Here’s Ewan Murray’s report from Hoylake:
It was Brian Harman’s day. His putter was molten hot and he built a commanding lead with it. But there are still 36 holes to play, with plenty of wind and rain expected. Plus, you’ve seen how 17 and 18 play; anything could happen. Hope to see you tomorrow for Moving Day!
-10: Harman
-5: Fleetwood
-4: Straka
-3: Lee, Sharma, Day
-2: Otaegui, Grillo, Spieth, Young
Birdies at the last for Cameron Young and Bryson DeChambeau. They end the day at -2 and +2 respectively.
Rickie Fowler, a joint runner-up here with Sergio Garcia back in 2014, needs to get up and down from Scheffler Sands on 18 to secure his weekend spot. He flips out to a couple of feet and tidies up. Par, a 73, and he’s made it! Par also for Bob MacIntyre, who also nips under the cutline at +3. The third member of the group, Shame Lowry, bogeys for a 77. He’s +7, but hey, he’ll always have Portrush.
… but it’s two putts for Wyndham Clark and the new US Open champion ends up with a double-bogey six. Hey, plenty have done worse and they haven’t even shanked one. It’s a one-over 73 and he goes into the weekend nicely placed at -1. Birdie for Xander Schauffele, who signs for a 74; he’s +2.
Wyndham Clark becomes the second US Open champion today to hit a shank. The 2013 winner Justin Rose suffered one earlier, now the reigning champ hits hosel first when attempting to lob his third shot high into 18. The ball squirts straight right and into Scottie’s Magic Bunker front right. He gathers himself and, though he can only get one foot in the bunker to address a ball awkwardly positioned near the back, he splashes out to 20 feet, at least limiting the damage and giving himself half a chance of escaping with an unlikely par.
Cameron Smith hits the shot of the day to save his skin! From the centre of the 18th fairway, he creams a long iron from 232 yards to 16 inches! The ball lands just before the opening to the green, skirts the bunker on the right, and rolls off the shoulder towards the pin. For a second, it looks like dropping for an outrageous albatross, but he’ll be knocking that in for an eagle that secures a round of 72 and a cut-swerving 36-hole total of +2. What a champion! That is outrageously magnificent.
Tommy Fleetwood makes his par putt, and signs for a street-fighting level-par 71. Scottie Scheffler meanwhile tidies up for birdie and a 75 that secures his weekend participation. They’re -5 and +3 respectively. Fleetwood will join Brian Harmon in the final pairing tomorrow.
-10: Harman (F)
-5: Fleetwood (F)
-4: Straka (F)
-3: Lee (F), Sharma (F), Day (F)
-2: Otaegui (F), Grillo (F), Spieth (F), Clark (17)
Fleetwood gets relief from the bleachers. He pops his ball into the dropzone … then hits a hot chip through the green. He’s fortunate his ball doesn’t disappear into sand on the other side, but he’ll still have a tricky up and down for his par. Over to Scheffler, who is up close against the face of the bunker. He’s got to go for it … and only just scoops his ball out. It hits the face but drops onto the shoulder rather than toppling back in, then rolls to a couple of feet! A huge stroke of fortune, and he has the good grace to look relieved before accepting the love from the crowd. The birdie he needs, surely. Fleetwood then lobs to six feet, and he’ll have a six footer to save his par.
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Tommy Fleetwood and Scottie Scheffler are both desirous of birdie on 18, albeit for vastly different reasons. Both split the fairway with their tee shots. Fleetwood, who’d love to close the gap a little on the leader Brian Harmon, sends his second up against one of the grandstands. Scheffler, who needs birdie to make sure of surviving the cut, is unlucky to see the camber of the fairway gather his ball into a greenside bunker. Back on the tee, Cameron Smith, who also needs a birdie to ensure his survival, cracks his tee shot down the middle. What big moments coming up!
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Brooks Koepka scrapes into the weekend after a double-bogey seven down the last. That’s a 75 and he goes into Moving Day at +3. Meanwhile back-to-back birdies for his. old pal Bryson DeChambeau on 14 and 15 could go a long way to saving the 2020 US Open champion’s skin; he’s suddenly up to +2.
Cameron Smith prods with great uncertainty at his birdie putt on 17, and it dies off to the right. He tilts his head back in anguish. At +4, he’ll need a birdie on 18 to make sure of his weekend participation. His namesake Young shoves a short par putt right on 16, and it’s back-to-back bogeys; he’s -1. Not a good couple of minutes for for last year’s winner and runner-up.
Bogey for Cameron Smith at 16. He slips to +4 and is now in serious danger of missing the cut as defending champion, just as Collin Morikawa did last year. Cam for the clutch? Well, he’s fighting to avoid his fate, and whips his tee shot at 17 to eight feet. He’s faced with the same putt as Scottie Scheffler before him. Big moment coming up.
While Scottie thinks about his clutch birdie putt, Tommy Fleetwood gets up and down from the left-hand side of the green. That’s a big putt, and two momentum-savers in succession. He remains five off the lead at -5. Then Scheffler steps up and … Scottie isn’t for the clutch, I’m afraid. He dribbles a tentative effort wide right, the ball always doomed to peel off on the low side. He has to make do with par, and remains outside the cutline at +4.
“Scottie for the clutch!” A PGA-Tour-style holler that sounded suspiciously satirical, delivered in a cod-American accent by a local comic. Thing is, Scottie is all about the clutch, and he lands his wedge at 17 to seven feet. He’ll have a great chance for a birdie that would surely save his weekend skin. Meanwhile birdie for Wyndham Clark at 15; bogey for Cameron Young at 14. A pincer movement on -2.
Tommy Fleetwood sends his approach at 16 wide right of the green. He’s snookered by a bunker, but uses its shoulder to guide his chip in to six feet. He tidies up to limit the damage to bogey. That damage having been done by the drive. He slips back to -5 … while Scottie Scheffler also ends up with bogey and now he’s outside the cutline at +4.
Jordan Spieth’s round ends with a slightly unfortunate par. What looks like a fine approach is snaffled by one of those bunkers, and he can only just bash out over the high face. Two putts later and he’s signing for a level-par 71. Out in 32, back in 39, it was a round of two halves alright. He’s -2 overall. Par too for Matt Fitzpatrick, who after that farce on 17 ends the day with a 72 that promised so much more. He’s +2. And Jason Day makes it three pars out of three from the group; he’ll be by far the happiest with his 67. The 2015 PGA champ is -3.
Scottie Scheffler is certainly in a bit of a fix. His tee shot at 16 plunges straight into a fairway bunker, and he’s up against the face. He has to chip out sideways, some sour medicine given he’s balanced precariously on the projected cutline at +3. His playing partner Tommy Fleetwood is in the same trap; he’s got to take a gulp of that icky linctus as well. Both in a spot of bother here.
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Brooks Koepka has been going backwards at pace. Bogeys at 12, 14 and now 16, the latest mistake the result of failing to chip up from the bottom of a swale at the back of the green. He’s +1 and should be fine for the weekend, but then we’ve seen what happened to Matt Fitzpatrick on 17, so nothing’s certain.
Sepp Straka shoots 67
Tommy Fleetwood finds himself over the back of 15 in two big swipes. His third stroke is rather more delicate, crisply bundled up the bank from 75 feet to three. In goes the putt, and that’s back-to-back birdies for the local hero. Meanwhile Sepp Straka birdies the last – of course he does – and that’s six in the last seven holes, a fantastic run punctuated by a single bogey. He’s back in 31 for a wonderful 67!
