Rory McIlroy pars the last for a 67. Not spectacular by his own standards, and he’s not brought his best stuff at any point so far this week, but that’s hauled him back into the story after yesterday’s 72. He’s -1. He’ll need one heck of a weekend, though. Birdie for Xander Schauffele, who makes sure of his weekend participation with a 69 to follow his opening 71. He’s level par. But the third member of the group and one of the pre-tournament favourites, Matt Fitzpatrick, bids farewell after his second 72 of the week. He departs on +4.
Cameron Young fires a dart at the flag on 18, then cleans up from four feet for a closing birdie. His second 67 of the week, and the Players champion lurks ominously at -6. He’ll surely break his major duck at some point, so why not now? His playing partner Ludvig Åberg’s birdie putt shaves the cup, but he signs for a 66 and is firmly in the mix at -3. But the third member of the group, Wyndham Clark, leaves it all too late. Despite birdies at 15 and 16 and eagle at 17, the two-time US Open champion ends with par and a round of 70, which put alongside yesterday’s 73 is no good for the weekend. At +3, he’ll be away home.
Penny for the thoughts of the world number one Scottie Scheffler. He starts the day at -2 after a really strange first round: four birdies in the first six holes, then the remainder populated by ten pars and a couple of bogeys. He’ll contend with more difficult conditions than the Herbert-Burns collective, the wind having switched and picked up a little, but he’ll still back himself to go low today. Which is why, maybe, he slams his driver back into the bag after sending his opening drive into the rough down the right. Bryson DeChambeau, coming off the back of a 67, follows him into the thick stuff. Tyrrell Hatton, 69 yesterday, splits the fairway. This group should provide fireworks, one way or another.
Shane Lowry, who is about to find out that Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns have joined him on the major-championship 62 roll of honour, birdies the last. He signs for a 68, and the 2019 champion is positioned nicely at -3. In the group behind, Cameron Young birdies 17 to move to -5, and the reigning Players champ looks set for a productive weekend.
-8: Herbert (F)
-6: Suber (F)
-5: Burns (F), Young (17), Im (8)
-4: Wallace (F), Cauley (F), Molinari (6), Smalley (3), Hisatsune (3)
Collin Morikawa’s finish was as miserable as Sam Burns’ was sensational. The last four holes: bogey, bogey, birdie, double bogey. Back in 39, and what looked a very promising round for the 2021 champion has turned into an average 70.
Sam Burns shoots 62 as well!
They come in pairs all right! Sam Burns has torn around the back nine, with birdies at 10, 11, 13, 16, 17 and 18 to come home in 30 strokes for a 62 of his own! Burns, who came within a whisker of winning the US Open last month, didn’t have much of a record at the Open coming into this week, his best performance a tie for 31st at Troon in 2024. He’s made his mark on the oldest championship now! He’s -5, just three off Lucas Herbert’s lead.
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The record-equalling Lucas Herbert speaks to Sky Sports. “It was a lot of fun … those first 12 holes [when he was eight under for his round] … I dunno if I’ve played golf that well before … it was very very cool to experience that … experience the nerves coming down the stretch … everyone wanted [a new record of 61] to happen … I felt I kinda let everyone down on the last missing that putt … an incredible experience … something I’ll be able to remember for the rest of my life … feel like I’ve got a record at the Open … it’s really special.”
You’ve let nobody down, sir. It was a ride.
That round, though! Lucas Herbert becomes just the fifth player in the history of men’s major championships to shoot 62. Branden Grace broke through the 44-year-old barrier of 63 here at Birkdale in 2017, and that’s since been matched by Rickie Fowler (2023 US Open), Xander Schauffele (2023 US Open and 2024 PGA Championship) and Shane Lowry (2024 PGA Championship). Given that Fowler and Schauffele did it at the same US Open at LA Country Club, Schauffele and Lowry did it at the same PGA at Valhalla, and the year Grace did it at Birkdale, Li Haotong shot 63 one day later … well, these things have a habit of coming in pairs, is all it would seem. Who’s next?!
Thanks David. Did I miss anything important while I was away? No? Thank goodness for that.
Well, that was fun. Thanks Lucas Herbert. What a ride. Time now to hand you over to Scott Murray for his second round of the day. He’ll bring you hot news of Rory’s final few holes and much more.
Collin Morikawa has taken a couple of step backs after bogeys at 15 and 16 but there could be another twist. The 2021 champ has flushed two shots down 17 and has 13 feet for eagle. It stays left but a two-putt birdie gets him back to 4-under and into the top five again.
Meanwhile, there’s an Open going on out there. With Herbert chasing history, we’ve rather neglected the leaderboard. Let’s catch up now. Sam Burns making a move. Former Open winner Francesco Molinari also lurking.
-8: Herbert (F)
-6: Suber (F)
-5: Im (5), Brown (4)
-4: Wallace (F), Cauley (F), Burns (17), Young (15), F Molinari (4)
Lucas Herbert shoots 62 to match the lowest round in a men's major
Here goes Lucas Herbert to make history. It’s a hair over five feet. He’s been knocking those in all day. But, no! The weight of history proves too much. The head moves a little, the ball stays left and it’s a closing bogey. No record of 61 on his own but he’s now the holder of the joint-lowest score in the history of men’s majors, a 62. He matches the mark set by Brandon Grace, Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele.
