Leaderboard
-10 Scheffler (F)
-9 Fitzpatrick (F)
-8 Harman (F), Li (F)
-5 Gotterup (F), R Hojgaard (F), MacIntyre (F), Hatton (F), English (F)
Irish:
-3 McIlroy (F)
Level Lowry (F)
+3 McKibbin (F) - Missed Cut
+5 Clarke (F) - Missed cut
+9 Harrington (F) - Missed Cut
UPDATE! - Shane Lowry has been handed a two-shot penalty after it was deemed his ball moved during a practice swing in the rough on the par-5 12th hole. He drops back to level par for the the tournament.
That’s all for today’s live coverage of today’s action at The Open at Royal Portrush Golf Club. McIlroy (-3) and Lowry (-2) both made the cut comfortably, but will have to have fantastic rounds over the weekend to catch the current leader Scheffler (-10).
Join us for more live coverage of The Open over the weekend, as well as reports from Portrush. Thanks for joining us.
Scheffler (-10) misses that birdie putt by a hair. He finishes seven under for the day.
Shane Lowry finishes on -2. His birdie putt was very good, but just not quite perfect.
Scheffler (-10) gives himself a chance at a birdie on the final hole, 15ft to the pin.
The crowd in the grandstand will be willing Lowry (-2) to do likewise, but it’s a 50ft putt for the Irishman.
Schauffele (-2) bogeys the final hole. Spaun and Rahm both make the cut with an even score overall.
The green is now cleared for Lowry (-2), Scheffler (-10) and Morikawa (+7) to finish off their round.
Lowry finds the fairway with his final tee shot, sending it 270 yards.
Lowry (-2) misses the birdie shot, and makes the par.
Scottie Scheffler (-10) is the outright leader at The Open.
Lowry’s (-2) drive found the rough, but his second was lovely, more great approach play from him. He’s got a nine and a half foot putt for birdie.
Here’s the putt that kept Fitzpatrick at the top of the leaderboard.
Scottie Scheffler (-9) moves into a joint lead of The Open! Birdie on the 16th.
Big plays from Xander Schauffele in his attempt to defend his title.
So unlucky! Lowry (-2) nearly birdies the 16th, but he’ll have to settle for par.
Matt Fitzpatrick is the sole leader of The Open! A wonderful putt sees him finish on -9.
He’s the first English player to lead The Open at the halfway mark since Nick Faldo.
Lowry (-2) hits the green off the 16th tee on the par three, 33 foot to the pin.
Fitzpatrick (-9) will do well to keep a sole lead, struggling on the final hole, with a 24 foot putt to make par.
Birdie for Lowry (-2)! That could be crucial with that decision still to be made.
Lowry (-1) has a ten foot putt for birdie after a lovely approach shot. Same goes for Morikawa (+6), who’s been playing good stuff in the last few holes.
Potential bad news for Lowry (-1). Officials are looking into a practice stroke that may have moved his ball on the twelfth hole, which could add a stroke to his total. More important than ever for him to make up a shot.
Lowry is annoyed as his putt looks good but doesn’t go in the hole. He cleans up well though to stay on -1. Scheffler (-8) makes par despite having a shot at birdie.
Through 14 holes, US Open champion JJ Spaun has done very well to get back to -2, having been three shots above that.
A fine Lowry (-1) to start the tricky 14th. Then a lovely second stroke leaves him 11 feet to the pin for a birdie chance.
Lowry (-1) gets his par. Morikawa (+6) hits a super putt from 31 feet for birdie. Scheffler (-8) buries his, another birdie.
The par three 13th has been playing under par so far today, 2.98. Lowry (-1) and Morikawa (+7) would have to hit two crackers to birdie it though, whereas Scheffler (-7) has 8 foot to the pin.
Bogey for the leader Fitzpatrick (-9), while Gotterup has finished up at -5. Xander Schauffele (-2) has hit three birdies in a row.
