The Open Round 2: Scottie Scheffler Fires 64 and Takes Control at Royal Portrush

Thursday at Royal Portrush was a crowded room. By Friday night, Scottie Scheffler had found the best seat in it.

The world No. 1 shot a 7-under 64 in the second round of the 153rd Open Championship, the lowest round of his major career according to the AP, to reach 10-under 132 and take a one-shot lead over Matt Fitzpatrick. Brian Harman and Li Haotong are two back at 8 under. A big group sits five behind at 5 under: Rasmus Højgaard, Tyrrell Hatton, Robert MacIntyre, Harris English and Chris Gotterup. Rory McIlroy, the man the whole island came to see, is seven back.

Scheffler Turns the Page

On Thursday the conversation was about Scheffler's three fairways. On Friday he found eight of them, and the rest of the game followed. He birdied the first in heavy rain, then rolled off three straight birdies starting at the fifth, the middle one a 35-footer at the sixth. His only blemish came at the 11th, where a drive into deep grass kept him from reaching the green.

The finish was relentless. Scheffler made eight birdies in all, and per the AP five of them came from around 10 feet. A 15-footer for one more on the 18th stopped inches short of the cup, the only thing standing between him and a 63, which would have matched the course record Shane Lowry set in the third round in 2019.

The underrated part of the story is the putter. Per the PGA TOUR, Scheffler ranked second in the field in putting through 36 holes, gaining more than six strokes on the greens. Before this week, he had not gained strokes putting at a links event since 2021. That is the piece that has always kept him from looking fully at home at an Open, and it is suddenly working.

He did not exactly throw a parade for himself. "The tournament is only halfway done," Scheffler said, per the AP.

Fitzpatrick Refuses to Blink

Fitzpatrick did everything but take the lead. The Englishman went out in the afternoon rain and opened the back nine with four straight birdies to charge up the board. Two putts cost him: a 5-footer for par slid by at the 14th, and a 3-footer for birdie at the 17th stayed out. He salvaged plenty at the last by holing a 25-foot par putt to sign for 66 and stay one back.

Fitzpatrick, the 2022 U.S. Open champion, also made a point of saying the pressure on the weekend belongs to the man in front of him, which is a reasonable read and a nice bit of gamesmanship at the same time.

Harman and Li Lurk

Harman knows exactly what winning this championship feels like. The 2023 Open champion went bogey-free for a 65 and only had to scramble for par once. His explanation of links golf was as simple as his scorecard. "You've got to be able to flight your golf ball. You've got to know how far everything's going," Harman said, per the AP.

Li added a 67 to his opening 67, the steadiest 36 holes of anyone in the top four. Li showed off the short game at the 13th, missing the green with the tee shot and still saving par, per the DP World Tour.

Behind them, MacIntyre went from even par to 5 under with a 66 that included six birdies, and Gotterup went one better with a 65. Højgaard added the loudest roar of the late afternoon with a long birdie putt at the 18th.

Rory Hangs Around

McIlroy shot 69 with two bogeys and enters the weekend at 3 under, tied for 12th. The crowd will not abandon him, but the math is not friendly against a player in this kind of form. "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," McIlroy said, per the AP.

Lowry had a stranger day. His ball moved a fraction in the rough on the 12th, and although Lowry was not sure he caused it, he chose to take the two-shot penalty. He shot 72 and sits at even par, 10 shots back. Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth and J.J. Spaun are also at even par.

Cut Line Casualties

The cut fell at 1 over, and it caught some big names. Collin Morikawa and Brooks Koepka both finished at 7 over and are going home, as are Patrick Cantlay and Patrick Reed. Bryson DeChambeau barely escaped. After an opening 78, DeChambeau fired a 65, a 13-shot turnaround, to sneak in at 1 over, 11 back. Thursday co-leader Jacob Skov Olesen also slid to 1 over after a 76.

Defending champion Xander Schauffele (69) is at 2 under, along with Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Justin Rose and Ludvig Åberg. Lee Westwood, 52, is still hanging around at 3 under.

The Weekend Question

The first two days were about weather and survival. The weekend now has a clear storyline: the best player in the world has a lead at a major, a hot putter and a game that looks tailored for wind. Fitzpatrick is one back, Harman has a Claret Jug on his shelf, and Li has not blinked in two days.

Saturday will reveal whether the chasers can make Scheffler uncomfortable, or whether the gap starts to grow.

Read how the week started in our Round 1 recap. For more on Friday, see the PGA TOUR's Round 2 recap (opens in a new tab).

Sources: PGA TOUR (AP Round 2 recap and Scheffler feature), Golf Channel leaderboard, DP World Tour, Golf Today. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.