As he walks off after his monumental round, Herbert leads The Open by two strokes.
Updated
Beyond those sunglasses, Herbert is still smiling. Those who know him say he’s never one to back off when getting a score going. You can say that again. Out in 28, he just hasn’t taken his foot off the gas. Bud Cauley is first to go with his own putt from off the green and shows great touch to knock it to kick-in distance. Can Herbert follow suit? It’s a good effort but he faces a four-feet or so knee-knocker to make history.
Herbert gets a free drop from the fences and that’s a significant break. The Aussie has a path to the green and the grass is growing with him so he can to the back of the ball. It’s 173 yards to the pin. The tension builds as his playing partners hit first. Here goes… it comes out a little dead, stopping some 30 feet short of the green. Not a bad miss though. Nothing in his way. Up and down for a 61. Easy!
Updated
A quick update on Rory McIlroy. Four straight pars on the back nine have kept him at even par, nine back. Cameron Young is stalking the leaders and he birdies 14 to move to -5.
Here we go at 18. Herbert launches his drive and carves one way right this time. It’s flirting with the out of bounds but kicks back near some spectator fences. He could well get a decent drop from there. This is on! Off he sets down the fairway, sharing a joke with caddie Titus Salt.
Here goes Herbert with a 10-footer to get to -10 for the day. Arghhh! A misread. The ball sets off left and never turns back. A par 5. Okay, a par at the tough par-4 closer will give him the record.
Out on the course, Matt Cooper messages: “Herbert’s caddie is local. His mate’s out here. I’m next to Herbert’s partner, Erika, on 17. Apparently he’s been in town for a week and played next door Hillside a lot.”
Herbert’s attempt to make 18-hole history is clearly the story but let’s not forget he’s leading The Open by three. Well, it could soon be four! From his sandy lie way left of the green he plays it like a bunker shot and does a marvellous job. Add in a bit of down the hill trickle and his ball finishes 10 feet away. Let’s do the maths again. If he holes that and pars the last he’ll shoot 60. Gulp! Two putts and a par at the last for 61. Oh, go on then, birdie-birdie and it’s a 59!
A reminder of those lowest rounds in a men’s major.
62 Branden Grace (2017 Open Championship, Royal Birkdale)
62 Rickie Fowler (2023 US Open, Los Angeles Country Club)
62 Xander Schauffele (2023 US Open, Los Angeles Country Club)
Lucas Herbert, after hitting the longest drive of the day so far at 17, hoicks his second way, way left. Is the realisation kicking in? Spectators scatter but he’s had some luck as the ball seems to be resting on a sandy path. Birdie maybe doubtful now but, remember, a par-par finish still gives him the record of 61.
Herbert, in white trousers, maroon shirt/cap and sunglasses, stalks his birdie putt at 16. In it goes! Never in doubt! That’s 9-under for the round and par-par=61 and the record. But, of course, the 17th is a par 5. ‘What on earth’s going on out there?’, as one of his famous countrymen used to ask.
I’ll tell you what’s going on – he’s just smashed a brilliant drive down 17!
Lucas Herbert looks his approach up and down at 16. You know when a golfer does that, the little twitches will soon reveal a very satisfactory outcome. And that’s absolutely the case as the Aussie’s ball lands, grips and ends up seven feet away. We’re very much on 61 watch, folks!
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Shane Lowry, the 2019 Open champion at Portrush, is going along nicely today. The Irishman birdied 1 and 9 while everything else through the first 13 holes has been a par. Lowry is tied 11th, five back. That’s a now a shot better than Robert MacIntyre, who has opened par-par-bogey to slip back to -2.
Up at 13, Rory has pumped a drive about 700 yards down the fairway.
The dream is still on for Lucas Herbert. His tee-shot at the lengthy par-3 15th wanders away off the green but he stays strong and holes his five-footer for par. Mission update: play the final three holes in -1 or better to shoot 61 – a record in a men’s major.
-8: Herbert (15)
-6: Suber (F)
-5: Coody (16), Morikawa (13)
-4: Wallace (F), Cauley (15), Reed (14), Young (12), Im (2), Brown (2)
Matt Fitzpatrick holes a big breaking birdie putt at 11 that topples in at the death. That’s the good news. The bad is that he’s still outside the cut line (+2, 97th). He was a popular pick this week due to his superb form in 2026 but go through Fitzpatrick’s Open record and it’s surprisingly poor. Fourth at Portrush last year was a good knock obviously but his best before that was only 20th. So that’s just one finish better than 19th in his 10 Opens.
A two-putt par for McIlroy at 11 keeps him at even par and tied 49th.
Updated
Lucas Herbert is eating a snack on 15, according to roving reporter Matt Cooper. Cornflakes? Has he copied me and smuggled his own in? Good to get energy levels boosted when trying to pull off similar feats:
a) Writing a Guardian live blog for four straight hours
b) Trying to shoot the lowest score in the history of the majors
Another Matt update: “There’s a fella in the gallery who got caught in the arm by a Bud Cauley shot. He’s gutted it wasn’t Herbert so he could say he got clobbered by the man shooting the best major round ever.”
Some quotes from Eric Cole who shot a 64 earlier today. Cole admitted he fell over when teeing off at 11 yesterday, the slip causing a double bogey in what went on to be a 6-over 76. It sparked this exchange.