Par for Lowry (-1) on the 12th, things went pretty wrong on the easiest hole so far in Portrush. Scheffler (-7) pars, while Morikawa (+7) birdies.
94 yards to the pin, inside a bunker, Lowry (-1) finds the green, but it’s a near impossible putt from 50ft, so there’ll be no made shots on the 12th.
Westwood (-3) finishes up with a par, and some good play today. Meanwhile, Xander Schauffele (-1) hits back-to-back birdies.
Shane Lowry (-1) finds heavy rough with his next drive. Looks like a decent lie though, as the ball is clearly visible.
Bogey for Lowry (-1). Himself and Scheffler (-7) both dropped shots on hole 11, and will need to make up ground on the 12th, one of the easier holes.
Here’s Dustin Johnson’s (E) unusual and rather aesthetically pleasing finish to his day of action, with a birdie on the final hole.
It’s teeming down now, Lowry (-2) will have wet socks coming out of the rough, but it’s a decent shot to make sure he has a chance to par.
Another downpour now. Gotterup gets a birdie to move back into that group on -5.
A sweary Lowry (-2) finds the rough with his drive on the 11th. “No don’t go left!” he yells, before telling the ball to ‘f off’, to put it gently.
Matt Fitzpatrick (-10) increases his lead with another birdie on the 13th.
Lowry (-2) gets his par on the 10th.
Lowry (-2) leaves his 31ft birdie putt a little short on the tenth. Scheffler sinks his chance (-8).
Darren Clarke (+6) gets a warm reception as he finishes his round with a bogey.
We have a new leader at The Open! Matt Fitzpatrick (-9) hits another birdie to climb to the top of the leaderboard at Royal Portrush Golf Club.
Good drive to start the back nine by Lowry (-2). It travels 287 yards and finds the fairway on the par four.
Another par for Lowry, staying at -2.
Haotong Li enters the clubhouse at -8 in a share of the lead. Dustin Johnson birdies the 18th to finish on even par, and make the cut.
Lowry (-2) gives himself plenty of work while still finding the green on hole 9, 12 yards from the pin.
Matt Fitzpatrick (-8) is into a share of the lead after back-to-back birdies on 10 and 11.
Lowry (-2), Scheffler (-7) and Morikawa (+6) all find the fairway on the ninth hole.
Dustin Johnson (+1) gets himself under the cutline with a birdie there.
This is the unlucky near-eagle from Schauffele earlier on.
Lowry (-2) has 32 foot to the pin on the eighth green for birdie, so it’s a long shot. He gets a solid par there. Scheffler (-7) hits a par.
Morikawa is still not on the green after four shots. He ends up with a double bogey, out to +6.
Disastrous hole 8 for Morikawa (+4). His fourth shot will be a chip onto the green from 16 yards, so unless he hits a perfect shot then par is gone.
Good tee shots for Lowry (-2), 140 yards to the pin, and Scheffler (-7), 127 yards to the pin. Morikawa (+4) hits the bunker.
Birdie for Scheffler (-7) takes him into sole third. Lowry misses his birdie chance, staying at -2 with a par.
Here’s the eagle that put Gotterup into the top ten.
Tom McKibbin has finished up +3, six shots ahead of his trio partner (+9)
Lowry’s (-2) short game is so good, he’s now got a shot at birdie on the seventh, seven feet to the pin.
Well short on the second shot from Lowry (-2), 47 yards to go. Still a chance for a birdie if his approach is good though. At least the sun is back out in Portrush.
2024 champion Xander Schauffele (-1) birdies the seventh, but he’s pretty unlucky still. His chip-in attempt struck the flag and bobbled out. John Rahm (-3) also birdies, so you’d think it’s a big chance for Lowry (-2) after that great drive.
Lowry has played a fantastic tee shot on the seventh, he’s 270 yards from the pins on the par five.
Gotterup (-5) with an eagle to take him into that group three shots back.