-10: Harman (F)
-6: Fleetwood (15)
-4: Straka (F)
The 2019 champion Shane Lowry is up against it. Literally up against a bush to the left of 14, having already been on safari all the way up the hole. He does well to bash out on to the green, but he’s hitting four, and two putts later he’s scribbling a double-bogey six on his card. That clanks him down to +5 and he’ll need one hell of a heave over the last four holes if he’s going to hang around this weekend.
Quick quiz. Having witnessed Matt Fitzpatrick’s travails at 17, and Tyrrell Hatton’s troubles down 18 earlier on, would you assume Brian Harman was home and hosed if he found himself standing on the 17th tee with this five-shot lead on Sunday evening? Exactly. Two rounds still to play. Nothing settled yet. You can bet your bottom dollar Harman himself will be counting no chickens.
-10: Harman (F)
-5: Fleetwood (14)
-3: Lee (F), Sharma (F), Straka (17), Day (17), Young (13)
Jason Day and Jordan Spieth pepper the flag at 17. They’ll have great looks at birdie. But the third member of the group Matt Fitzpatrick becomes the latest victim of Little Eye. He sends his tee shot over the back and into the dunes. He needs three swipes to get his ball back up, his efforts hindered by grass roots and indentations various. Even when he extricates himself from that, he finds himself in a greenside bunker. But that sand is at least manicured, as opposed to buffed naturally by the wind, so he can splash out to a couple of feet and tidy up for … a triple-bogey six. He’s +2. To be honest, for a while, when his ball was half hidden in the dunes, it looked as though that could be even worse. Birdie for Day, par for Spieth, and they walk off at -3 and -2 respectively.
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Par for the 2016 champ Henrik Stenson at the last, and the Swedish veteran signs for a 68. He’s -1 going into the weekend. Whether Scottie Scheffler will be here with him is a moot point, though: yet another short putt missed to the left, and that’s four bogeys in the last seven holes for the world number one. He’s hovering right on the cutline at +3.
Bounce-back birdie for Tommy Fleetwood at 14! He sends his second into the heart of the green, then confidently rolls in the straight 18-footer he’s left himself. A fist pump as he closes the gap to five strokes again. More bounce-back action meanwhile up on 17, where Sepp Straka drains a 25-footer to make up for his disappointment at 16.
-10: Harman (F)
-5: Fleetwood (14)
-3: Lee (F), Sharma (F), Straka (17), Young (11)
… so having said that, Sepp Straka’s run of four birdies in a row ends with bogey at 16. He drops back to -2. Meanwhile a birdie at the last for the 2009 champion Stewart Cink. He’s signing for a 72 today, and will go into the weekend at -1.
A clumsy three-putt bogey for Tommy Fleetwood at 13. The lead at the top is once again six. Jordan Spieth meanwhile bogeys 15, slightly unfortunately given what looked like a fine drive somehow ended up in a fairway bunker. But Sepp Straka’s hot streak continues: it’s four birdies in a row now, the latest coming at the par-five 15th. Cam Young continues to rise with birdie at 10. And it’s a birdie for Wyndham Clark on 12. For the first time in a while, some players in the chasing pack (if we can truly describe it as such) have their tails up.
-10: Harman (F)
-4: Fleetwood (13)
-3: Lee (F), Sharma (F), Straka (15), Clark (12), Young (11)
-2: Otaegui (F), Grillo (F), Spieth (15), Day (15), Rozner (8), Canter (7)
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The overnight co-leader Christo Lamprecht bogeys the last to sign for a painful second round of 79. Yesterday’s 66 seems a lifetime ago. He walks off with the air of a man who thinks the jig is up, but after 36 holes he’s +3, and that should be just enough to squeak in. Unless things get positively psychedelic, he’ll make the cut, and he’ll be the only amateur to have done so. Providing he completes the 72 holes, he’ll become the recipient of the Silver Medal on Sunday.
Antonie Rozner’s round continues to unravel. He sends a hot second over the back of 7 and into thick cabbage, fails to get back up the hill with his first chip, and ends up making his third bogey in five holes. He’s -2. Scottie Scheffler also continues to move backwards, dropping a stroke at 12 in similar circumstances. The pre-tournament joint favourite is +2, hovering dangerously near the cut, which is currently projected at +3.
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The 2016 champion Henrik Stenson is putting something together. Birdies at 4, 14 and now 16, and the 47-year-old moves to -1. Should the veteran Swede win this week, he’d become the oldest champion of all time, beating the record of 46 years and 102 days set by Old Tom Morris in 1867. The second oldest champion on record won at Hoylake, incidentally: Roberto de Vicenzo was 44 years and 92 days old when he prevailed in 1967.
Last year’s runner-up Cameron Young is mounting a charge to get seriously involved at the business end of an Open once again. Birdies at 3, 5 and now 9, and the 26-year-old from New York state – who tied for seventh at this year’s Masters, and also has a tie for third at the PGA on his resumé – finds himself at -2. Meanwhile Brooks Koepka’s run of pars ends when he yips a short one on 12. He’s -1.
-10: Harman (F)
-5: Fleetwood (11)
-3: Lee (F), Sharma (F), Spieth (14), Rozner (6)
-2: Otaegui (F), Grillo (F), Straka (14), Clark (10), Young (9)
Bogey for Antoine Rozner at the par-three 6th. To be honest, he’s pretty fortunate the damage is limited to just the one dropped shot. His tee shot is nearly gathered into the deep greenside bunker, but stops just short, then he nearly skulls his chip across the green, the ball only just failing to topple down a swale on the other side. He misses the par putt and drops to -3.
Three birdies in a row for Sepp Straka! He rattles in a 20-footer on 14 to move to -2. Should the Austrian win this week, he’d become only the fifth player from mainland Europe to lift the Claret Jug, after Arnaud Massy (France 1907), Seve (Spain 1979, 1984 and 1988), Henrik Stenson (Sweden 2016) and Francesco Molinari (Italy 2018).
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The world number one Scottie Scheffler is going the wrong way today. Bogeys at 1, 8 and now 11, with just the one birdie at 5. He’s +1 and fairly fortunate he didn’t miss his short bogey putt just then; he very nearly pulled it left, his Achilles heel.
A good opportunity for Jordan Spieth at the par-three 13th. He caresses his tee shot pin high, leaving himself a pretty straight 15-footer for birdie. He sends it along the right route, but leaves it a couple of turns short, and he’s pacing after it in irritation long before it stops. He tidies up for par but those bogeys at 10 and 11 have taken a bit of the wind from the 2017 champion’s sail. He’ll be desperate to make at least a couple of birdies before he gets home, in the hope of getting into the last group with Brian Harmon and applying some matchplay-style pressure. Just a hunch, but I’d guess Harman would rather go round with Tommy Fleetwood or Antoine Rozner than Spieth. Just ask Matt Kuchar what the Texan is like in these situations at the Open.
Now here’s an injection of energy! Tommy Fleetwood, who has been toiling all afternoon, guides in a 60-foot left-to-right slider across 10! It’s an unexpected bonus, and it could well kick-start his round. Can he further eat into Brian Harman’s outrageously comfortable cushion? Big eight holes coming up!
-10: Harman (F)
-5: Fleetwood (10)
-4: Rozner (4)
-3: Lee (F), Sharma (F), Spieth (12)
A much-needed injection of energy as Sepp Straka sends in a tramliner across 13. That’s back-to-back birdies for the 30-year-old Austrian, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, most recently at the John Deere Classic this year. He’s only played in the Open once before, last year at St Andrews, where he missed the cut. At -1, he should be making it this time all right.
It’s all a little bit flat at Hoylake at the moment. A combination of a lack of birdies, and the fact that nothing’s going to change at the top of the leaderboard today, the second-round story already told.