Q. I take you you’ve never heard of Richard Boxall?
ERIC COLE: Why would I have heard of that?
Q. He broke his leg hitting a tee shot. He hit a tee shot on No. 9.
ERIC COLE: Oh, over here? I have heard that story.
Q. Took him off on a stretcher.
ERIC COLE: Yeah.
After two bogeys in his opening five holes, Thomas Detry balances the books with a brilliant eagle at 5. As it’s a par 4, that means a ‘2’ on the card courtesy of a smashed drive onto the green and a 12-foot conversion. The Belgian is back to -3.
As for our leader, the 14th is a par 5 of course so Herbert has some leeway. The Aussie needs to get up and down to save his par and he’s given himself a very good shot at it after splashing from sand to four feet. In it goes! He needs to play the final four holes in -1 to get a conversation going in the McWhirter household tonight.
Back-to-back birdies for Rory McIlroy! He smashes his tee-shot onto the green at the par-4 9th and has just 11 feet for eagle. Not to be but another birdie sees him out in -2 and going in the right direction. As he plays 10, McIlroy is even par for the tournament and eight behind Herbert, who is rather strugglng up 14. A note from our man on the course, Matt Cooper, who has just messaged me this: “I’m on 14. Noticeable that it has just got breezy out of nowhere.”
Jackson Suber posts new clubhouse target of -6
The overnight leader signs for a 1-under 69 to set the 36-hole clubhouse lead of 6-under. A bag of the mixed variety: five birdies and four bogeys. Still, to follow up that opening 65 with another round in the 60s is strong stuff from the American who is playing on a UK links for the very first time.
Notes from my eight-minute walk outside.
1/ The wind has definitely picked up. Flags fluttering and sometimes in different directions. Like the 12th tee at Augusta, you don’t quite know which way’s it’s swirling.
2/ I had a brief chat with caddie Billy Foster by the putting green. He’s a friend (we live near each other around Saltaire, West Yorks) so, given the running joke about Lucas Herbert’s caddie looking like Titus Salt, it seemed very appropriate to be discussing the leader. “Lucas Herbert eh, 8-under, we’ve seen what happens on LIV when he gets on a roll,” said Billy. I only keep half an ear on LIV but just checked to see that Herbert opened 64-63 when winning LIV Golf Virginia at Trump International in May.
3/ Billy is on Matthew Southgate’s bag this week. I asked if the Englishman’s noteworthy 1-under 69 was an impressive one. “Scrapped it round, Dave. Managed to score well. Great spirit.”
4/ I saw David Duval’s caddie but not the 2001 Open champ himself. Herbert has Duval-style sunglasses on today. Not quite the black wraparounds that DD rocked, Herbert’s are reddish, but perhaps it’s a good omen.
So how did Rory get on there? I know the idea of this blog is me imparting info to you lot but hey ho. What’s that? He made birdie? Nice. Back to +1 I see. Hot putting green news coming up shortly…
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I’m going to stick my head out of the media tent for a few minutes. I’ll do it under the pretence of gauging the wind direction when, as you can guess, I fancy a screen break and a leg stretch.
As I leave my chair, Rory has just set up a good birdie chance at 8. He’ll have nine feet. Back shortly.
Another birdie for Lucas Herbert! That’s eight for today! It’s like putting a marble into a bucket for the Aussie. This latest swish of the blade converts his 12-footer at 12.
Let’s work this out. This is a par 70 and he’s -8. If he pars in, that’ll be a round of 62 which would match the joint-lowest round in majors history. Are we looking at a 61? A 60? We can’t have a 59 in a major, surely. This isn’t the Travelers Championship. This is Royal Birkdale. Watch this space.
To bring him back to earth a little, Herbert’s lead is still only two as Jackson Suber delivers a birdie of his own after two-putting from 59 feet at the par-5 17th.
As Lucas Herbert and Titus Salt-lookalike caddie, Nick Pugh, make merry around Royal Birkdale, here’s the leaderboard. Collin Morikawa looking like a big dangerman. The 2021 Open champ has gone out in 31 after holing a 15-footer for birdie at 9 to move into a tie for second. Also note that The Players Championship winner, Cameron Young, has snuck up to tied fifth.
-7: Herbert (11)
-5: Suber (16), Cauley (11), Morikawa (9)
-4: Wallace (F), Coodey (12), Young (8), Im (-), Brown (-)
While McIlroy and Fizpatrick get buffeted around by the vagaries of links golf, Lucas Herbet is making this look a doddle. A seventh birdie of the day, this one at 11, takes him to the giddy heights of -7. That’s two clear of Jackson Suber and Bud Cauley.
I caught a glimpse of Cauley yesterday when walking the course and couldn’t help but notice how tiny he is. I guess being surrounded by strapping types such as Ludvig Aberg doesn’t help when you’re 5ft 7in. Cauley has other ways to win a round of Top Trumps though and last month’s Canadian Open champion is playing some superb golf so far this week.
Matt Fitzpatrick is aghast as he gets a flier from rough at the par-4 6th. “Of course it does. Of course everyone’s comes out like that,” he chunters sarcastically. His ball rockets through and off the green. Rory is also hitting from hay and it’s a classic wrap around the hosel job as his approach is tugged way left. Both are currently in a tie for 67th so have work to do to even make the cut never mind getting in contention.
