Scottie Scheffler raced to the top of the leaderboard in the second round of the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.
Scheffler fired a stunning 7-under 64 to vault to 10-under par for the tournament.
The World No.1 is going in search of a first Claret Jug this Sunday.
Should he win The Open, he will also move to within one leg of the career grand slam.
Scheffler, who has two Masters wins and a PGA Championship to his name, leads by one shot over England's Matt Fitzpatrick, who went round in an equally impressive 66.
Brian Harman, who won The Open in 2023, and Haotong Li are in a tie for third on 8-under par.
The quartet have put a bit of daylight between themselves and the rest of the field.
Tyrrell Hatton, Bob MacIntyre, Harris English, Rasmus Hojgaard and Chris Gotterup make up the top five on 5-under par.
Elsewhere, Rory McIlroy could only manage a 69 to bump himself up to 3-under par.
Defending champion Xander Schauffele matched McIlroy's score to move to 2-under par.
Shane Lowry, who won The Open last time out at Portrush, was assessed a two-stroke penalty after his round for a moving ball and he fell from 2-under to level par.
Jon Rahm had a day to forget with a 72 and he also looks on from well of the pace at level par.
His LIV Golf peer Bryson DeChambeau battled back to make the cut on 1-over par courtesy of a brilliant 65.
Scottie Scheffler | -10 | 64 |
Matt Fitzpatrick | -9 | 66 |
Brian Harman | -8 | 65 |
Haotong Li | -8 | 67 |
Harris English | -5 | 70 |
Rasmus Hojgaard | -5 | 68 |
Bob MacIntyre | -5 | 66 |
Tyrrell Hatton | -5 | 69 |
Chris Gotterup | -5 | 65 |
Scroll down this page for live second round leaderboard and latest score updates from the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush...
Scheffler -7 (7)
Shall we just etch his name on the Claret Jug now?
This looks ominous already.
Scheffler taps in for a birdie on the par-5 7th to move to 7-under par and just one back.
Conditions are calm and birdies are there to be made coming in now.
Rahm -3 (7)
Rahm finds the front edge at the par-5 7th and then two putts for his birdie.
The LIV Golf superstar progresses to 3-under par, but that's still some way off the pace at 5-under.
Scheffler -6 (6), Li -8 (14), Fitzpatrick -6 (8)
Another day, another afternoon of Scottie Scheffler domination.
Eminently unflappable, he drains a 30-footer for back-to-back birdies on the 5th and 6th.
It proves well-timed, as Fitzpatrick bogeys 8 and, finally, Haotong Li drops his first shot of the tournament at the 14th.
Just like that, the world number one is two shots off the lead and in a standalone fourth.
Never a tournament to be overshadowed for long, the chosen venue of the 2031 Ryder Cup has apparently been selected, according to the AP.
After taking in Ireland's Adare Manor in 2027 and Hazeltine in 2029, the tournament will reportedly hit Spain's Cameral Golf and Wellness resort in 2031.
You can read more about that here.
Fitzpatrick -7 (7)
A bogey at the 5th threatened to derail Matt Fitzpatrick's momentum, but he's playing like a potential champion right now, dusting himself off and getting right back on the horse.
After a par at 6, he claims his fourth birdie in seven holes at 7 to move within a shot of Harman and two of Li at the very top.
Li -9 (12)
That's 30 holes without a bogey for Haotong Li so far and counting. He's -9 for the tournament, 5-under for the day, has hit 11/12 greens in regulation today, and stands clear as your standalone leader.
Imperious.
Bhatia -2 (5)
He's not been a huge fixture in conversations for the first day and a half of play, but whatever Akshay Bhatia did this morning to get ready clearly worked.
He's birdied four of his first five holes to move 2-under and put his name firmly back in the mixer.
It seems Rory McIlroy would agree with our previous assessment: solid, with a couple of shots left out there that could well make the difference come the close of play on Sunday.
"I feel like it was a solid day," he tells the BBC. "Just like yesterday was a solid day. I feel like I could be a couple of shots better but I'm here for the weekend which is an improvement on 2019.
"I'm excited to play in front of those crowds and make a run at it over the weekend."
Lowry -2 (3)
Lowry approaches the ultra-tight pin position on 3 with plenty of aggression, and is rewarded as his excellent pitch finds the green just a few feet from the hole. He putts in for birdie to get his round started with plenty of momentum, before very nearly sending a drive OB to start the 4th.
Li -8 (10), Fitzpatrick -6 (4)
We're four holes into Matt Fitzpatrick's second round and already he's reminding us of the form that took him to the top of the leaderboard yesterday.
Despite the driving rain, he's birdied two of his first four holes and sits in a standalone third.
He's now two shots behind Haotong Li, who capitalises on an outstanding approach at 10 to move 8-under and halve the lead with Brian Harman.
McIlroy -3 (69), Fleetwood -1 (68), Thomas -1 (69)
If you'd have offered Rory McIlroy 3-under going into the weekend at the start of the tournament, you sense he'd probably have taken it.