Cameron Smith has been making a few par putts this afternoon just to hang on in there. Now he makes a birdie putt, and at +1 won’t have given up the dream of becoming the first player to retain the Claret Jug since Padraig Harrington in 2008. Meanwhile par up the last for Hoylake member Matthew Jordan, who signs for a 72, and at -1 overall is guaranteed not only to be competing this week, but competing in the thick of it. Lovely to see.
Now, unless one of the late starters gets a wriggle on and starts making a few inroads, Brian Harmon will have the joint second largest 36-hole lead in Open history (since 1892 anyway). Henry Cotton led by nine in 1934 and went on to lift the Claret Jug; Abe Mitchell led by six in 1920 but did not. Mitchell’s misery also stands as the largest lead held after any round by a player who didn’t go on to win. So make of that what you will. On the flip side, the weather this weekend is going to be testing at best, with wind and rain almost guaranteed. So anything could yet happen. A big day tomorrow for sure.
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Jordan Spieth threatens to make an almighty mess of 11. Short of the par-four in two, he sends his third over the back and leaves his chip back up six feet short. He does extremely well to roll in the putt to limit the damage to bogey. But that’s back-to-back dropped shots, and back in the clubhouse, Brian Harman mush have the metaphorical cigar blazing away like billy-o.
-10: Harman (F)
-4: Fleetwood (8), Rozner (3)
-3: Lee (F), Sharma (F), Spieth (11)
Missing the fairways here is a shortcut to bother, and Antonie Rozner comes a cropper in this way on 3. He hands back the shot he picked up at the opening hole to drop to -4. All of a sudden, Brian Harman has a six-shot lead in the Open. A long way to go, of course, and it’s perhaps wise to recall the data David Tindall published a couple of hours ago, listing how 36-hole leads have worked out for Harman in the past …
2017 US Open – tied for lead – finished 2nd
2018 Sentry TOC – tied for lead – finished 3rd
2018 Sony Open – 3-shot lead – finished 4th
2018 Travelers – 1-shot lead – finished 6th
2020 Shriners – tied for lead – finished 13th.
Jason Day came close to Open glory at St Andrews in 2015, ending that week in a tie for fourth, one stroke off the play-off. But that result is very much an outlier in his Open career. The 36-year-old Aussie may be of a mind to change that this week, though. He’s come out today all guns blazing, with birdies at 1, 3, 5 and now 10. Just the one bogey at 6, and he’s -2 overall. If he can hold his position he’ll be in very good nick for the weekend. Anything else would be a bonus.
Jordan Spieth pulls his approach into 10 wide left. He then undercooks his chip across the green, leaving too much to do with his par putt. Bogey. Factor in the backward moves made recently by Tommy Fleetwood, Stewart Cink and Matthew Jordan, plus a bogey for Wyndham Clark at 6, and the upper echelons of the leaderboard have thinned out a bit.
-10: Harman (F)
-5: Rozner (2)
-4: Spieth (10), Fleetwood (7)
-3: Lee (F), Sharma (F)
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Bob MacIntyre was coming off the back of that near miss at the Scottish Open, so yesterday’s 74 represented a bit of a comedown. Bogey today at 2 put him the wrong side of the cutline, but he’s responded gamely: back-to-back birdies at 4 and 5, the latter coming after accidentally hitting some poor punter upside the head with a wayward second shot. One signed glove, one apology, and one fine chip later, the 26-year-old from Oban is back up to +2.
It all goes wrong for the 2009 champion Stewart Cink as he hacks his way up the side of 12. A double bogey that takes him out of a share of fourth and banishes him down the leaderboard to -2. He’s alongside Brooks Koepka, who still hasn’t quite located his mojo this week, and yet is pootling along nicely, one under for his round through 7 after birdie at 5. Well placed and waiting to strike.
Matthew Jordan has been a member at Hoylake since he was seven years old. That’s all well and good, but the 17th is a new hole, so it’s understandable that he’s a bit less familiar with it. Like Shubhankar Sharma before him, he sends his tee shot into the dunes over the back, takes two to get back up onto the green, and ends up making double bogey. Pain. Incidentally, the members are allowed to pick up once they’ve taken six strokes on this hole, and mark that number on their card. You can bet your bottom dollar that, come Sunday afternoon, there’ll be one or two professionals who’ll be wishing that rule was in place this week.
A first backward step of the day for Tommy Fleetwood. After a string of pars, he finds a high-faced bunker at the par-three 6th, and though he blasts up and out to six feet, he leaves the putt high on the right and the bogey drops him back to -4. Meanwhile a second birdie of the day for Matt Fitzpatrick, at 9, and he turns in 33, moving into red figures at -1 overall.
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Antoine Rozner has had to wait nearly all day to tee it up. It was worth hanging around. He rattles in a putt from off the side of the 1st green to open with a birdie. His beard breaks into a wide smile, like Ted Lasso’s Roy Kent on happy pills. He joins Jordan Spieth and Tommy Fleetwood in a share of second.
-10: Harman (F)
-5: Spieth (8), Fleetwood (5), Rozner (1)
-4: Cink (11)
-3: Lee (F), Sharma (F), Jordan (16), Clark (4)
-2: Oteagui (F), Grillo (F), Koepka (6), Matsuyama (6)
The cut, then. As things stand, it’s set to fall at +3; everyone over that mark will be going home. If that holds, we’ll be saying goodbye to Keegan Bradley and Collin Morikawa; whatever happens, we’ll definitely be bidding farewell to Francesco Molinari, Tony Finau, Justin Rose, Charl Schwartzel, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas … though the latter shot a spirit-restoring level-par 71 today, a fine response to yesterday’s farcical 82. On that subject, DJ shot an 81 this morning. It’s easily done.
Yesterday’s 65 was a dream round for the 22-year-old South African amateur Christo Lamprecht. Today’s round has been a nightmare from the get-go, however. Forty strokes along the front nine, after bogeys at 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7; now he’s just made his sixth bogey of the day at 11. He’s +1, and all of a sudden weekend participation is under threat. The cut is currently projected at +3. He’s got a couple of shots to play with as things stand.
♫ Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Shubhankar, happy birthday to you! ♫ Ah here’s nice. A late birthday present for Shubhankar Sharma on 18. A birdie to bounce back from the double at 17, and the now 27-year-old Indian signs for a 71 to go alongside yesterday’s 68. He’s in good nick for Moving Day tomorrow.
Thanks David. Now then, it’s Shubhankar Sharma’s 27th birthday today. Unfortunately it’s not going to be a particularly happy one; having chugged along nicely through 16 holes, one under for his round, he sends his tee shot at 17 over the back into the dunes, from which he takes two to escape. Two putts later, and it’s a double that sends the two-time DP World Tour winner back to -2. Quick, light a few candles and make a wish for a bounceback birdie on 18.
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And as Jordan Spieth joins Tommy Fleetwood in tied second on -5 after back-to-back birdies at 5 and 6, I’ll hand you back to Scott Murray.
Steven Pye of this parrish emails in: “Put £1 on Brian Harman at 150/1 last week because he looks like Ricky Ponting. Miles to go in the Open, but imagine if I won a bet due to this stupid reason.” The Ponting resemblance is very real. Talking of which, you can find our live Ashes blog here. England in control after making 592 all out.
Two pairs of siblings are in the field this week so who is winning ‘The Battle of the Brothers?’. Quick answer: The Fitzpatricks. Alex, playing in his first major, was fist-pumping at 18 earlier today after holing a 10-foot birdie putt to finish at +2. That’ll put him into the weekend. And big bro and 2022 US Open champion Matt should be there too after playing his first six holes in -1 today to move to level par (T24). As for the Hojgaards, Nicolai is also at evens (he’s playing the first) but twin brother Rasmus, who won the DP World Tour’s Made in HimmerLand on home soil a few weeks ago, won’t play the weekend. He shot 71 today but an opening 78 did for the Dane.