Fitzpatrick’s third doesn’t quite creep onto the green and his fourth comes up short too. Six feet short. Thankfully he knocks the bogey putt in. Playing partner McIlroy leaves himself a 10-footer for par but it’s always drifting right. With his hand, he makes the motion of the way his putt travelled and lets out a sigh. McIlroy and Fitzpatrick are now tied 90th. Should those hoping to watch them this weekend be concerned?
Great diary entries from Michael Kim yesterday. He’s the best golfer to follow on social media for those who love little insights and reflections. Here’s a sample from the American’s opening round yesterday.
“+3…. Rubbish as they say around here.”
“It is a really cool walk to 1 tee. Each yr I feel like I’m walking into the Roman coliseum. It’s amazing how quiet it got when I got over the ball. Shoutout to all the fans that came out by 645.”
“Btw… IMG rented the house next to mine and had a party with live music and club music until 1130 last night even though they assured us it would be til 10pm… I hope their players get some bad lies in the rough.”
After a two-putt par at 4, McIlroy has nine feet for birdie at the short par-4 5th hole. Matt Fitzpatrick shows him the way by draining his 16-footer to return to +1 but Rory’s attempt drifts right. He looks back at the hole, shooting it quite a stare. A really good birdie opportunity missed.
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Lucas Herbert matches all-time record Open nine of 28
My word! Lucas Herbert holes one for birdie from off the green at 9 and he’s out in a ludicrous 28. That matches Denis Durnian’s all-time low for nine holes of golf at an Open. In a nice piece of symmetry that also came at Birkdale in round two (1983). Durnian went on to finish tied eighth but his Open record is bizarre. The man from Wigan played in 11 Opens and missed the cut in 10 of them. To say 1983 was an outlier is something of an understatement.
Anyway, that amazing burst of scoring has taken Herbert to -6, a shot clear of Jackson Suber, who has just birdied the 14th.
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Matt Wallace leads in the clubhouse with -4
Matt Wallace tickles in a par putt at 18 to post the clubhouse lead of -4. Great save after he had to play his third from an extremely awkward stance from a greenside bunker. The 36-year-old traded five birdies with two bogeys today and, as we speak, he’s in a tie for second place, a spot behind Lucas Herbert. Still a bonkers stat that no Englishman has won The Open on English soil since Tony Jacklin at Lytham in 1969.
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The hot man on the course right now is Patrick Reed. This is his scorecard: birdie, birdie, par, birdie, par, birdie, birdie. That seven-hole burst has lifted the former Masters winner to 3-under and just two back.
Rory has a 25-footer for birdie on Birkdale’s opening par 3 but his double breaker at 3 doesn’t go back the other way in time. A safe par but Fitzpatrick bogeys to drop to +2.
I felt envious eyes on me in the media canteen earlier. Options for early tucker are a cooked breakfast with all the works or a bit of fruit/yoghurt. But what about cereal lovers? They live among us more than we think. I smuggled in two small boxes of cornflakes from a variety pack and and could see grown men - just men - drooling as I poured them into a soup bowl I had to ask for. #winning
Eric Cole shoot 64
Eric Cole completes a 6-under 64 – the lowest round of the week so far. The American journeyman has jumped 97 spots to 45th with that superb lap of Royal Birkdale. Seven birdies and a single bogey today and he’ll surely be rueing yesterday’s opening 76. Some effort to get back to even par though and that’ll be two cuts out of two in this event. He was 31st on his Open debut at Royal Troon in 2024.
Summary
A leaderboard update. Very much day two stuff you would imagine with a variety of surprise names swapping places at the top. Perhaps -3 is where the real lead lies. Ryder Cup stars Collin Morikawa and Cameron Young are both on that mark after five and three holes respectively this morning.
-5: Herbert (7)
-4: Wallace (17), Norris (13), Suber (13), Coody (8), Im (-), Brown (-)
McIlroy splits the fairway a the 3rd. He has 182 yards in but it’s not his best. A shot where he lets out one of those Rory sighs as the ball ends a long way left of where he was aiming. It’s on the dancefloor but he’ll be putting from over 40 feet away.
Meanwhile, Herbert goes to -5 for the day and the tournament after draining a 35-footer for birdie at 7. He hands his putter to Titus Salt/Pughy with a broad smile. And suddenly the Aussie leads on his own as Suber and Norris both drop shots at 13.
Wandering around the course this week I can’t stop catching sight of Lucas Herbert’s caddie. I live in Saltaire, West Yorkshire, the creation of Titus Salt. Herbert’s caddie, Nick Pugh, has a long, white fluffy beard absolutely in the Titus style. His man Herbert is just one off the lead after four early birdies today so look out for ‘Pughy’ in the coverage.
Matt Fitzpatrick rolls in a 12-footer at 2 to get himself to +1. Or, through a sibling lens, to within a shot off his brother Alex. And, perhap lifted by seeing a white ball going into a little hole after being hit with a stick, McIlroy converts his seven-footer so he’s also back to +1. That’s more like it. Rory is 36th in Strokes Gained: Putting on the PGA Tour this year so yesterday’s mishaps on the greens were out of character.
Rory McIlroy has just 58 yards left at this 414-yard second. He nips a wedge that settles down seven feet from the hole. The first leg of his bid to get into red figures for the tournament this morning? Lots of slumped shoulders from McIlroy yesterday with short putt after short putt missing so this will be a confidence builder if he can knock it in.