Li (-8) drops his first shot of the weekend on the 14th. He’s back into a joint lead with Harman (-8).
Fitzpatrick (-6) also drops a shot, he’s in joint third with Scheffler (-6).
Lowry (-2) in for a par again there. Morikawa (+4) also birdied the sixth, so Lowry is the odd one out in that group.
Not a great tee shot for Lowry (-2) on the sixth, but a decent long putt should have him in for par. Scheffler (-6) is catching fire a little now, back-to-back birdies.
Par for Lowry (-2), but birdie for Scheffler (-5).
Lowry (-2) pops a nice approach shot onto the green, 16 feet to the pin for birdie. Morikawa (+5) leaves 11 feet and Scheffler eight, so birdie chances for those two.
Lowry (-2) tees off at the fifth, finding the fairway with 74 yards to the pin.
Haotong Li (-9) takes the sole lead with a birdie on the 12th hole.
Here’s Lowry’s birdie on 3.
McKibbin (+3) birdies the 15th, so he still has an outside chance of making a cut. He’ll need to make up at least one shot, with the projected cut sitting at +1 at the minute. Clarke (+4) has also hit a birdie, leaving him even for the day so far.
Yes! Lowry saves par on the fourth, to keep him at -2. The crowd loved that!
Lowry (-2) still has 30 yards to the pin on shot three of hole 4. His approach shot then leaves him needing to sink a 12 foot putt to save par.
Rory McIlroy spoke to the media ahead his weekend at The Open: “A couple under, improved a little bit on yesterday, hit it in play a little bit more off the tee, which was nice to have some looks out of the fairway and into some of these greens. Yeah, it was a good day. I feel like I maybe could be a couple closer to the lead, but overall in a decent position.
“It’s one of these places where you know the holes you have to make par, you know the holes you have to make birdie, and everyone sort of has to play the golf course the same way.
“It was 20 years ago that I played the North of Ireland here, and never in my wildest dreams did I think that I’d be coming back as a grand slam champion with the support of a nation behind me trying to win an Open Championship.”
Luck from Lowry (-2), his drive on 4 very nearly went out of bounds, but a fortunate bounce takes him into the rough.
Here’s the wonderful shot out of the rough by Haotong Li (-8) that allowed him to move into a joint lead.
Pars for Scheffler (-4) and Morikawa (+5) on hole three. Lowry sinks the birdie! He moves to -2!
Lowry (-1) with a lovely tee shot on the third, leaving closest to the flag of his three-ball, less than 10 foot to the pin.
Haotong Li (-8) enters a joint lead with Brian Harman (-8) of America. 10 holes down for the Chinese golfer.
McKibbin (+4) and Harrington (+9) both bogied the very difficult 14th.
Lowry (-1) ends up with a par there, just missing a chance to make up a shot. Scheffler (-4) saves par there too.
Harris English (-5) enters the clubhouse tied for fourth.
Lowry (-1) has a great chance to birdie hole 2! 11 feet to the pin. Meanwhile, Scheffler (-4) will have to make an eight foot putt to make par.
Scheffler (-4) and Morikawa (+5) had to play out of a bunker and the rough, so Lowry (-1) had the best second shot of that group. On the par five, he’s got 50 yards to the pin on shot three.
Darren Clarke (+5) bogied on 8, so it’s another shot back for him. England’s Matt Fitzpatrick (-6) moves into a sole third place with a birdie on hole 4. Lowry (-1) drives his tee shot on the hole 2 nearly 300 yards, leaving him 270 to go.
Rory McIlroy’s (-3) birdie attempt rolls agonisingly close, but he has to settle for a par. He finishes up two under for the day.
McIlroy (-3) has a chance at a birdie on the final hole! 33 feet to the pin, so it’ll be difficult, but the crowd is behind him in the grandstand. Lowry (-1) putts from five feet to get par on the first, while Scheffler (-4) starts with a birdie.
