Imagine he cared. Imagine he really cared. Scottie Scheffler used media duties before the 153rd Open Championship to assess the pointlessness of golf in the grand scheme of life. “If I win, it’s going to be awesome for two minutes,” Scheffler asserted. The world No 1 should already prepare for his 120 seconds of ecstasy. There is an air of inevitability about Scheffler cradling the Claret Jug with only half of this tournament gone. It will be a shock should he not win from here.
Matt Fitzpatrick had the elements to contend with for spells on Friday afternoon. Next came Scheffler, marauding in the rear view mirror, which for a golfer is more troublesome than anything that drops from the sky. Fitzpatrick had only just signed his scorecard for a 66 and nine under total as Scheffler poured in a birdie putt at the 17th. Ten under par.
Scheffler had the good grace to leave an opportunity from 15ft on the last just short of the jaws of the hole. Things are at least still mildly interesting. It was just that Scheffler’s 64, the lowest of this Open so far, felt ominous for pretenders to his throne.
Fitzpatrick believes he reached a professional nadir at this year’s Players Championship. There, he was badly struggling for form and answers. His recent touch has been far more impressive and at least akin to the golfer who scaled the US Open mountain at Brookline in 2022. Fitzpatrick’s only frustration arrived from a missed birdie putt, all 3ft of it, on the penultimate hole. Given Scheffler’s mood, that could prove significant.
“I wouldn’t say I necessarily feel as much pressure,” said Fitzpatrick of a Saturday tee time with Scheffler. “He’s going to have the expectation to go out and dominate. He’s an exceptional player. He’s world No 1 and we’re seeing Tiger-like stuff. I think the pressure is for him to win the golf tournament. For me, obviously I hope I’m going to have some more home support than him but it’s an exciting position for me to be in given where I was earlier this year.”
Fitzpatrick also addressed timekeeping, after rounds stretched to close to six hours on day one. “I do think it’s ridiculous,” he said. “The pace of play has been a combination of the way the golf course is, reachable par fives and all that normal stuff. But it starts with the players as well and starts with the rules officials.”
Brian Harman had made the second-round running, his 65 putting him eight under atop the leaderboard at lunchtime. Li Haotong reached minus nine after 12 but was to tie Harman’s aggregate. Harman won the Open in 2023 and has done precious little over the intervening 24 months. Cue further questions about Harman’s fondness for hunting; animals, not golf titles. Li’s victory in Qatar in February was his first for three years.
Rory McIlroy was long gone by the time Fitzpatrick and Scheffler negotiated the closing stretch. The Masters champion has achieved his first target of Open week by surviving for the closing 36 holes, something he failed to accomplish here in 2019. McIlroy’s 69 for a three-under total has given hope to the vast galleries that have followed him. Saturday promises to deliver more of the Rory Roar.
“I’ve been somewhat close to my best over the first two days in little bits here and there,” McIlroy said. “I’m going to need to have it all under control and have it sort of all firing over the weekend to make a run.
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“It’s incredible to play in front of these fans. 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. I count myself very grateful and very lucky that I’m in this position. I’m excited for the weekend.”
So too is Keegan Bradley. While playing what he describes as the golf of his life, Bradley appears ready to play in and captain the US Ryder Cup team at Bethpage in September. This will be a dual role of genius or lunacy, depending on the result against Europe. Bradley is also three under. His 67 was bogey free. Chris Gotterup, who won the Scottish Open on Sunday, continues to ride the wave. He is five under in the company of Harris English, Bob MacIntyre, Rasmus Højgaard and Tyrrell Hatton.
Nobody who has made the cut can be completely ruled out of winning this major. Should Scheffler have an unlikely stumble, that is. The leaderboard is the most congested thing in Portrush, which takes quite some doing. Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland are even par. Tommy Fleetwood is one better off. The defending champion Xander Schauffele is two under. Bryson DeChambeau spent Thursday retrieving balls from the A2 to Coleraine yet blasted back to breeze into the weekend with a 65. Good old Bryson, never dull.
Those to make an early exit from Northern Ireland included Cameron Smith, whose decline in this environment since making a move to the LIV Tour has been incredible, Adam Scott, Collin Morikawa, Padraig Harrington and Min Woo Lee. What may turn out to be Darren Clarke’s final Open round was of 73 for a plus six total. Next stop, the Harbour Bar.
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