Up at 12, Norris birdies and ties the lead with Suber at -5. An unlikely pair of pacesetters.
Updated
Thanks Scott. And good morning from Royal Birkdale. I’ve just walked the first hole and, blimey, it’s busy. There’s a bottleneck down the left side of the fairway which was tricky to negotiate with Rory in the vicinity. Beautiful day out there. A very light breeze.
Jackson Suber throws a bit of a hissy fit as he sends a short iron into 11. He considers burying the hosel of his club into the ground, but checks himself just in time. No idea why he’s so vexed: he’s pin high, 20 feet to the left. And then he rolls in the birdie putt. This is a seriously impressive response to that earlier sticky patch from the unheralded young American. He’s back to where he started the day! Meanwhile more birdies for Shaun Norris and Lucas Herbert, at 11 and 5 respectively, and here’s how the top of the leaderboard looks like now …
-5: Suber (11)
-4: Wallace (15), Norris (11), Coody (7), Herbert (5), Im, Brown
… and with that, I’ll hand you over to your friend and mine, Mr David Tindall. See you again later!
Rory McIlroy is out and about. On the 1st green in regulation, facing an 18-foot birdie putt. He doesn’t hang about taking it, but it’s always missing on the right. Still, he got the pace pretty much spot on, which was his big problem yesterday. He remains at +2.
Updated
So much for giving Cameron Young the big build-up. He knifes a chip from tousled greenside rough at the 1st a good 12 feet past. He can’t make the one coming back and slips to -2. His playing partner, the new US Open champion Wyndham Clark, takes putter from a similar lie … and holes it. Birdie, and it’s nice to hear the gallery give him a warm reception as he moves to +2. A big smile on his face … which then quickly disappears as he flays his tee shot at 2 into thick cabbage down the left … but you get the general point.
Jackson Suber gets moving in the right direction again! After that miserable sequence towards the back end of the front nine, the overnight leader warms that misbehaving putter at long last. He rolls in a 20-footer for birdie at 10, and he reclaims a share of top spot at -4.
The veteran South African Shaun Norris is going well. Birdies at 5 and now 9 sees him hit the turn in 32. He’s -3 and, capitulation notwithstanding, is well on course to snap a run of four consecutive missed cuts at the Open. Also at -3: the 2021 champ Collin Morikawa, who rolls in a 50-foot left-to-right swinger from the fringe at the back of 2.
-4: Wallace (13), Coody (5), Im, Brown
-3: Norris (9), Suber (9), Cauley (4), Herbert (4), Morikawa (2), C Young, Detry, MacIntyre, Molinari, Smalley, DeChambeau, Gerard, Daffue
The Players champion Cameron Young sends his opening tee shot towards the rough down the left … but gets a fortunate bounce back out onto the short stuff. The 29-year-old New Yorker, who came second in this championship at St Andrews in 2022, is surely a major champion in waiting, having also finished high at the Masters, PGA and US Open. Yes, we said this sort of thing about Rickie Fowler and Colin Montgomerie also, but it’s way too early for that sort of defeatist talk. A 67 yesterday, and perhaps this, finally, is his time. We’ll know a lot more in the next couple of hours.
Lucas Herbert picks up the consecutive-birdie baton from Eric Cole. The 30-year-old Aussie, who finished in a tie for 15th behind his compatriot Cam Smith at St Andrews in 2022, adds to his birdies at 1 and 2 with another at 3. The perfect start, and he joins the group tucked in behind the leaders at -3. As does his playing partner Bud Cauley, the new Canadian Open champ, who curls in a 40-footer from the fringe at the back of 3.
Gritty work from Matt Wallace. He wedges from a tight spot to the right of 13, from 40 yards to six feet, and tidies up for his par. That keeps him in a share of the lead. Meanwhile Eric Cole’s run of four consecutive birdies comes to an end with par at 14. He remains at level par for the tournament.
-4: Wallace (13), Coody (4), Im, Brown
-3: Suber (8), C Young, Detry, MacIntyre, Molinari, Smalley, DeChambeau, Gerard, Daffue
Jackson Suber is getting really ragged now. After those two three-putt bogeys, he now flays his drive at 8 into thick oomska, and that ends up in another dropped shot. Three consecutive bogeys, and it’s barely three-quarters of an hour since he had a two-stroke lead; he’s now one off the pace at -3. Leaderboard update in a moment, because Matt Wallace is out of position on 13, having carved his approach into thick rough to the right.
The conditions are clearly ripe for low scoring this morning. Eric Cole and Matt Wallace we already know about. Marco Penge has birdied 1, 4 and 5; Max Greuserman is three under for his round through 12. Johnny Keefer, who qualified after finishing third at the Scottish Open last week, birdies 2 and 3. Lucas Herbert birdies 1 and 2. These lads will want to make hay while the sun shines … or more literally before the wind switches, which it usually does around 11am or so. It’ll pick up a bit later as well.
Updated
A fourth birdie in a row for Eric Cole. This is getting old. This one’s the result of whipping an iron from 204 yards to three feet, one of those that lands softly on the front of the green before rolling regally towards the pin. He’s six under for his round, currently on course for a 64 with two par fives still to come. A reminder that Branden Grace became the first men’s player to shoot 62 in a major here in 2017. It’s on.