Even so, there's a sense of missed opportunity for the world number 2, who has lots of work ahead of him to keep up with the leaders as the likes of Brian Harman and Matt Fitzpatrick surge. While he's largely been tidy, time will tell how much his struggles from the tee and around the greens will ultimately cost him.
Fleetwood's excellent round is dampened somewhat by a bogey on the 18th, but he's done enough to get himself back into the mix going into the weekend. He joins groupmate Justin Thomas at -1.
Scheffler -4 (1), Lowry -1 (1)
As the unprotected Portrush masses flee for cover at the Open Arms, Scottie Scheffler seems entirely unfazed by the rapid change in conditions. He immediately opens his day two account with a birdie to go 4-under and tied for 8th. The rain never bothered him anyway.
In the same grouping, Shane Lowry begins with a steady par.
Hold on to your brollies, things are about to get spicy.
After a morning of tame weather, an ominous weather front is starting to roll in, with it comes the rain, with umbrellas going up in many of the grandstands across Royal Portrush.
Those who teed off earlier this morning will be more than happy to get off the course as soon as they can. The likes of Fitzpatrick, Lowry and Scheffler, who are really just getting underway, will be cursing their luck.
GolfMagic's resident Australian passport holder is back on the blog, so let's do a check-in on our friends from Down Under.
It's not great viewing all-up. As things stand, only Marc Lieshman is making the cut, sitting at -1.
Min Woo Lee posted a 74 to end his tournament at +5, Jason Day is currently at +3, and Elvis Smylie entered the clubhouse with the same score.
Curtis Luck, former Champion Cameron Smith and Adam Scott, meanwhile, have had a couple of days to forget. They're +8, +8 and +9 respectively.
McIlroy -3 (15)
A groan from Rory McIlroy at the 15th, who misjudges his approach and watches his golf ball trundle off the green.
Still, McIlroy manages to escape with a par and is eyeing up his tee shot at the par-3 16th.
Great look at birdie coming up...
Harman -8 (65)
Brian Harman pours his birdie putt at the 18th right in the middle of the cup.
We didn't expect anything different given his performance on the greens today.
That's a 6-under 65.
Brian Harman leads The Open Championship by one.
Li -7 (6)
Sensational from Haotong Li, who almost aces the par-3 6th!
Brian Harman has company.
Harman -7 (18*)
Brian Harman is putting on a show.
A perfect drive is followed by an even better approach. Great chance to get to 8-under to close.
Li -6 (5)
Haotong Li is not letting up.
Few would have expected him to be at the top of the leaderboard after round one and he's playing superbly today.
Li grabs his second birdie of the day at the 5th.
Fleetwood -2, McIlroy -3, Thomas E (13)
Huge roars erupt from the 13th grandstand, as Rory McIlroy jars a long one to move to 3-under and four back of Brian Harman's lead.
Will McIlroy snatch a few more birdies to close out his second round?
Royal Portrush doesn't whisper. It roars.
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 18, 2025
Rory moves to three-under with a birdie. pic.twitter.com/R799V8viL0
DeChambeau +2, MacIntyre -5, Rose -2 (15)
Justin Rose receives an almighty roar after finding his second birdie in four holes.
Rose took a tumble down the leaderboard with an ugly triply bogey on the front nine, but has bounced back nicely.
Fleetwood -2, McIlroy -2, Thomas -1 (13)
Rory McIlroy watches another good birdie putt trickle by. He'll remain 2-under. As will Tommy Fleetwood.
Thomas, meanwhile, grabs his second birdie of the day.
Finau -4 (12)
Tony Finau vaults up the leaderboard with a 25-foot eagle putt at the 12th.
Pos | Player | R2 | Thru | Total |
1 | B. Harman | -5 | 15 | -7 |
2 | H. English | -2 | 11 | -6 |
T3 | H.T. Li | -1 | 3 | -5 |
T3 | R. Højgaard | -3 | 18 | -5 |
T3 | T. Hatton | -2 | 14 | -5 |
T3 | R. MacIntyre | -5 | 13 | -5 |
7 | M. Fitzpatrick | E | 0 | -4 |
T8 | N. Højgaard | -1 | 8 | -3 |
T8 | M. Jordan | E | 1 | -3 |
T8 | S. Scheffler | E | 0 | -3 |
T8 | S. Kaewkanjana | E | 0 | -3 |
T8 | K. Bradley | -4 | 18 | -3 |
T13 | L. Westwood | E | 2 | -2 |
T13 | C. Bezuidenhout | 2 | 18 | -2 |
T13 | H. Hall | -4 | 17 | -2 |
T13 | L. Åberg | -4 | 13 | -2 |
T13 | R. McIlroy | -1 | 12 | -2 |
T13 | T. Fleetwood | -4 | 12 | -2 |
DeChambeau +2 (13)
Simply unreal effort from Bryson DeChambeau today, who moves onto the projected cut line with the easiest of birdies at the 13th.
DeChambeau zipped a wedge to a matter of inches...
That's three birdies in a row.
Important back-to-back birdies for Bryson DeChambeau.
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 18, 2025
He's at three-over. pic.twitter.com/vMepotQe7Z
