting the putts hard enough. They looked faster than what they were putting, and I struggled with it.
On his physical issues: “It was a lot easier today, physically, than it has been the other two events (Masters and US PGA), for sure.”
On the fast, firm conditions: “We played Liverpool (Hoylake 2006) like that. But it was just different. Liverpool doesn’t have the amount of slopes that St Andrews has. The fairways are flatter. So the ball obviously, you have more control on the ground. Here you really don’t have as much control. They were quick.
On trying to make the cut: “Looks like I’m going to have to shoot 66 tomorrow to have a chance. So obviously it has been done. Guys did it today. And that’s my responsibility tomorrow is to go ahead and do it. Need to do it.”
Tiger tees off in round two at 9.58am.
8.51am BST leaderboard
With the rain starting to come down a little stronger, as signified by Tyrrell Hatton calling for the umbrella, let’s have an early scores on the doors.
-8: Young (-)
-6: Gooch (4), McIlroy (-)
-5: Smith (-), Dinwiddie (-)
-4: SW Kim (5), Brown (-), Kitayama (-), Westwood (-), Kennedy (-), Hovland (-)
Updated
The tucked front pin on the 1st is still catching a few out.
Haotong Li racked up a triple-bogey seven after his first approach pinged back from the Swilcan Burn and his second landed straight in it! Aussie Marc Leishman also found the wet stuff and took six.
Scottie Scheffler cleared it but perhaps too comfortably. A long way from the hole, he needed three putts to get down so that’s an opening bogey. Back to -3 although he’s launched a lovely tee shot from the 2nd.
As play seemed to get slower and slower yesterday and groups backed up on tees and fairways, it seemed unlikely that the final groups would complete in time.
They did - just - and it was 10.10pm when England’s Robert Dinwiddie birdied the closing hole to complete a 67 and share third place. A long day ahead then!
Talking of Englishmen, Marcus Armitage has just rolled in a birdie putt from around 15 feet at the 6th. Back-to-back par breakers and he’s up to the tied 13th.
The big names are coming thick and fast and here goes the world No 1 Scottie Scheffler.
A low iron down the 1st fairway accompanied by his trademark foot slide through impact and the American is off and running.
Up at the green, a three-putt bogey for Dustin Johnson. DJ drops back to -3, now one back from Scheffler and five behind leader Cameron Young.
Others to have gone further under par this morning are Ryan Fox and Marcus Armitage.
Kiwi Fox, the son of rugby union legend Grant, has broken a run of seven pars with a birdie at 8 while England’s Armitage has a scorecard showing 4-4-4-4-4. That equates to four pars and a birdie at the long 5th. Both have nudged up to -2, currently tied 26th.
The R&A must be fearful of a LIV golfer winning their historic 150th Open Championship. Dustin Johnson, a two-time major champion, is probably the biggest threat to that, let’s say it, nightmare scenario and he’s just teed off at the 1st, punching an iron down the huge fairway.
With less wind and a slighter soft course, that will suit Johnson, who starts the day four off the lead at -4.
Or maybe Talor Gooch will be the man to induce full squirm as he rolls in a 10 footer at the 3rd hole to give him a second birdie of the day. Gooch joins McIlroy in tied second at -6.
Matt Cooper, who is sharing blog duties with me this week, is live at St Andrews. So, set the scene please Matt. What’s the weather doing? How are course conditions?
“Feels gettable this morning. Streets wet on the walk to town. Not so wet that you definitely need waterproofs. Not much wind.
“Not enough rain to genuinely change the dynamic. Just offering the field a bit of help.”
Some early moves on the leaderboard from Talor Gooch and Si Woo Kim. American Gooch, who switched to LIV last month, holed for birdie at the 1st to jump up to -5 and that’s good enough for tied third.
Kim, a former winner of The Players Championship, also birdied the opener to get to -4 and has stayed there with a pair of pars.
Off to a flyer, Talor Gooch 🐦 #The150thOpen pic.twitter.com/ai6q0gDSGV
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 15, 2022
Pin positions for round two. More tucking going on.
Pin positions for Round 2 of #The150thOpen 👇 pic.twitter.com/KcAt1ZxZwJ
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 15, 2022
Right, let’s go on day two. And to get you in the mood... this. Fun fact: composer Brian Bennett was the drummer in The Shadows.
Preamble
Good morning from the 150th Open Championship! It’s day two at St Andrews and the early starters have the waterproofs on due to some morning drizzle.