Unforced errors by Matt Wallace and Pierceson Coody. The former sends a hot chip 12 feet past, from a swale to the side of 12, while the latter fails to get up and down from the back of 3, to the extent of requiring a five-footer for his bogey. Dropped strokes for both, and the top of the leaderboard has been getting a little bit excitable of late.
-4: Wallace (12), Suber (7), Coody (3), Im, Brown
-3: C Young, Detry, MacIntyre, Molinari, Smalley, DeChambeau, Gerard, Daffue
Eric Cole and Matt Wallace are the two hottest properties out on the course this morning. They’re five under and four under for their rounds respectively, through 12 and 11. Meanwhile the 2022 champion Cameron Smith is going along nicely too: he’s hit the turn in 31 after birdies at 2, 4, 7 and 8, and bogey at 6. Smith’s form fell off a cliff back there, missing six major cuts in a row until breaking the run with a top-ten finish at this year’s PGA. This could be another staging post on the road to recovery, defying yesterday’s downbeat 73.
Jackson Suber’s putting woes continue. Another (!) birdie putt raced a few feet past, this time at 7, and now he’s missing the ones coming back. A second three-putt bogey in a row, and the overnight leader slips off the top of the board. He’s replaced there by Matt Wallace, who cards his fifth birdie of the day by making a 15-footer on 11.
-5: Wallace (11), Coody (2)
-4: Suber (7), Im, Brown
-3: C Young, Detry, MacIntyre, Molinari, Smalley, DeChambeau, Gerard, Daffue
Updated
Eric Cole’s dad, Bobby Cole, came close to winning the 1975 Open. He was the 54-hole leader, but a final round of 76 did for the South African, who ended up in a tie for third behind the eventual winner Tom Watson. His mother Laura Baugh won the 1971 US Women’s Amateur. And he grew up playing golf with Arnold Palmer. So the 38-year-old Californian has pedigree, if not too much on his resumé. A 76 yesterday, followed by bogey at 3 this morning, and you’d assume Cole was going home today. However he’s since been on a heater, with birdies at 4, 5, 6, 10, 11 and now 12, whistling his way up the leaderboard to +1. That’s a jump of 81 places from the start of play. Imagine what he might get up to on Moving Day.
All change at the top! Jackson Suber charges another birdie putt six feet past – that’s the third time he’s done it in the first six holes – but this time he can’t make the one coming back. Meanwhile over on 2, his old mucker Pierceson Coody rakes one in from downtown, and all of a sudden, two good pals on debut are joint leaders of the Open!
-5: Suber (6), Coody (2)
-4: Wallace (10), Im, Brown
It was a bit of an inauspicious start for Sahith Theegala this morning. The 28-year-old Californian let go of his driver on the follow-through of his opening tee shot, the club bouncing apologetically around the tee box. He was fortunate to stay in bounds down the right, and ended up with bogey. But since then he’s found some form, with birdies at 4, 5 and now 8. He’s -1 overall.
You can’t keep a good man down. Padraig Harrington won his second Open title here in 2008 – remember Sunday’s 5-wood into the heart of 17 for eagle – but he’s 54 now so we’re not expecting too much. An 80 yesterday, and he starts the day propping up the entire field at +10. Then he zig-zags his way up 1, from a native area on the left to another on the right. Hacking out, he does well to limit the damage to bogey … and follows up with a textbook birdie on 2: a fairway finder, a wedge to eight feet, one putt. He’s back to +10, and with the cut expected to be around the +2 mark, the great man won’t be here for the weekend … but he’s not going to go down without a fight, is he?
Birdie at 1 for Pierceson Coody! And a bounceback birdie at 9 for Matt Wallace, who hits the turn in an extremely impressive 31. Wallace making hay while the wind is relatively low and coming in from the direction of least hurt.
-6: Suber (5)
-4: Wallace (9), Coody (1), Im, Brown
-3: C Young, Detry, MacIntyre, Molinari, Smalley, DeChambeau, Gerard, Daffue
I’ve not got a huge data set to work with, but based on the few clips I’ve seen, Jackson Suber doesn’t hang about over his putts. You have to wonder whether slowing down a little bit might help, on account of his trundling another wild birdie effort six feet past the hole, this time on 5. But he springs into action when it’s his turn again, and rattles the par saver into the cup in short order. No fuss, no faff, really positive. Great to see, though like I say, small data set, so don’t be quoting this if he turns out to be the second coming of JB Holmes. He’s -6.
Jackson Suber understandably grabbed all the headlines with his Open debut round of 65. But his pal – and fellow Liverpool tourist, the aforementioned Pierceson Coody – was dipping his toe in these waters for the first time as well, and to similar effect. A 67 on debut for the 26-year-old Texan, the grandson of 1971 Masters winner Charles Coody. He’s out and about now, having sent his opening drive into semi rough down the left of 1. Eyes will be kept peeled.
A backwards step for Matt Wallace. He sends his tee shot at 8 onto the top of a grassy knoll to the left of the fairway. He can’t reach the green from there, and though he wedges his third to eight feet, his putt heads right straight off the bat, and that’s bogey. Meanwhile Suber isn’t able to convert his birdie chance at 4.