Some quotes from leader Brian Harman as he puts his feet up and watches the field struggle to get anywhere near his halfway total of -10. “I’ve had a hot putter the last couple of days so try to ride it through the weekend. Thirty-six holes to go, so try to rest up and get ready.” Harman took just 23 putts today.
Tommy Fleetwood, his nearest challenger at -5, hits a safe shot to the heart of the 4th green. He’ll have 28 feet for birdie while Scottie Scheffler, ten back at even par after a bogey-par-par start, will take aim from 25.
So what of the three most recent Open champions? Last year’s winner at St Andrews, Cam Smith, is +2 after 2 and flirting with the cut (T52) while Collin Morikawa surely won’t be here for the weekend after rounds of 73-73 from the 2021 champion at Royal St George’s have left him at +4. That’s probably a shot too many at best. Finally, Shane Lowry has an awful lot to do to repeat his Royal Portrush heroics; he’s currently +1 (T39) after an opening par.
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Local lad Matthew Jordan continues to have a blast on his home course. Since an opening bogey, he’s birdied 2, 4 and 13 (dropping one more at 9) and at -3 the Englishman is in a tie for sixth alongside three-time major winner Jordan Spieth (4) and current US Open champ Wyndham Clark (1). Talking of major winners, Stewart Cink may be thinking of winning a second Claret Jug. He’s birdied 5 and 8 and is up to -4 and tied third.
Back at 3 and a straightforward two-putt par from Fleetwood maintains his solid start and keeps him in second place on -5.
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Hatton eventually racks up a quadruple-bogey nine at the 18th. From -2 to +2 in the blink of two slices off the tee. As he stomps off the green, the Englishman converts his putter into an automatic rifle and fires pretend shots at the out of bounds. That should teach it a lesson.
As Hatton stomps, Fleetwood strolls. It’s a par-par start for ‘Tommy lad’ and he’s also in the middle of the fairway at 3. A trio of pars at the opening three holes is very acceptable.
Shubhankar Sharma moves into solo third by dropping a birdie putt from 11 feet at 15. The Indian turns 27 today and he’s celebrating in fine style so far. Sharma has actually made the cut in both his Opens so far, finishing 51st at both Carnoustie in 2018 and Royal Portrush in 2019.
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“That’s out of bounds,” says Tyrrell Hatton in a cold, detached voice rather than the blind fury that usually greets a missed putt as he fans one out of bounds off the tee at 18. He pulls the trigger again and, oh my, that’s gone too. The Englishman will be playing five of the tee. From -2 walking off the 17th, he’ll be who knows how many over par after this closing hole claims another victim.
Up at the green, Jon Rahm is preparing to get those legs pumping and towing lorries down the beach as he misses a three-foot par putt. Ouch. The Spaniard signs for an even-par 70 and steams off at +2.
But after the tales of woe on 18 for Hatton and Rahm, there are big cheers for Rory as he nails an eight-footer for birdie to end the day in red figures. That 1-under 70 puts him 1-under for the tournament and although that’s nine behind the lead of Harman, the more positive spin is that it’s tied for 15th.
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Fleetwood repeats his way to par from Thursday. After again finding rough off the tee and missing the green, some tidy short-game work allows him to scribble a ‘4’ on his card and he stays solo second. Time for a leaderboard upate.
-10: Harman (F)
-5: Fleetwood (1)
-4: Rozner (-)
-3: Lee (F), Sharma (14), Stewart (10), Cink (7), Spieth (4), Clark (-)
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An immediate test of Scheffler’s nerve as he putts from off the left side of the green and leaves himself just under five feet at the 1st. Harman would knock that in in his sleep; for Scheffler, it’s more like a recurring nightmare that continues to haunt him. And, yep, the demons start up their dance as he dribbles a stinker of a putt that never threatens the hole. An opening bogey and you sense Scheffler just cannot win with his putting like this.
McIlroy biffs his tee shot at the last 334 yards way left into rough. Not the worst plan given the out-of-bounds down the right. He’ll have to wait to hit his second though as they rake the bunkers up at the green. Rory is +2 for this second nine so will want birdie at worst. The lie isn’t great so he can only find more rough down the left, 36 yards from the green, so the four-time major winner will have to chip and putt his way to a 4. Rahm is also in rough after his second shot but this time down the right.
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Viktor Hovland threatened to get right into the mix earlier today when making three birdies in his first five holes to reach -3. But he traded five bogeys with just a single birdie from the 7th to the 17th to drop to +1. At least he’ll end on a positive after a lovely greenside chip – a weakness that he’s addressed – at the last sets up a tap-in birdie. The Norwegian, who was tied fourth at St Andrews last year and runner-up in May’s US PGA Championship, is currently at even par, 10 back. That’s tied 27th.
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And now the biggest galleries of the day gather to see the afternoon’s most-anticipated three-ball. “This is game No 44. On the tee from the USA… Scottie Scheffler.” The American, the best player from tee to green by a country mile on the PGA Tour this season, splits the fairway. The decibels then go up several levels as Tommy Fleetwood is announced onto the tee. The Englishman finds the left rough but that’s not too bad there. Adam Scott, the third member of that trio, also finds the short grass. Off they march down the 1st fairway.
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McIlroy does well to make his par at 17. His tee shot clings onto the left edge of the green, finishing in the semi-rough and he rather races his first putt past. It’s 10 feet back the other way but Rory is up to the task. He stays at even par and that’s now just one clear of Jon Rahm, who cashes in on a lovely floated iron to convert from seven feet for his birdie.
I’ve had a quick look at how Brian Harman performs with a 36-hole lead. It ain’t great. Then again, he might have a much bigger advantage here than when setting the halfway pace previously.
2017 US Open – tied for lead – finished 2nd
2018 Sentry TOC – tied for lead – finished 3rd
2018 Sony Open – 3-shot lead – finished 4th
2018 Travelers – 1-shot lead – finished 6th
2020 Shriners – tied for lead – finished 13th.
He’s actually getting progressively worse although it’s interesting that his best attempt at converting came in a major (2017 US Open at Erin Hills).
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Three Americans, an Englishman, a Scotsman, a Frenchman, an Indian and an Australian… this isn’t the start of a dreadful joke from a local comedian; it’s the current make-up of the top eight on the leaderboard.
As I write this, a fourth American creeps into that select bunch. Yes, look out folks, it’s Jordan Spieth as he holes a 12-footer for birdie at 2 to move into a tie for fourth. Spieth won his Open up the coast at Royal Birkdale. He likes it around these parts.
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Max Homa adds a sixth birdie to his scorecard (there are five bogeys too I should add) after tapping in for his four at the long 15th. How ironic that the world No 8’s inability to post a top 10 in an American-based major has caused much irritability over the last few seasons and now here on the links when supposed to be a fish out of water he’s in a tie for fourth (-3 after 15).
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Amateur Christo Lamprech’s torrid start continues as he drops a third shot in four holes and that was only due to sinking a six-footer for birdie at 4. The South African drops to -2 and tied eighth alongside Jordan Spieth, who has made par at the 1st.
The 6ft 8in Lamprech was asked yesterday if height ran in the family. “My dad is 6 foot 4 and he’s the shortest of the last five generations. On my dad’s side the length is there. My grandfather was like 6 foot 8 and great grandfather like 7 foot.” Great Uncle Robert Wadlow would certainly have been proud of him yesterday.
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A blow for Rory McIlroy as he misses a four-foot par putt at the 15th. A ‘6’ goes onto his scorecard and suddenly he’s ten shots behind the leader. Hmmm. That gap looks uncomfortable. McIlroy at least lashes one onto the fairway at the par-4 16th.