Lowry’s (-1) second shot finds the green, but still 50 feet to the pin. The rain has started now, not a great time for the Offaly man to be starting his day.
Ominous clouds gathering at Portrush now, as McIlroy (-3) finds the fairway on the final hole. On the green Aberg has finished up on -2, after missing a birdie chance from eight foot.
Shane Lowry (-1) has teed off at the first hole. His drive finds the fairway about 150 yards from the hole. Morikawa (+4) follows him, but finds the bunker, while Scheffler (-3) starts with a fine drive to the centre of the fairway.
McIlroy (-3) just misses the birdie chance from 15 feet, so it’s a par on the 17th. Fleetwood (-2) also gets a par.
Afternoon folks, Ciarán Kirk here to see out the day’s action at The Open. McIlroy (-3) has 70 yards to the pin on shot two of the par four 17th. His approach shot leaves him a chance for birdie, but he looks a bit disappointed regardless.
Meanwhile, DeChambeau has finished up with 65 for the day, some day’s work for the American who will make the cut. Justin Rose (-2) has also finished up on 71 for the day, one over.
Massive drive down 17 by McIlroy (-3).
I’ll leave the end of Rory’s round and Lowry’s opening shot (in 10 minutes) to Ciarán Kirk, who is taking over for the evening.
Harris English has had a nightmare on the 15th, “he’s played this one like Johnny English,” says Andrew Coltart. Hits his tee shot with an iron only 195 yards, hooked into heavy rough, then hacking out, then into a bunker.
McIlroy’s (-3) putt up on 16 is nine feet away. That’s a crucial par putt coming up, which he makes!
Birdie for Fitzpatrick (-5) on the first hole, joins the group that are three off the lead. Bob MacIntyre (-5) does too, holing from off the green at the 17th.
McIlroy (-3) at the 16th hits a good shot up Calamity Corner, just at the front of the green.
What a round by DeChambeau (+1) today, incredibly after being seven over starting, he is now within the cut line. Six under today.
Hojgaard had a good response to his round of 68, the joys of links golf.
Q. Did you play well?
RASMUS HOJGAARD: Yes and no. I can’t remember.
Meanwhile, almost a hole-in-one for Li at the 6th! The Chinese player ties the lead. English could join them after a well-crafted iron at the 14th.
But maybe not for long. Harman hits another iron dart at the 18th hole and could get in the house at -8. He gets it and it’s a six-under-par 65 by the former champion. If the rain comes at the weekend, he will be a hard man to beat.
Par for McIlroy (-3) at the 15th. One more birdie would do on the last three.
McIlroy (-3) plays for the fairway at the 15th and he achieves that safely, as does Fleetwood (-2).
McIlroy has 124 yards, tries to be cute with it and leaves it short, it rolls off the front. That’s a mistake.
McIlroy (-2) just under 100 yards left at the 14th hole, hits a wedge and it just spins too much on him and stops dead but a good birdie chance on a tough hole.
Birdie for McIlroy! Brilliant putt up the hill to get to -3. Massive roars and taking one on the field there.
Unfortunately there was a double bogey for McKibbin on the eighth hole. A wayward drive cost him into bushes. He’s +2 and looking over his shoulder at the cut line.
“Oh s**t,” says MacIntyre (-5), as he hits into the rough on the right at 16, Calamity Corner. Meanwhile Li moves into second with a birdie at the 5th to move to -6.
Bomb alert for McIlroy, 365 yards (!) at the tough 14th, the hardest hole on the course, and middle of the fairway. Big drive when he needed it.
Birdie putt missed by McIlroy (-2), that’s a shame, good putt but just slides by. Fleetwood (-2) misses a big birdie chance on the same hole, where Thomas birdies (-1). English (-5) makes bogey at 12 and Harman is two ahead again. An eagle for Finau on 12 moves him up to -4. Big moves being made.