Rory McIlroy shot a brilliant 66 yesterday to end the round in solo second place but we won’t be seeing the second leg of his Claret Jug bid until much later today. Rory tees off at 2.59pm local alongside in-form Xander Schauffele and defending champion Collin Morikawa.
By contrast, Tiger Woods has a mountain to climb after a miserable 6-over 78 left him way off the cut mark which is projected to be around even par. Woods is a morning starter at 9.58am.
Our leader Cameron Young heads off from the iconic opening tee at 1.26pm local. Let’s see all those Friday tee-times.
6.35am: Mark Calcavecchia, Ryan Fox, Jediah Morgan
6.46am: Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Bernd Wiesberger, Sam Bairstow
6.57am: Adrian Meronk, Haotong Li, Marcus Armitage
7.08am: Thriston Lawrence, Fabrizio Zanotti, Alex Wrigley
7.19am: Aaron Wise, Si Woo Kim, Sam Horsfield
7.30am: Talor Gooch, Shaun Norris, Wyndham Clark
7.41am: Henrik Stenson, Russell Henley, Aldrich Potgieter (a)
7.52am: Stewart Cink, Sergio Garcia, Aaron Jarvis (a)
8.03am: Sungjae Im, Paul Casey, Gary Woodland
8.14am: Dustin Johnson, Adam Scott, Marc Leishman
8.25am: Scottie Scheffler, Joaquin Niemann,Tyrrell Hatton
8.36am: Darren Clarke, Richard Bland, Filippo Celli (a)
8.47am: Kevin Na, Kazuki Higa, Erik Van Rooyen
9.03am: David Duval, Justin Harding, Jordan Smith
9.14am: Shugo Imahira, Jason Scrivener, David Law
9.25am: Abraham Ancer, Yuto Katsuragawa, Emiliano Grillo
9.36am: Louis Oosthuizen, Harris English, Keita Nakajima (a)
9.47am: Padraig Harrington, Thomas Pieters, Keith Mitchell
9.58am: Tiger Woods, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Max Homa
10.09am: Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm, Harold Varner III
10.20am: Patrick Cantlay, Sam Burns, Mito Pereira
10.31am: Keegan Bradley, Sebastián Muñoz, Sahith Theegala
10.42am: Laurie Canter, Dimitrios Papadatos, Matthew Griffin
10.53am: John Catlin, Jamie Rutherford, David Carey
11.04am: Mingyu Cho, Jorge Fernández Valdés, Robert Dinwiddie
11.15am: Lars Van Meijel, Jack Floydd, Ronan Mullarney
11.36am: Paul Lawrie, Webb Simpson, Min Woo Lee
11.47am: Sadom Kaewkanjana, Ben Campbell, Barclay Brown (a)
11.58am: Dean Burmester, Chan Kim, Brandon Wu
12.09pm: Ian Poulter, Jamie Donaldson, Guido Migliozzi
12.20pm: Garrick Higgo, MinKyu Kim, Ashley Chesters
12.31pm: Phil Mickelson, Lucas Herbert, Kurt Kitayama
12.42pm: Patrick Reed, Tom Hoge, JooHyung Kim
12.53pm: John Daly, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Tringale
1.04pm: Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka, Seamus Power
1.15pm: Francesco Molinari, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose
1.26pm: Cameron Young, Kyoung-Hoon Lee, Robert MacIntyre
1.37pm: Zach Johnson, Billy Horschel, Corey Conners
1.48pm: Brian Harman, Pablo Larrazabal, Danny Willett
2.04pm: Stephen Dodd, JT Poston, Lee Westwood
2.15pm: Sepp Straka, Luke List, Justin De Los Santos
2.26pm: Ernie Els, Adri Arnaus, Brad Kennedy
2.37pm: Mackenzie Hughes, Scott Vincent, Victor Perez
2.48pm: Jason Kokrak, Nicolai Højgaard, Sihwan Kim
2.59pm: Collin Morikawa, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schaufele
3.10pm: Shane Lowry, Justin Thomas, Viktor Hovland
3.21pm: Will Zalatoris, Hideki Matsuyama, Tony Finau
3.32pm: Kevin Kisner, Chris Kirk, Takumi Kanaya
3.43pm: Dylan Frittelli, Trey Mullinax, Matthew Jordan
3.54pm: Anthony Quayle, Zander Lombard, John Parry
4.05pm: Thomas Detry, Richard Mansell, Marco Penge
4.16pm: Alexander Björk, Oliver Farr, Matt Ford