Playing partner Jon Rahm makes birdie at 15 to return to +2 and back inside the current cut line. The Spaniard had so much pent-up fury earlier he looked as if he could pull a lorry along the beach from Hoylake to West Kirby.
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Sky Sports showing live pictures of Scottie Scheffler from a camera placed in the back of his courtesy car. It gives the impression that he’s about to be pranked by Ant and Dec, the Geordie rascals perhaps telling him his tee time is actually 3.48pm rather than the correct one. A reminder that the American will peg it up (at 2.48pm) alongside Tommy Fleetwood, currently Harman’s closest rival at -5.
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Harman’s big lead has stirred childhood memories of Bobby Clampett – a sort of Steve Cram lookalike – in the 1982 Open at Troon when, in my uneducated eyes, he appeared to be 15 clear of everyone at halfway. It was actually a five-shot lead after rounds of 67-66 took him to -11. Clampett still led by one despite a third-round 78 but a closing 77 relegated him to tied 10th as Tom Watson won with -4, seven shots higher than Clampett’s halfway total.
Thanks Scott! Brian Harman eh! I’m pleased to say I’ve had a bet on him this week. Unfortunately, it was to be top left-hander at 7/4 rather than the fancy 100/1 and more he was to win the tournament. Still, you take what you can and Harman is surely on track to win the battle of the southpaws. There are only three in the field this week: Harman, Phil Mickelson and last week’s Scottish Open runner-up Robert MacIntyre. As we stand, Harman is 20 shots ahead of Mickelson (+10 after 13 today) and 13 clear of MacIntyre (tees off at 3.10pm).
That seems as good a time as any to hand the reins of this blog over to David Tindall. Enjoy, enjoy, and see you soon!
Brian Harman cards 65!
Was anything else ever likely? Harman smoothly rolls in the 15-foot eagle putt, and what a way to finish an almost perfect round of links golf in testing conditions! The 36-year-old Georgian, who finished tied for sixth last year at St Andrews, will more likely than not go into the weekend leading the Open after filing a 65 alongside yesterday’s 67. Unless Tommy Fleetwood has something to say about it, of course.
-10: Harman (F)
-5: Fleetwood
-4: Rozner
-3: Lee (F), Homa (13), Sharma (10), Stewart (9), Jordan (7), Lamprecht -a- (3), Clark
… though an eagle would really put the cat among the pigeons. Harman arrows a long iron from 242 yards to 14 feet. He’ll have that for a 65 to go alongside yesterday’s 67.
Another wild drive by the amateur Christo Lamprecht, this time at 3. He doesn’t get away with this one, and that’s two bogeys in his first three holes. He drops to -3. Meanwhile up on 18, the leader Brian Harman splits the fairway with his drive. A birdie here will certainly give the afternoon starters pause for thought.
Brian Harman still doesn’t have a blemish on his card today. He’s had to work for the privilege of that boast, and on 17, having seen his tee shot dribble into a deep bunker to the left, he smacks up and out to six feet and rolls in for the par. He remains three clear of Tommy Fleetwood, who still isn’t teeing off for another hour. Meanwhile news of another sandy save, this time by Rory McIlroy, at 13; he’s -1 still. And Jon Rahm, who ground out a par on 12, nearly makes an outrageous birdie on 13 but his 60-foot putt shaves the left-hand side of the cup. He remains at +3, in danger of missing the weekend should he make any mis-steps from here.
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Max Homa sprays his tee shot at 11 miles wide right. He’s always out of position, and by the time he misses a four-foot putt, he’s run up a double bogey. An up-and-down round goes back into Down Mode, and he’s -2. Meanwhile Emiliano Grillo is in with a 74, one of the overnight co-leaders slipping back to -2 overall.
Scrub that! Christo Lamprecht finds his ball – it was so far right it was beyond the thick rough through which everyone was searching, on some flat land – and he whips his second into the green. Two putts and that’s a par that looked extremely unlikely a few minutes ago. That’s wonderful news, and hopefully a settler for the young amateur. Meanwhile Shubhankar Sharma hands his birdie on 7 straight back at 8, failing to hit an eight-foot par putt. He’s back to -3.
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Yesterday’s amateur sensation Christo Lamprecht, the overnight co-leader after his 66, starts in extremely nervous fashion. He flays his opening tee shot miles left of 1, a mistake that leads to bogey, then slices his drive at 2 acres right. That’s beyond wild … and he’s not able to find his ball. He gets plenty of assistance from his caddie and assorted media types inside the ropes, but no joy. Poor lad.
Environmental issues latest. Jon Rahm manages to get up and down from the back of 11 to scramble his par, remaining +3 but Rory McIlroy can’t do it from a similar position and he drops a shot to slip to -1. Nevertheless, Rahm is still running polar-icecap-bothering levels, the result of sending his drive at 12 miles right into deep bother. Speaking of which, here’s some more on that Just Stop Oil business …
Emiliano Grillo had repaired most of the damage caused early in his round. But now he undoes the fixing-up, with back-to-back bogeys at 16 and 17. He trudges off wearing a look of great despondency. He slips back to -2, and the chance of becoming Hoylake’s second Argentinian winner after 1967 champ Roberto De Vicenzo recedes a little.
Shubhankar Sharma has a weirdly uniform record at the Open: two appearances, at Carnoustie in 2018 and Portrush a year later; two finishes tied for 51. He’s looking to improve on that in some style, shooting 68 yesterday, and now making his first birdie of the day by raking in a putt from the bottom of a hill to the side of 7. He moves to -4. Not bad for a player whose form this year has been patchy to say the least: after a tie for seventh at the Abu Dhabi Championship, he’s missed the cut in nine of his subsequent 14 starts, including his last three, the BMW International Open, the British Masters, and the Scottish Open. Professional sport is all about timing your run properly, isn’t it.
It doesn’t look like being Viktor Hovland’s week. His flat stick is misbehaving too much. He misses another short-range par putt, this time at 11, and he’s in arrears for his round today now. He’s level par for the tournament. It certainly doesn’t look like being Jon Rahm’s week, as his second into the same hole takes a hot bounce on the green and rolls down a swale at the back. As he stomps up looking mean, he blasphemes and obscenes. Please god let the well-meaning Just Stop Oil folk stay out of his road.
Just Stop Oil attempt to disrupt play at 17th
Jon Rahm misses a four-foot par putt on 10. That’s back-to-back bogeys, and he drops to +3, in danger now of missing the cut. He emits one extremely loud EFF plus tonnes of piping-hot steam from both lugs. That can’t help with the old global warming, can it, which may or may not be the point being made here …
🏌️ Oil in One: Just Stop Oil Disrupt The Open
— Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) July 21, 2023
⛳ Three Just Stop Oil Supporters have disrupted the The British Open - they demand that the UK government halts all new oil and gas projects.
🖋 Sign up to take action at https://t.co/7BzUVS02dZ pic.twitter.com/egEbEtPmdN
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Three birdies in a row for Max Homa! The latest the prize for pinging his tee shot at the par-three 9th to 12 feet and rolling in a confident putt. He moves to -4, as does Michael Stewart, who birdies 5. The 33-year-old Stewart is playing in his first Open, but given he’s from Troon, links golf won’t be a mystery. He made it to Hoylake by shooting 66 on the final day of qualifying at Dundonald, winning that event by making four birdies in his last five holes. He’s taken that form into the main show, and he’s just four off the lead in a tie for fourth.
-8: Harman (14)
-5: Lamprecht -a-, Fleetwood
-4: Grillo (15), Homa (9), Stewart (5), Rozner
Max Homa has rebounded well after a shaky start. Since making those early back-to-back bogeys at 2 and 3, he’s birdied 5, 7 and now 8. Factor in another bogey at 6, and he’s level par for his round, back where he started after an eventful morning at -3. Meanwhile the local hero Matthew Jordan, a member here since he was seven years of age, opened with a bogey but has bounced back with birdie at 2 to return to -2.