Decent approach by McIlroy (-2) but didn’t quite get the pitching point that the previous group did that all hit it close and birdied it. Fleetwood (-2) hits it much closer with his approach. Thomas (E) does the same, which shows how gettable it is. Still, it’s 20 feet for birdie for Rory.
Birdie for McIlroy! His eagle putt just slips by but a stress-free birdie tap-in to get to -2 and onwards to the par 3 13th, which is another birdie chance. Back to five behind.
Great iron approach by McIlroy (-1) after his long drive at the par 5 12th, sets up an eagle opportunity. That’s more like it!
English moves to six under with a birdie at the 11th, getting one against the field there.
Big birdie and big smile for Hojgaard (-5) as he birdies the last for a round of 68.
McIlroy (-1) is miles down the fairway on the par 5 12th, 330 off the tee, good start there.
Bogey for Hatton (-5) and he’s livid at that one to give Harman a two-shot lead.
Birdie for Clarke! He gets to +3 with a birdie on the 3rd. The cut is +2 and he’ll do everything in his power to make the weekend.
Another beaut of an iron by MacIntyre (-4), gets that to move to -5. Heavily tipped before the tournament and hit a lot of key metrics, he is delivering on the big stage so far.
Fair play to DeChambeau (+4) who is three under today and has hit it close on the same hole as MacIntyre. He has a chance to make the cut after his disastrous 78 yesterday as he knocks in his putt, six birdies today. Rose (-1) birdies it too. The entire group birdies 13.
Good lag putt by McIlroy (-1) on 11 again, should be a par. His round has gone a bit quiet but it’s not too easy out there with the breeze. Birdie at the next, the par 5 12th is essential if he is to keep his round going in the right way.
It’s 182 yards for McIlroy (-1) with his approach at the tricky 11th hole, eases a 7 iron up but way short at the front of the hole, difficult two putt ahead.
MacIntyre (-3) has had a very composed round today and hits a great chip at the 12th for a short birdie putt and move into the top 5, which he gets.
McIlroy (-1) misses the fairway again at 11 but just avoids the heavy rough, first cut there.
Harman (-7) is waggling away but balling away, hits another crisp iron shot to the middle of the green at the par 4 14th, the hardest hole on the course. Here was his birdie on 13:
Birdie for Hatton (-6) at 13, the leading players starting to separate themselves.
Harman (-6) has shown he can play in the wind and in links conditions before, and he hits a fine iron shot at the 13th, letting it roll up the hole and another chance to extend his lead. He makes it to get to -7... that’s a two-shot lead for the 2023 champion.
Hatton (-5) takes his par 5 at the 12th after hitting into a pot bunker.
McIlroy (-1) makes a par on 10, a good attempt, but not to be for birdie.
Rose (Even) makes a triple bogey on the 11th, ouch.
Rose (-3) blocks his iron shot, his fourth shot at the par 4, and it shows how tough Portrush can play.
McIlroy (-1) from 142 yards tugs his wedge a bit at the 10th but the wind is really swirling now and on the green isn’t too bad. Fleetwood (-2) misses the green and has a tough up and down.
Fairway finder for McIlroy, back on it at the 10th. Ahead of him, Rose (-3) has hit into a bush and there must be 20 people looking for it but can’t find it. Looking for at least three minutes but no sign and back to the tee.
Good lag putt by McIlroy (-1) to two feet for par, which he makes, from a long distance. Fleetwood (-2) just misses for birdie from off the green to get to -3
The leader Harman (-6) leaves himself 15 feet up the hill for birdie to extend his lead at the par 5 12th hole, but he misses.
McIlroy (-1) gets away with his bad drive and avoids all the bushes to get a great lie. He hits a wedge to the back of the 9th green.
JS Olesen had an eight at the first hole, ouch. Out of bounds and then in the hay, he’s back to even par. A day’s work gone.
Fairway wood for McIlroy (-1) at the ninth, a dose of the lefts today, just struggling off the tee.
