Friday At The 153rd Open
Scheffler takes Open lead after 64 while Royal Portrush and links golf continue to draw raves from the brats. Plus, Lowry gets a two-stroke penalty, DeChambeau, Quotables, Stats, Weather, Tee Times.
Round Two By The Numbers
7,307: Yardage (7381 yard max)
72.224: scoring average (73.038 in Rnd 1)
-10: Leading score (Scottie Scheffler)
64: Low round (Scheffler)
8: Birdies by Scheffler
2: Birdies in two days by Scheffler at Calamity (16th)
0: Bogeys by Brian Harman
39: Rounds in the 60s
0: Rounds in the 80s
+1: Cutline
70: Number of players to make the weekend (70 and ties)
10: Score of Shaun Norris on No. 4 (75)
Hey, how about Scottie Scheffler shooting 64 to take a one-stroke lead?
All while playing with local hero Shane Lowry, who got dinged with a two-stroke penalty in the very same round the 2019 Open Champion at Portrush said “*&^% this place”?
There goes the mural.
Before we get to some details from Friday, bear with me while I warm your heart by highlighting a trend as soul-reaffirming as today’s Media Centre cinnamon cake. After all, we still have 36-holes to go and the Quad has an unlimited paper and ink budget.
Strolling the grounds Friday after downpours prompted untold volumes of pint consumption that turned Royal Portrush into Glasto West, I’ve been reassured to hear how much today’s brats genuinely enjoy links golf. It all makes big time professional golf’s rare visits to pure links a travesty—with all due respect to the Renaissance Club and the Alfred Dunhill pro-am (where the setup needs to be as much about moving Piers and Hugh around as over a test of skill).
Not long ago we lived through dark days when pro golfers from all over the globe looked at links visits as an annual mid-summer annoyance. Some of the disdain might have been related to a few funky setups and little-known surprise winners. Fine. But too many from the shirt sleeves-below-elbows era seemed unconcerned with the idea of winning an Open with hopes of proving they had a game that travels and a complete career. Those late 90s, early 2000’s types believed too much linksland could destroy their swings should they be subjected to an excess of firm, fast, windy, running golf.
This is all a long windup to say how delightful it’s been to read how much they’re enjoying the linksland these past few weeks. Particularly from some potential point-missing prone Mericans.
“I love coming over here,” said Brian Harman after a second round 65. “As far as golf, it's as pure as it gets.”
This would have been his answer even before a six-birdie, bogey-free round on a day with wild weather swings. The 38-year-old recalled how he initially didn’t want to come over, became a convert on trip number one, and then took a while to figure links golf out before winning the 2023 Open at Hoylake.
“There's probably 10 different types of clubs, irons, drivers, woods that you can hit off the tee,” he continued Friday at Portrush. “There's different ways to attack into the green, and there's almost always a hill that will kind of kill a shot coming into the green. I just enjoy the creativity and trying to think your way around. You're not forced to hit certain shots. You can kind of do it your own way.”
Today’s giants are even carving out time for leisure rounds at neighboring courses before the Scottish and Open Championship.
“I know a lot of guys really just enjoy this golf course, enjoy the fans over here, enjoy the town of Portrush as well as down the road Portstewart,” said Rickie Fowler after opening with 69-72 and saying he enjoyed some golf last week at Portstewart.
Tyrrell Hatton posted 68-69, said he “feels comfortable” on a links, and his week’s highlight (so far) was a venture over to Ballyreagh for an evening nine.
“It was nice to go out there. We played, I think, in a six-ball, and it was nice to just take your mind off part of the stress of this week,” he said. “It was nice to actually go out there and almost feel like a kid and just enjoy it. I feel it's easy to miss that when you're just going tournament to tournament.”
Not everyone has come to fully grasp the dynamics of links. After posting 65 to go with his opening 78, Bryson DeChambeau acknowledged that his scientifically crafted ball flight is not yet conducive to windy days. Maybe that’s why he hit 17 of 18 greens on Friday.
“I've played the same as I did yesterday, that's links golf for you,” he said. “I didn't feel like I played any different. Today they just kind of went more my way. My wedges were just a fraction better and that was really it. Made a couple more putts. Just really felt like I was rolling it well today. There wasn't much different. That's why links golf is the way links golf is.”
Going from hitting seven greens to 17 and eight fairways instead of four seems like it’s a bit more than luck.
As we head into what promises to be a lively weekend, let’s hope the schedulemakers of professional golf notice that everyone wants more links. Pounce before another generation of point missers messes up the opportunity created by the Portrush’s of the world.
Friday play remained slow but minus a six-hour watch.
Two incredible downpours gave the morning and afternoon waves each a nice dousing to balance out the surrounding benign conditions.
The field pounced on the opening, highlighted by Scheffler’s afternoon 64 on the sails of eight birdies. Matt Fitzpatrick’s 66 also came late and on top of his opening 67, will send him out with Scheffler in the final group Saturday.
Harman (65), Haotong Li (67) are T3 and will be in Saturday’s penultimate pairing.
The top four are three clear of the T5 group who sit at at five-under par. They include Tyrrell Hatton, Robert Macintyre, Harris English and Chris Gotterup.
Saturday’s tee times have been moved up 15 minutes to accommodate the Sons of Ulter parade. But television times remain unchanged. (They are below.)
Lowry Hit With Two-Stroke Penalty
Shane Lowry caused his ball to move at the 12th hole and was docked two strokes by the R&A’s Rules Committee under Rule 9.4.
“I didn't know anything happened until walking up the 15th fairway and then the rules official came over and told me that there was a possibility the ball moved on the 12th for my second shot,” Lowry said after a lengthy review session that involved his playing partners.
The R&A’s statement on the situation:
The review took so long that the group behind Lowry—one that included Patrick Reed—had to be turned away from scoring until the case was resolved.
“I was in there with the rules official and wasn't arguing my case, but I'm disappointed that they don't have more camera angles on it,” Lowry said. “The one zoomed in slow motion -- they're trying to tell me if it doesn't move from the naked eye, if you don't see it moving, it didn't move. I told them I definitely was looking down towards the ball as I was taking that practice swing, and I didn't see it move.”
Lowry said he had to take the penalty “because I can't have my name talked about or tossed around like that, and I just get on with it.”
Scottie Scheffler empathized with Lowry’s situation.
” From what I looked at very briefly on the video, it looked like it was very difficult to see if the ball was moving -- sorry. If the ball moved,” Scheffler said. “The camera was kind of zooming in as stuff was happening.”
Scheffler opted not to take a public stance on the committee decision.
“All I'm going to say is it was a very tough situation for him to be put in, and I thought he handled it really well.”
Less of a shining moment for Lowry: sounding less than enamored with Portrush. Looks like “Dhu Varren” won’t be replaced as Shane Lowry’s.
DeChambeau (65) Is All Over The Place