A 68 for Min Woo Lee
Par up the last for the young Aussie. He finished tied fifth at the US Open last month, and is positioned nicely to do something similar or even better here this week. A reminder that Lee won the Scottish Open a couple of years ago, so knows his way around a links. His breakthrough into the big-time coming up? He’s -3 overall.
-8: Harman (13)
-5: Lamprecht -a-, Fleetwood
-4: Grillo (14), Rozner
-3: Lee (F), Homa (8), Sharma (5), Stewart (4), Cink, Clark
-2: Otaegui (F), McIlroy (9), Migliozzi (5), Jordan (3), Spieth, Kim
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A huge stroke of luck for Rory. His chip from the top of the knoll flies hot, and is destined to bound hysterically through the green and towards goodness knows what. But his ball hits the flagstick flush, and drops six feet from the cup. That’s not finished yet, but my goodness he’d have taken that while watching his ball fizz out of the rough. He smiles sheepishly. Hey, if you’re going to win the Open, you need the Golfing Gods to smile on you at some point. They’ve been pretty fair to Rory so far this week.
Viktor Hovland continues to head in the wrong direction. A ten-foot par putt across 9 stops one dimple short, and he taps in for a second bogey in three holes. He hits the turn in level-par 35, -1 overall. Coming directly behind, Rory McIlroy, who double-crosses himself and whistles his tee shot at the par-three into very thick nonsense on the wrong side of a grassy knoll. Trouble here.
Rory McIlroy pulls his approach at 8 down a swale to the left of the green. He’s left with a tricky chip up from the semi-rough, but bumps gently to four feet, and tidies up for his par. He remains at -2. Also with a big save: Min Woo Lee. He’s over the back of 17, but whips up from the dunes to a couple of feet, and he stays put at -3. He’s a class act, Min Woo, just like his brilliant big sister Minjee.
Adrian Otaegui makes it home in 73 blows. No birdies today, just the two bogeys at 11 and 12. Not idea, but the 30-year-old from the Basque Country is in the mix, nicely placed for Moving Day, certain to make the cut for the first time at the Open. He’ll go into the weekend at -2.
This is both gritty and fantastic from Brian Harman. He’s forced to chip backwards out of the fairway bunker at 12. His third doesn’t quite reach the green … but no matter, because he calmly chips up from the bottom of the bank, landing his ball softly onto the green and releasing it straight into the middle of the cup! He escapes with a par and his card today remains unblemished. He’s still only dropped one stroke so far this week, at the 10th yesterday. He maintains his three-stroke cushion at the top, and the rest of the field are permitted to let out a disappointed sigh.
-8: Harman (12)
-5: Lamprecht -a-, Fleetwood
Emiliano Grillo suffered the coldest of starts, with double bogey at 2 and bogey at 3. But he’s responded staunchly, and follows up birdie at 5 with another at 13. He’s repaired the bulk of the early-morning damage and is back up to -4. Meanwhile it’s yet another birdie for Min Woo Lee, this time at 16, where he rakes in a 30-footer and raises his putter into the air by way of Nicklausian celebration. A significant move being made here by the young Aussie.
-8: Harman (11)
-5: Lamprecht -a-, Fleetwood
-4: Grillo (13), Rozner
-3: Lee (16), Sharma (3), Stewart (3), Cink, Clark
-2: Otaegui (17), Hovland (7), McIlroy (6), Migliozzi (4), Spieth, Kim
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A fairway bunker does for Viktor Hovland at 7. Having found it from the tee, the young Norwegian takes his medicine, and it costs him a bogey. He drops back to -2. There might be similar problems coming up for the leader Brian Harman, whose drive at 12 scampers into a trap down the right of the hole.
The 2015 champion Zach Johnson is going along nicely: birdies at 2, 5, 10 and 11, and he’s on a mission to survive the cut after yesterday’s very average 75. He’s +1 overall. However the 2011 PGA champ Keegan Bradley, one of the pre-tournament sleeper picks, is going the other way. Bogeys this morning at 2, 3 and now 7, and he slips down the standings to +2.
Rory comes up just short of the green at the par-three 6th. He takes putter anyway, and nearly steers in a big right-to-left breaker, but while the line’s perfect, he doesn’t quite hit it. He taps in to remain at -2. His playing partner Jon Rahm however rolls in a 15-footer for back-to-back birdies, and the world number three finally appears to have discovered a little momentum this week: he’s +1.
Hole-in-one for Travis Smyth!
Over to Little Eye. The tricky par-three 17th is playing at 132 yards today. The 28-year-old Aussie Travis Smyth, playing in his first Open, fires straight at the flag. His ball covers 131 of those yards, takes one small bounce, then a tiny one, then disappears into the cup! He smiles warmly and high-fives everyone around him. He won’t be here for the weekend – he’s +8 – but there’s something to take away from his debut! It’s the first ace at the Open since Jonathan Thomson at Sandwich two years ago, and the first in the Open at Hoylake since 2006, when Richard Sterne and John Senden holed out at the old 15th and 13th respectively.
Hole-in-one on 17!
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 21, 2023
Travis Smyth with an historic shot at Little Eye. pic.twitter.com/CkgTl2lvtt
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Rory McIlroy finds himself close to the face of a greenside bunker at 5. Not right up against it – they’ve raked them differently today, with a small slope of sand taking the ball slightly away from the face – but troublesome enough nonetheless. No matter! He whips high and hard over the top, and lands his ball three feet from the flag. He’ll have a super opportunity to move to -2 … and so he does. In goes the putt. That shot was doubly impressive, because a huge roar erupted elsewhere just before he took it. And that’s because …
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The leader Brian Harman creams his tee shot at the long par-three 9th pin high to 15 feet. He can’t make the birdie putt, which is a wee shame, but he’s turning in 31 shots nevertheless to remain three clear of the field. Meanwhile on 5, Viktor Hovland’s eagle putt shaves the hole, another shame after a lovely long second into the heart of the green. He grimaces, but not too much, as he’s tapping in for a second birdie in a row, and he’s -3.
-8: Harman (9)
-5: Lamprecht -a-, Fleetwood
-4: Rozner
-3: Grillo (10), Hovland (5), Sharma (1), Stewart (1), Cink, Clark
-2: Otaegui (14), Lee (13), Migliozzi (2), Wilson (2), Jordan, Spieth, Kim
Matthew Southgate went out in the first group this morning. He’s back in the house, and waving his arms around, having chipped in for eagle from the side of 18. A 70 today and he’s in good position coming into the weekend at -1. From here, anything’s possible: the 34-year-old from Southend shot 67-65 over the weekend at Birkdale in 2017 to finish in a tie for sixth.
The Lee family have celebrated major championships before. Minjee Lee won the 2021 Evian Championship – we’ll be covering that live next Sunday, by the way, so please make sure you join me here for that – and the 2022 US Open, and there’s a fair chance her younger brother could add to the tally sometime in the future. Min Woo Lee tied for fifth at last month’s US Open, the 24-year-old following up top-20 finishes at this year’s PGA and last year’s Masters. He’s trending in the right direction, and for a while didn’t look like being a factor this week … but eagle at 5 this morning has sparked something, and subsequent birdies at 9 and 12 have lifted the young Aussie to -2. Could he become Australia’s sixth winner of the Open after Cameron Smith, Ian-Baker Finch, Greg Norman, Kel Nagle and the five-time-winning Peter Thomson?
A slow start for another of the hipsters’ choices, Max Homa. He misses the green at 2 and fails to get up and down; he repeats the trick shot for shot at 3, and the back-to-back bogeys drop him to -1.