Bogey for Hojgaard (-5) drops him out of the lead, Harman is the solo leader. Aberg (-2) is four under today after a massive putt at the ninth.
Triple bogey for Harrington! Disaster on the third hole as he makes an absolute mess around the green at the par 3, taking five after the tee shot. He’s +7 and chances of making the cut are more or less gone.
Birdie putt missed by McIlroy at the 8th. He’s stalling when those around them are making birdies.
McIlroy (-1) on the eighth hits a good drive, it’s another missed fairway technically but again in that easy to play from first cut. Great shot in to 16 feet but has to start getting the birdies going.
Olesen (-4) reloads on 1 and then hits the next one into the hay on the left, oof tough start.
Could be a Williams sisters playing each other in the Wimbledon final type situation the way things are going with the Hojgaards. Rasmus takes the lead on -6 with another birdie at the 6th, Nicolai birdies the 2nd to go to -3.
McIlroy (-1) decides to chip instead of putt and it’s a little bit clumsy, leaves himself more than he’d like left for birdie. He misses the putt sadly, big missed opportunity after the tee shot.
Hatton and Hojgaard both join the lead on -5 with birdies on 9 and 12 respectively.
JS Olesen, one of the overnight leaders, starts his round with a massive slice out of bounds.
Fleetwood just misses the eagle, but up to -2.
Super shot in by Fleetwood (-1) at the par 5 seventh and he gets a great kick on to be pin high for eagle.
McIlroy (-1) only has an iron in at the same hole and doesn’t get the bounce that Fleetwood does, just rolls on the front and doesn’t kick on, ends up hitting the ball of Thomas (Even).
McIlroy (-1) at the par 5 seventh needs a good drive. Wind down and off the left and just rolls into the rough fringe but that’s a brilliant drive and good chance to attack the green in two. Fleetwood (-1) is also on the fairway, Thomas (Even) is in trouble down the right.
Good par for Fleetwood (-1) on the sixth after short siding himself. McIlroy (-1) tidies up for par.
Some stats from yesterday where the hardest hole was the 11th (.404 over par), the 14th (.308 over par), 9th (.301 over par). The easiest hole was the par 5 12th (.346 under par).
The hardest fairway to hit was the 17th, only 30.8 per cent hit it. Easiest was the 4th (63.5 per cent). The hardest green to hit in regulation was the 14th, only 32.1 per cent did.
Good tee shot by McIlroy (-1) on the 6th, pin high, which Fleetwood (-1) doesn’t manage and faces a very tricky chip to get up and down.
Disappointing putt by Rory, overreads it and leaves himself four feet back for par.
Bogey for McIlroy! 10 feet left for McIlroy wasn’t part of the plan at the 5th, and it’s another testing moment. A very sloppy 5 to give the shot back there, all came from the poor tee shot.
Very scenic at the fifth, well worth seeing if you’re attending this week at Portrush as the sea and beach come into view. A short spell of glorious sun now, which will make Discover Northern Ireland and the fans on the ground happy.
Birdie for McKibbin! He gets back to Even par on the first hole.
McKibbin and Harrington are under way off the first hole, both on the green for birdies but Harrington a long putt, McKibbin within 20 feet.
Bogeys for Rose (-2) and English (-4), who drops out of the lead, but he’s replaced by Harman (-5) who birdies the seventh.
Leishman (-1) is finished his round having been first out, and under five hours for the group, hopefully setting a quicker pace than almost six-hour rounds yesterday then. It’s a round of 68 for the Australian, who was five under for the round for a while but faded on the back nine.
McIlroy (-2) faces one of the most difficult shots in golf, a long bunker shot. 80 yards from a pot bunker, into the wind, with out of bounds behind. He only gets halfway up the green and spins back, tough two-putt ahead.
Up and down round from McIlroy (-2) continues, takes an iron off the tee with the wind behind at the short par 4 5th and hooks it and ends up in the bunker well back, turning a birdie hole into something more difficult.
