In between summer showers, golf’s inevitable force of nature stormed to the front of the Open pack on Friday.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler carded a second-round 64, the lowest score of his already-decorated major-championship career. Supplementing Scheffler’s usual brilliant iron play has been some of the best putting in his career to date. Frankly, it’s been a terrifying development for the other 155 men in this week’s field.
These are the top numbers and notes to know from the second round of the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush.
1. Scheffler made eight birdies on Friday, tied for the field high in a round this week and tied for a personal career best in any major round. That Scottie leads the field in strokes gained approach through two rounds is far from surprising — he’s led the PGA Tour in that metric for three straight years. That he ranks second in the field in putting through 36 holes is the development shaping the top of the Open leaderboard.
Scheffler struggled mightily on the greens last week at the Scottish Open, missing 17 putts inside 10 feet and finishing near the bottom of the field in strokes gained putting. Scottie’s numbers were almost as dismal in his previous starts in this championship, sputtering near the bottom of the putting metrics over the last three years. That’s been completely flipped on its head through two rounds at Portrush, as he’s 30-of-31 putting inside 10 feet and has already holed six of 10 feet or longer.
Perhaps we should take more stock in what Scottie’s done on the greens throughout 2025 instead of recent or strictly links-related fodder. Scheffler is ranked 22nd on tour this season in strokes gained putting, a 140-spot leap from two years ago. Scheffler is now truly a complete statistical package — the only man in the top 25 this season on tour in every strokes gained metric.
Scheffler’s putter has been a weapon this week. (Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
2. This is the fourth time Scheffler has held the 36-hole lead or co-lead in a major championship. He went on to win the two previous times he did it at Augusta National, in 2022 and 2024. At the 2023 PGA, he shared the 36-hole lead with Viktor Hovland and Corey Conners, before ultimately finishing one stroke behind winner Brooks Koepka.
Scheffler is the first reigning world number one player since Tiger Woods to hold the 36-hole lead at this championship. Woods actually did it three times — in 2000, 2005 and 2006. Tiger went on to win each instance. The last world number one not named Woods to lead at the halfway point was Nick Faldo in 1993 (finished second).
This is the 29th time in Open history a player has led by exactly one after 36 holes. Only five of the previous 28 went on to win. A significant caveat to that: the last to successfully convert such a lead at the halfway point was also the last number one to have the chance, Woods in 2006.
3. Scottie’s prolonged run at the top of the sport is beginning to put him in extremely rarified air. Should Scheffler go on to win this weekend, he would be just the fourth player to win a Masters, PGA Championship and Open all before the age of 30. Only Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Woods have done that in the history of the game. Since the first Masters was held in 1934, only seven men have won a fourth career major by the age of 29. Four of them — including Rory McIlroy — went on to complete the career Grand Slam.
Last year, Xander Schauffele became the sixth man to win an Open Championship and the PGA in the same season. If Scheffler becomes the seventh, it will be the first time that has happened in consecutive years.
4. One stroke back and alone in second place is Matt Fitzpatrick, spurred by a rapidly improved iron game. As recently as last month’s Travelers Championship, the 2022 U.S. Open champion was a bit of a mess with that facet of his repertoire, losing 0.05 strokes per round on average. But over his last 10 rounds — a stretch including the first two days here in Portrush — Fitzpatrick is picking up more than a stroke per round with this approach shots and hitting a tidy 75 percent greens in regulation.
Fitzpatrick’s best finish in a major since his win at Brookline was a T8 at May’s PGA Championship. Faldo is both the last Englishman to win an Open and the last to win a second career major championship.
5. Lefty Brian Harman, a winner at Royal Liverpool two years ago, shares third place entering the weekend, just two shots behind his 2023 Ryder Cup teammate Scheffler. The Americans to win two Claret Jugs in three years (or less) is a heavy list: Walter Hagen, Bob Jones, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson and Woods.
While Harman’s putter lifted him to glory in ’23, his ball striking has carried the weight so far this week. Harman enters Round 3 ranked in the top 10 in the field in both strokes gained off the tee and approach.
Haotong Li, also two back, was the last man in the field to card a bogey this week, dropping his first (and only so far) shot of the week at No. 14 on Friday. Only Scheffler has gained more strokes with his approach play through two rounds this week than Haotong.
Li will play in next-to-last group on Saturday. (Glyn Kirk / AFP via Getty Images)
6. Speaking of the Ryder Cup, Tyrrell Hatton and Robert MacIntyre lead a group of five players in a tie for fifth. With rounds of 68 and 69, this is the first time Hatton has started a major championship with consecutive sub-70 scores. The fiery Englishman entered the week with a career 20 percent bogey-or-worse rate in his Open career. He’s made just three through two rounds this week. Hatton’s best career Open finish was a tie for fifth in 2016.
MacIntyre carded a Friday 66, fueled by an excellent day with the driver. His tee ball at the fifth, a short par 4, was a perfect snapshot of the round: a 344-yard downwind strike to the green, resulting in a two-putt birdie. MacIntyre led all players in strokes gained off the tee in Round 2.
7. McIlroy, seven shots back, will need a special weekend in front of home supporters to lift himself into contention. McIlroy drove the ball significantly better in Round 2, hitting seven fairways (five more than Round 1) and gaining more than a stroke on the field with his tee shots. Through two days, McIlroy has hit driver just 11 times, a testament to both the discipline asked by Royal Portrush and the struggles McIlroy is currently fighting through with what is, historically, his greatest weapon.
It’s unlikely — but not unprecedented — for Rory to make a run. Six players have won the Open when trailing by seven or more through 36 holes, the last being Ernie Els in 2012.
8. Bryson DeChambeau authored a phenomenal turnaround on Friday, going from an opening 78 to a second round 64 to make the cut on the number. DeChambeau made seven birdies in Round 2 after not making any in his opening round. He is the first player to go birdie-less in Round 1 of an Open, then turn around and make seven or more in Round 2, since Camilo Villegas did it in 2008.
DeChambeau’s quantum leap came with his irons. The two-time U.S. Open champion lost about three strokes to the field with his approach shots in Round 1 but gained roughly that many in Round 2. Bryson’s 65 ties his lowest career round at the Open — he finished the 2021 edition at Royal St. George’s with that same score.
9. Both of this week’s defending champions, one of trophy and the other of course, will advance to the weekend. Xander Schauffele (-2), the 2024 Open Champion, will play the weekend in a major for the 15th consecutive time after making four birdies on the back nine. Shane Lowry, the 2019 Open champion at Royal Portrush, squeaked in with one shot to spare despite back-to-back doubles Friday on 11 and 12. Lowry was assessed a two-stroke penalty on No. 12 after it was determined a practice swing inadvertently moved his ball.
Jordan Spieth made it as well, extending the longest active cuts made streak at the Open to 12. Fellow Texas Longhorn Justin Leonard is in on the number, playing the weekend at an Open for the first time in a dozen years. Phil Mickelson (22nd made cut), Lee Westwood (22) and Sergio Garcia (21) are all in, too.
10. The players in the afternoon/morning draw generated a 36-hole total score about 1.3 strokes better than their counterparts who went out early-late. Of the 70 players to advance to the weekend, 39 came from the easier p.m./a.m. side.
Since 1970, 89 percent of Open winners have been within four strokes of the lead after 36 holes. There is, however, a very recent exception to that — Schauffele was six back at the halfway point a year ago at Royal Troon. If you are looking for a different cut-off point on the leaderboard, 44 of the previous 47 men’s major winners have been T9 or better entering the third round.
(Top photo: Andrew Redington / Getty Images)
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