Viktor Hovland bounces back immediately. He wedges his approach at 4 to ten feet, and rattles the birdie putt into the centre of the cup with Cameron Smith-esque confidence. He’s -2 again. Meanwhile Adrian Otaegui moves into London bus territory: having parred the first ten holes in a row, he follows the run-breaking bogey at 11 with another at 12. The 30-year-old from San Sebastian slides down the standings to -2.
Rose’s playing partner Rory meanwhile knocks his second at 3 from 180 yards to five feet. But he fidgets around the birdie putt, checking the line this way and that, shaking his head theatrically, and instead of rolling it straight, pushes it right. A groan from the disappointed gallery, but the player himself never seemed convinced he would make it. He remains at -1.
Shank! From the centre of the 3rd fairway, Justin Rose sends one rocketing off the hosel and straight right, out of bounds. Hey, if it can happen to a man with the ability to emulate Ben Hogan’s legendary shot into 18 at Merion, as Rose did while winning the 2013 US Open, it can happen to anyone. And then from the ridiculous to the sublime, as he drops another and knocks his second ball from 190 yards to ten feet. He limits the damage to bogey, but at +5 he’ll need to get something going if he’s to hang around for the weekend.
So much for Adrian Otaegui’s dream of emulating Nick Faldo’s closing round of 18 pars at Muirfield in 1987. His run breaks at the 11th and not in the manner he’d have wanted. A bogey to drop down to -3. Meanwhile it’s par for Rory at 2 despite a wayward tee shot, while Viktor Hovland can’t get up and down from the side of 3 and hands back the shot he picked up on the opening hole. He’s -1.
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Anything Brian Harman can do, Tom Kim can do better equally as well. The dishy (see below) Korean sensation, many a hipster’s choice, shot a disappointing 74 yesterday. But the birdie he made on 18 appears to have given him fresh impetus. He’s flown around the front nine in 31 strokes this morning, with birdies at 4, 5, 7 and 8. Blimey! Along with Harman, he’s the hottest property out there today at four under for his round; he’s -1 overall.
When in England 😆@JoohyungKim0621 tries his hand at translating British lingo. pic.twitter.com/JmUznsY2d4
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 18, 2023
There is absolutely no stopping Brian Harman. He sends his second at the par-five 5th, a fairway wood, onto a bare patch of rough to the left of the green. But no matter. A crisp chip takes one bounce before clattering into the flagstick and very nearly dropping in for eagle. He taps home for his fourth birdie in a row. This is sensational! Meanwhile Alex Noren’s up-and-down round continues apace with his fourth bogey of the day, this time at 9, and he drops to -2 again, while conversely Adrian Otaegui continues to channel his inner Nick Faldo by making it ten pars in a row.
-8: Harman (5)
-5: Lamprecht -a-, Fleetwood
-4: Otaegui (10), Rozner
-3: Grillo (7), Homa, Sharma, Stewart, Cink, Clark
-2: Noren (9), Hovland (2), Migliozzi, Wilson, Jordan, Spieth, Kim
Here’s Rory! The pre-tournament co-favourite, alongside Scottie Scheffler, was way below his best for the majority of yesterday’s round, but late birdies at 14 and 15 salvaged a level-par round of 71. The dream of back-to-back championships at Hoylake is far from over. And perhaps that astonishing par-saving up and down from the bunker at 18, one leg in, one knee on the ground, will have given him both succour and a confidence boost. Well, he certainly comes out this morning with a spring in his step, and absolutely blooters his opening tee shot down the track. He then knocks his approach from 170 yards to ten feet .. and rolls the birdie putt into the centre of the cup, no messing! He struts rather than bounces off the green, in the manner of a man who means business. God speed, Rory. He’s -1.
Hats off to JT, who must have been fearing the worst after that dismal opening shot. He then pulled his second into more trouble on the other side of 1, but class will out eventually, and he wedges from 75 yards to four feet, and tidies up for a nerve-settling par. He’s +11 and like we say, some weird miracle aside, won’t be here for the weekend play, but fingers crossed he gets something going today that will help him turn his form around. And yes that’s more of the sort of aforementioned sympathy he won’t appreciate as a proud pro, but what you gonna do? By the way, he’s going round with Viktor Hovland, who having salvaged a 70 yesterday with three birdies over the last eight holes, is still very much in the hunt … and the 25-year-old Norwegian makes an opening birdie to move to -2.
Three birdies on the bounce for Brian Harman! The result of yet another 20-foot putt. That flat stick is nigh-on molten. The leader stretches his cushion at the top to two strokes. Meanwhile a much-needed birdie for Emiliano Grillo at the par-five 5th. He arrests his morning slide by repairing a third of the damage done. He’s back to -3, alongside Alex Noren, the Swede having made three birdies and three bogeys across his first eight holes.
-7: Harman (4)
-5: Lamprecht -a-, Fleetwood
-4: Otaegui (9), Rozner
-3: Noren (8), Grillo (5), Homa, Sharma, Stewart, Cink, Clark
Justin Thomas smiled wryly – extremely dryly – on 18 last night upon receiving that professional golfer’s worst nightmare, sympathetic applause, as he run up a quadruple-bogey nine. He does so again now as he gets another Loving Ovation From Folk Who Mean Well as he takes to the 1st tee. He’ll not be here for the weekend whatever happens today, after yesterday’s 82-shot fiasco, and further demonstrates that by taking hybrid for extreme safety, then wanging it into the deep stuff down the right. The two-time PGA Championship winner is way off his game, and has been pretty much all year. Going through a wee existential crisis, as all golfers do now and then. Probably a good thing to get back home to Florida for the weekend to rest and reset.
Tom Britten has been at Hoylake since practice on Wednesday and he sends in his report. “All the focus has been on 17 ruining rounds, but 18 might be just as bad for some. That trio of pot bunkers left guarding the green on the par 5 are horrendous. From the grandstand we watched Taichi Kho find himself in one for two, eventually getting on the green for eight, having decided he’d like another go in the same bunker after playing out backwards. Two-putt for a ten. Nightmare. Heading home tonight. Watching the rest this weekend smugly dry and warm from anywhere I can elevate my feet. Timing.”
Yes, it’ll be interesting to see how the bunkers play today all right. They’ve apparently raked them using a different method today, which is less likely to encourage the ball to run right up to the face. So that in theory should give players more of a chance of getting up, over and out. However as Dame Laura Davies pointed out on Sky, the slight upward slope of sand raked towards the face may lead to a few plugged balls, should they hit that face and drop straight down. Fun and entertainment guaranteed either way.
Brian Harman rolls in another! This time it’s a right-to-left slider across 3 from 25 feet, and the 2017 US Open runner-up takes sole ownership of the lead at the 151st Open Championship. Meanwhile eagle-eyed readers will have spotted overnight co-leader Emiliano Grillo continuing to head in the wrong direction: he followed his double at 2 by dropping another shot at 3, and he’s currently three over for his round after just four holes, and -2 for the championship.
-6: Harman (3)
-5: Lamprecht -a-, Fleetwood
-4: Otaegui (8), Rozner
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Only two left-handed players have won the Open: Bob Charles in 1963 and Phil Mickelson in 2013. Only two have finished in second spot: the same pair, in 1968 and 1969, and 2011 and 2016, respectively. It’s about time for another, and why not Brian Harman (who, like Mickelson, is only left-handed when playing golf)? He tied for sixth last year at St Andrews, closing with a 66 only bettered on the day by the Camerons Smith and Young, who finished first and second. So the 36-year-old Georgian knows how to get around a links. He rolls in a 20-footer for birdie at 2 to join the leaders, and the dream of becoming the Open Championship’s third lefty champion is on.