-6: Suber (4)
-4: Im, Brown
-3: Wallace (8), Coody, C Young, Detry, MacIntyre, Molinari, Smalley, DeChambeau, Gerard, Daffue
Jackson Suber holes his second staunch par saver of the day. This one comes at 3, where he’s left a 60-foot lag putt six feet short. But he sends the second putt straight into the middle of the cup to remain at -6. If he is suffering from understandable nerves, unexpectedly in the spotlight, he’s not letting them overwhelm him for too long … and now he’s sent his tee shot at the par-three 4th to 13 feet. All very impressive.
Some top-drawer effin’ and jeffin’ from the 2011 PGA champion Keegan Bradley. Having sent his opening drive into a large bush down the left of 1, he’s forced to take a penalty drop. Then a bogey putt lips out. EFF! JEFF! A small tanty-stamp of the feet, too, and so Sky Sports are forced to issue their boiler-plate pre-watershed apology. The lads on commentary then point out that poor Keegan has never been the same since last year’s Ryder Cup captaincy and concomitant heartache. He’s certainly cutting a pained figure. After yesterday’s fine 69, he topples down the standings to +1.
Matt Wallace should make it three birdies in a row, after sending his tee shot at the par-three 7th dancing and prancing to 12 feet. But he misses the putt on the low side. A big chance to move to within one of Jackson Suber’s lead gone. He does his best to keep the fume inside, a brave effort featuring a barely perceptible thin-lipped smile. He remains at -4.
Matt Wallace is on a roll! He bangs a big drive past the dogleg right on the long par-four 6th, then finds the centre of the green, from where he peers after a 21-foot putt that only just drops into the cup. Birdie on a hole that played the hardest on day one with a stroke average of 4.35. That’s a huge gain on the rest of the field.
-6: Suber (2)
-4: Wallace (6), Im, Brown
-3: Coody, C Young, Detry, MacIntyre, Molinari, Smalley, DeChambeau, Gerard, Daffue
An opening birdie for the 2011 champion Darren Clarke. He’s +2. Apropos of nothing, and just because I happen to have the stat to hand, so may as well share it, Clarke is joint holder of the record for most appearances by an Open champion before his first victory. That’s 19, after his 2011 win, and he shares the number with Phil Mickelson (2013). Nick Price (1994) is next on the list.
Updated
Birdie for Jackson Suber at 2, and the leader stretches his advantage at the top! He tugged his drive into the rough down the left, but got a decent lie, and was able to wedge over the flag from 90 yards to 12 feet. One fairly straight roll later, and he moves to -6. Meanwhile Laurie Canter nearly aces the 4th. His tee shot lands just past the bunker guarding the front left and serenely glides to kick-in distance, though it was never threatening to drop, always on a route below the hole. The 36-year-old Englishman is -2.
-6: Suber (2)
-4: Im, Brown
A second birdie of the morning for Matt Wallace. He lays up at the drivable par-four 5th, and it’s a good decision. A wedge to eight feet, and a putt poured straight into the cup. A fast start, and the first significant change to the overnight leaderboard.
-5: Suber (1)
-4: Im, Brown
-3: Wallace (5), Coody, C Young, Detry, MacIntyre, Molinari, Smalley, DeChambeau, Gerard, Daffue
Suber wedges his second at 1 to 12 feet, and he’s left with a very makeable putt. A little bit of left-to-right movement. He absolutely rattles it through the break, and leaves himself a testing five footer coming back. That one goes in confidently to save his par. A strange mix of three nerveless strokes and one jittery one. He made 207 feet of putts yesterday; there’s another 22 feet and seven inches to his running total.
If Suber is feeling the nerves this morning, they’ve not been betrayed by his opening tee shot. A confident drive, striped down the middle of the fairway. He’s going around with Sami Valimaki, who became the first Finnish player to win on the PGA Tour last year, with victory at the RSM Classic. It was Valimaki’s 28th birthday yesterday, and the gallery sang Happy Birthday to him on 18. “I thought that was pretty cool,” said Suber.
Suber seems to be enjoying discovering life on this side of the pond. He’d never been to Europe before, but has travelled “pretty much everywhere in Latin American and Canada”. He thinks the UK is “awesome … the golf is really cool, and just the towns, how the train system works.” He went into Liverpool earlier this week with pal Pierceson Coody and partners. “That was really cool to see a European city.” And when he was asked why he’s not going to try driving on the other side of the road, he gave a reply as tinder-dry as the Birkdale rough: “Because I’m trying to make it here for four days.”
Updated
Now then, our 18-hole leader Jackson Suber. Or to give him his full name, John Weatherington Suber III. He’s 26 years old, from Tampa, Florida, and is in his second year on the PGA Tour since moving up from the Korn Ferry. His best finish to date is the tie for fourth at this year’s Canadian Open that got him into this championship. He subsequently missed the cut at the US Open, and only played his first round of links golf this Monday. And now he’s bidding to become the 11th player to win the Open on debut. For the record, here are the other ten …
Willie Park Sr (Prestwick) 1860
Tom Kidd (St Andrews) 1873
Mungo Park (Musselburgh) 1874
Jock Hutchison (St Andrews) 1921
Denny Shute (St Andrews) 1933
Ben Hogan (Carnoustie) 1953
Tony Lema (St Andrews) 1964
Tom Watson (Carnoustie) 1975
Ben Curtis (Royal St George’s) 2003
Collin Morikawa (Royal St George’s) 2021
Matt Wallace has never really built on his early promise of the late 2010s, when he won four European Tour events and tied for third at the 2019 PGA Championship. But the Londoner got his career back on track a couple of years ago with a win at the European Masters and a PGA Tour alternate event … so perhaps, now 36, it transpires that he’s going to be a late bloomer after all? A decent opening round of 69 yesterday afternoon, and now he’s birdied the opening hole this morning. He’s -2.