Fleetwood (-1) takes a wood and goes just right and short. Thomas (Even) takes driver and knocks it up the left rough.
McIlroy (-1) went 350+ with that drive and left him 154 yards on the par 4 4th. Beautiful shot! To five feet.
Birdie for McIlroy! The crowd chants “Rory, Rory!”. He moves back to -2.
Fleetwood (-1) was in the rough off the tee and left his approach short. Good pitch and you’d expect him to get his par, which he does.
Harris English (-5) takes the lead with a birdie at the par 5 2nd, finally breaking away from that group.
McIlroy (-1) at the fourth hits his best drive for a while, smashes it down the middle.
Hovland (-1) is another player who started with three straight birdies and just misses another.
Thomas (Even) gets tough luck as his ball hangs on the lip and it looked like it might fall in. He takes his time to hope it does, but finally taps it in.
Birdie for Fleetwood (-1). Birdie-birdie-birdie start, he’s on fire.
Bogey for McIlroy (-1)! Misses his bogey putt from 16 feet and knocks it three foot past, but tidies up.
Birdie for Thomas (Even), McIlroy’s playing partner, as does Fleetwood (Even), who starts birdie-birdie. And another good iron shot at the third.
McIlroy (-2) doesn’t hit a great shot, but gets unlucky as his ball doesn’t roll down in the bunker, but instead gets stuck just above the bunker. Really awkward stance and shot now. He grips way down the shaft and gets a nice connection but goes well past the hole. Tough par putt now.
Birdie for Hojgaard (-4), who rejoins the lead. Pleasant enough conditions today at Portrush with less wind.
A brilliant pitch by McIlroy (-2) leaves him seven left for par, what a par that would be.
Par for McIlroy! Sets it out outside edge, smooth putting stroke and straight in. Big save after a penalty shot where he could have been out of bounds.
McIlroy (-2) takes an unplayable after that wayward drive, two club lengths. Now to try to find a way to rescue a bogey here.
Or maybe a par! Superb shot from the rough after the drop to just short of the green. Thomas (+1) is on the green in two at the par 5, Fleetwood (+1) is just over it.
R Hojgaard (-3) drops out of the lead after a bogey at the par 5 7th when he lost his drive.
Oh dear, bad drive by McIlroy (-2) at the second. Just in bounds it looks, only a foot or so. Horrible lie ahead in really big rough. Could be disastrous.
Birdie for Rose (-3) means he’s also one off the lead, the Masters runner-up going along very nicely. English (-4) is off at the first with a par.
Birdie for McIlroy! He studies the putt in detail and it’s right in the middle of the hole. What a start! He’s -2. Birdie too for Fleetwood, he’s back to +1.
Two more players join the lead, Rasmus Hojgaard and Hatton at -4.
Great shot at the 1st by Fleetwood (+2), good birdie chance. Thomas (+1) is more conservatively on the right.
McIlroy is 160 yards from the semi rough on the left, hits a lovely draw to set up a go at birdie from 16 feet.
Rory McIlroy is on the tee for his second round... big cheers from the grandstand at the 1st.
McIlroy (-1) is in the first cut of rough, not his best swing ever but safely away and all good. Fleetwood and Thomas are on the fairway.
Feeling like Hoylake again with Brian Harman (-3) smoking fairway woods to greens from 250 yards out. He makes the green in two at the par 5 second and has a chance to take the lead.
Marc Leishman (-3) continues to motor up the leaderboard, he’s five under for his day. Justin Rose (-2) is teeing off now, as is Bob MacIntyre (Even). Then next is Spieth, Aberg and Hovland, all +2. Then McIlroy, Thomas and Fleetwood.
Brian Harman (-2), the champion two years ago, hits a cracker into the first green to gimme range for birdie. Maverick McNealy (-2) hits a good one too. Now Tyrrell Hatton (-3) is teeing off and he’s safely down the first.