-5: Harman (2), Lamprecht -a-, Fleetwood
-4: Otaegui (7), Rozner
-3: Homa, Sharma, Stewart, Cink, Clark
-2: Noren (6), Grillo (4), Migliozzi, Wilson, Jordan, Spieth, Kim
A nice steady start for Adrian Otaegui. Six pars, and he remains one off at -4. The 30-year-old Spaniard – a disciple of Jose Maria Olazabal – has four DP World Tour victories on his resumé, the most impressive of which being the final edition of the Andalucia Masters at Valderama, which he won last year at a canter after shooting 64-68 over the weekend. He’s got a couple of big second places to his name this season as well, at the Dunhill Championship and the KLM Open, so he’s an in-form player who knows how to get round some tough tracks in Europe. A stretch to think he’ll prevail this week, though you never know … but first things first, and we can surely say that barring a complete meltdown, he’ll be making the cut, something he failed to do at Portrush four years ago on his only other appearance at an Open.
It hasn’t taken long for one of the overnight leaders to hit a bump in the road. In light rain, Emiliano Grillo finds a pot bunker guarding the front of 2, then overhits his chip out. His ball skitters across the dancefloor and disappears down the other side. He putts back up from the swale, but weakly, and can’t make the ten-foot bogey putt he leaves himself. And just like that, the 30-year-old Argentinian topples off the toppermost of the poppermost.
-5: Lamprecht -a-, Fleetwood
-4: Otaegui (6), Harman (1), Rozner
-3: Grillo (2), Homa, Sharma, Stewart, Cink, Clark
-2: Noren (4), Migliozzi, Wilson, Jordan, Spieth, Kim
Hoylake was playing pretty tough yesterday with its defences pretty much down, so the cooler air, spots of rain and higher wind is having the effect you’d imagine. No wild early scoring. Only five of the morning starters are under par for their round so far - Rasmus Hojgaard, Kang Kyung-Nam, Gary Woodland, Alex Fitzpatrick and Brendon Todd – and of those, only the first two are two shots to the good today. None of them are close to bothering the upper echelons of the leaderboard, though. Speaking of which …
Updated
Preamble
Good morning Royal Liverpool! After an intriguing opening round which produced a leaderboard you’d have got a good price for correctly perming …
-5: Lamprecht (a), Fleetwood, Grillo
-4: Rozner, Otaegui, Harman
-3: Cink, Clark, Noren, Homa, Sharma, Stewart
... day two begins with the wind up. Here’s the order in which the fun and games will unfold. All times BST, the players are GB & Ireland unless stated, (a) denotes amateurs. It’s on! Hoylake ahoy!
06.35 Alex Fitzpatrick, Rasmus Hoejgaard (Den), Matthew Southgate
06.46 Daniel Hillier (Nzl), Kensei Hirata (Jpn), Kyung-Nam Kang (Kor)
06.57 Kazuki Higa (Jpn), Michael Kim (USA), Callum Shinkwin
07.08 Kyle Barker (Rsa), Zack Fischer (USA), Taichi Kho (Hkg)
07.19 Romain Langasque (Fra), Travis Smyth (Aus), Brendon Todd (USA)
07.30 Alexander Bjoerk (Swe), Adrian Otaegui (Spa), Gary Woodland (USA)
07.41 Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Rsa), (a) Harrison Crowe (Aus), Min-Woo Lee (Aus)
07.52 Corey Conners (Can), Billy Horschel (USA), Alexander Noren (Swe)
08.03 Abraham Ancer (Mex), Tom Hoge (USA), Joo-Hyung Kim (Kor)
08.14 Zach Johnson (USA), David Micheluzzi (Aus), Matt Wallace
08.25 Emiliano Grillo (Arg), Dustin Johnson (USA), Sahith Theegala (USA)
08.36 (a) Mateo Fernandez (Arg), Denny McCarthy (USA), Francesco Molinari (Ita)
08.47 Thomas Detry (Bel), Brian Harman (USA), Thriston Lawrence (Rsa)
09.03 John Daly (USA), Taylor Moore (USA), Danny Willett
09.14 Ben Griffin (USA), Ockie Strydom (Rsa), David Lingmerth (Swe)
09.25 Adria Arnaus (Spa), Ewen Ferguson, Keita Nakajima (Jpn)
09.36 Keegan Bradley (USA), Sung-Jae Im (Kor), Joaquin Niemann (Chi)
09.47 Tony Finau (USA), Viktor Hovland (Nor), Justin Thomas (USA)
09.58 Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm (Spa), Justin Rose
10.09 Tyrrell Hatton, Max Homa (USA), Collin Morikawa (USA)
10.20 Phil Mickelson (USA), Adam Schenk (USA), Nick Taylor (Can)
10.31 Alejandro Canizares (Spa), Ignacio Elvira (Spa), Marc Warren
10.42 Connor McKinney (Aus), Guido Migliozzi (Ita), Oliver Wilson
10.53 Kalle Samooja (Fin), Shubhankar Sharma (Ind), Gunner Wiebe (USA)
11.04 Jorge Campillo (Spa), Brandon Thompson, Michael Stewart
11.15 Seung-Su Han (USA), Hurly Long (Ger), Marco Penge
11.36 Branden Grace (Rsa), Matthew Jordan, Richie Ramsay
11.47 Russell Henley (USA), Jazz Janewattananond (Tha), Graeme Robertson
11.58 Ryan Fox (Nzl), Lucas Herbert (Aus), Byeong-Hun An (Kor)
12.09 Rikuya Hoshino (Jpn), (a) Alex Maguire, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa)
12.20 Hiroshi Iwata (Jpn), Pablo Larrazabal (Spa), Adrian Meronk (Pol)
12.31 (a) Jose Luis Ballester (Spa), Patrick Reed (USA), Connor Syme
12.42 Darren Clarke, Victor Perez (Fra), Thomas Pieters (Bel)
12.53 (a) Christo Lamprecht (Rsa), Joost Luiten (Ned), Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa)
13.04 Stewart Cink (USA), Trey Mullinax (USA), J. T. Poston (USA)
13.15 Harris English (USA), Andrew Putnam (USA), Henrik Stenson (Swe)
13.26 Thorbjoern Olesen (Den), Jordan Smith, Scott Stallings (USA)
13.37 Ernie Els (Rsa), Takumi Kanaya (Jpn), Kurt Kitayama (USA)
13.48 Sam Burns (USA), Chris Kirk (USA), Sepp Straka (Aut)
14.04 Jason Day (Aus), Matthew Fitzpatrick, Jordan Spieth (USA)
14.15 Talor Gooch (USA), Padraig Harrington, Seamus Power
14.26 Kyoung-Hoon Lee (Kor), Davis Riley (USA), Taiga Semikawa (Jpn)
14.37 Patrick Cantlay (USA), Brooks Koepka (USA), Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn)
14.48 Tommy Fleetwood, Scottie Scheffler (USA), Adam Scott (Aus)
14.59 Wyndham Clark (USA), Xander Schauffele (USA), Cameron Smith (Aus)
15.10 Rickie Fowler (USA), Shane Lowry, Robert MacIntyre
15.21 Bryson DeChambeau (USA), Si-Woo Kim (Kor), Cameron Young (USA)
15.32 Bio Kim (Kor), Kazuki Yasumori (Jpn), Nicolai Hoejgaard (Den)
15.43 Haydn Barron (Aus), Daniel Bradbury, Oliver Farr
15.54 (a) Tiger Christensen (Ger), Martin Rohwer (Rsa), Marcel Siem (Ger)
16.05 Richard Bland, Lee Hodges (USA), Antoine Rozner (Fra)
16.16 Laurie Canter, Yannik Paul (Ger), Sami Valimaki (Fin)