The surprise leader Jackson Suber is out early, at 7.30am BST. Other than that, it’s a nice quiet start to day two. The calm before the storm. Though of course there’ll be no actual storm. On that subject, hats off to Sky Sports for their continued use of …
Preamble
… and we’re back. Just over nine hours ago, the first day of the 154th edition of the Open Championship came to a close. Now we’re up and running again! Friday promises to be another monster trek, and we’ll be blogging about it ♫♪ all day looooooonng♫♪. Here’s how the very top of the leaderboard looked at the end of play last night …
-5: Jackson Suber
-4: Im Sung-jae, Daniel Brown
-3: Thomas Detry, Robert MacIntyre, Francesco Molinari, Alex Smalley, Bryson DeChambeau, Ryan Gerard, MJ Daffue, Pierceson Coody, Cameron Young
… and here are the tee times (BST). Off we go! It’s on!
6.46 am: Eugenio Chacarra, Matt Wallace, Max Greyserman
6.57 am: Michael Brennan, Sahith Theegala, Laurie Canter
7.08 am: Cameron Smith, Keith Mitchell, Stuart Grehan (a)
7.19 am: Sepp Straka, Joaquin Niemann, Kurt Kitayama
7.30 am: Sami Valimaki, Shaun Norris, Jackson Suber
7.41 am: Darren Clarke, Adrien Saddier, Bernd Wiesberger
7.52 am: Keegan Bradley, Corey Conners, Casey Jarvis
8.03 am: Matt McCarty, Harry Hall, Haotong Li
8.14 am: Padraig Harrington, Marco Penge, Michael Hollick
8.25 am: Tom Kim, Billy Horschel, Mason Howell (a)
8.26 am: Johnny Kiefer, Pierceson Coody, Keita Nakajima
8.47 am: Aldrich Potgieter, Jesper Svansson, Jack Buchanan (a)
9.03 am: Bud Cauley, Jayden Schaper, Lucas Herbert
9.14 am: Kristoffer Reitan, Patrick Reed, JT Poston
9.25 am: Chris Gotterup, Sam Burns, Adam Scott
9.36 am: Collin Morikawa, JJ Spaun, Nicolai Hojgaard
9.47 am: Shane Lowry, Aaron Rai, Brooks Koepka
9.58 am: Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Luvig Aberg
10.09 am: Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick
10.20 am: Jacob Bridgeman, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Tim Wiedemeyer (a)
10.31 am: Patrick Cantlay, Daniel Berger, Nico Echavarria
10.42 am: Peter Uihlein, Alistair Docherty, Francesco Laporta
10.53 am: Cameron John, Austen Truslow, Sam Bairstow
11.04 am: Naoyuki Kataoka, Marcus Plunkett, Baard Bjoernevik Skogen
11.15 am: Kazuki Higa, Jiho Yang, Nevill Ruiter (a)
11.41 am: Matthew Baldwin, Thomas Detry, James Nicholas
11.52 am: Michael Kim, Daniel Hillier, Andy Sullivan
12.03 pm: Ryan Fox, Andrew Novak, Matthew Jordan
12.14 pm: Henrik Stenson, Max Homa, Joe Dean
12.25 pm: Robert MacIntyre, Rickie Fowler, Alex Fitzpatrick
12.36 pm: David Duval, Martin Couvra, Matthew Southgate
12.47 pm: Sungjae Im, Daniel Brown, Fifa Laopakdee (a)
12.58 pm: Gary Woodland, Jake Knapp, Jordan Smith
1.09 pm: Francesco Molinari, Tom McKibbin, Lev Grinberg (a)
1.20 pm: Hennie Du Plessis, Jose Luis Ballester, Dan Bradbury
1.31 pm: Angel Ayora, Victor Perez, Mateo Pulcini (a)
1.42 pm: Stewart Cink, Scott Vincent, Joakim Lagergren
1.53 pm: Michael Thorbjornsen, Kota Kaneko, Travis Smyth
2.09 pm: Alex Smalley, Sam Stevens, Ryo Hisatsune
2.20 pm: Akshay Bhatia, Harris English, Rasmus Hojgaard
2.31 pm: Ben Griffin, Hideki Matsuyama, Min Woo Lee
2.42 pm: Russell Henley, Justin Rose, Viktor Hovland
2.53 pm: Justin Thomas, Alex Noren, Jason Day
3.04 pm: Scottie Scheffler, Tyrrell Hatton, Bryson DeChambeau
3.15 pm: Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm
3.26 pm: Brian Harman, Si Woo Kim, Nick Taylor
3.37 pm: Ryan Gerard, Maverick McNealy, David Puig
3.48 pm: Kazuma Kobori, Tom Sloman, David Howard (a)
3.59 pm: Antoine Rozner, Ren Yonezawa, Caleb Surratt
4.10 pm: MJ Daffue, Frederic Lacroix, Jack McDonald
4.21 pm: Jeongwoo Ham, Ryutaro Nagano, Alejandro De Castro Piera (a)