A very odd shot off the first by Min Woo Lee, with Bo Martin on the bag, pull hooks it only 180 yards into the rough. The threat of out of bounds does strange things to golfers.
Joaquin Niemann (-1), the LIV star, is off and is looking to his underwhelming record in Majors. His shot at the first won’t help though, he’s hooked it out of bounds with a fairway wood. He reloads and knocks the next one on the fairway but no second serves in golf.
Bezuidenhout (-4) is back in the leading group with a birdie at the second, Rasmus Hojgaard is up to 3 under meanwhile, who won the Irish Open at Royal County Down, beating Rory McIlroy last year, while his twin Nicolai is 2 under.
Another birdie for Leishman (-2) who is four under for the day now, which shows that birdies are out there.
South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout (-3) drops out of the lead with a bogey at the first hole. Rickie Fowler is back at even par for the day (-2) and Rasmus Hojgaard (-2) is also under way. Three players are three under for their day so far Marc Leishman (-1), Daniel Brown (+2) and amateur Ethan Fang (+2), who beat Gavin Tiernan in the Amateur final to qualify.
An early highlight for Rickie Fowler:
Some other Northern Ireland links news announced this morning:
“Galgorm Collection today unveiled plans to invest more than £30 million to create a new, landmark links golf course at Bellarena on the region’s stunning north west coast.
“The company, which owns and runs the championship parkland course at Galgorm Castle in Ballymena and the wonderfully scenic Roe Valley course in Limavady, said its plans would create the first championship links course in Northern Ireland in over 100 years.
“Galgorm said its plans to develop a new 18-hole links course at Bellarena – located between Portrush and Limavady around 30 minutes’ drive from the City of Derry and its adjacent airport.
“Subject to planning approval, Galgorm Collection said development of Bellarena Golf Links will start next year and open in 2029, bringing its total investment in the north west to around £65 million and an additional 300 jobs created."
Check out McIlroy’s quotes from his presser yesterday:
“Yeah, it was good. I had it going 3-under through 10 and let a few slip there around the middle of the round. I steadied the ship well, played the last four at 1-under, and it was nice to shoot under par. I felt like, once we turned for home, like played 10 and turned back and played 11, the wind picked up a little bit, and it just became that little bit more difficult. Yeah, it was a tough enough day, especially either chopping out of the rough or out of the fairway bunkers most of the time. So to shoot under par was a good effort.”
On the home support:
“Yeah, absolutely incredible. Look, I feel the support of an entire country out there, which is a wonderful position to be in, but at the same time, you don’t want to let them down. So there’s that little bit of added pressure. I felt like I dealt with it really well today. Certainly dealt with it better than I did six years ago. I was just happy to get off to a good start and get myself into the tournament. I was sort of surprised - there’s a few guys at 4-under, but I’m surprised 4-under is leading. I thought someone might have gone out there and shot 6 or 7 today. Only three back with 54 holes to go, I’m really happy with where I am.”
Here is Philip Reid’s report from yesterday:
Hello and welcome to live coverage of day two of the Open. It was a memorable first day at Royal Portrush where Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy made solid starts to the championship in rounds that promised more at times, but kept them well in contention at three shots back on one under.
The play was painfully slow yesterday, which meant that McIlroy finished after 9pm after nearly six hours on the course and he does not have long to rest, teeing off at 10.09am this morning with Tommy Fleetwood (+2) and Justin Thomas (+1). Later, Lowry is out with world number one Scottie Scheffler (-3), who looks ominous, and Collin Morikawa (+4) at 3.10pm. Tom McKibbin (+1) and Pádraig Harrington (+4) are out at 11.26am with Nicolai Hojgaard (-2). Darren Clarke (+4) battles to make the cut at 12.53pm. That’s all ahead of us.
On the course, there is not much movement today so far, Rickie Fowler losing a shot to drop to one under. There are five players tied for the lead at 4 under, the first of those out is Christiaan Bezuidenhout at 8.36am.
