Robert TheodorsonAustralia’s Lucas Herbert set the tone for Friday morning, and perhaps for the tournament, shooting a record-tying 62 for the second round of the 154th Open.
Nine birdies, eight pars, and one costly mistake to cost the major championship single round scoring record.
Herbert took a chance to record a 59 all the way to the 17th hole. With a par on the second-to-last hole, Herbert maintained his chance to make history going into the 18th. When an errant tee shot landed a foot or two away from the spectator gates, Herbert followed up with an excellent escape shot which then turned into an excellent chip onto the green, only a few feet away from the pin – it looked like a record-breaking 61 was a certain thing.
Unfortunately, for the first time all day, Herbert’s nerves got the best of him as he missed what many would consider a ‘gimmee’ – and so it was not meant to be, and the major championship round record of 62 stands for another day, but at least Herbert’s name is now in the history books next to several of his esteemed colleagues.
Despite the last-second choke, Herbert’s 62 has him squarely in the lead heading into the weekend and with it transforms the LIV Golf star into one of the favorites to win.
The featured group of Bryson DeChambeau (T5 place; 5-under par*), Scottie Scheffler (T8; 4-under par), and Tyrrell Hatton (T17; 3-under par), provided plenty of entertainment throughout the round. For fans at home and at Royal Birkdale, it may prove to be one of the best threesomes we’ve ever seen! DeChambeau and Scheffler were able to climb up the leaderboard with second-round scores of 68 and 68, respectively.
After some mid-round struggles and treading water for the most part of the day, Englishman Tyrrell Hatton finally broke through with birdies on 14, 16, and 17 to end his day to the delight of the cheering crowd.
A near-perfect day of golf was marred by Open officials who continued their cowardly persecution of Bryson DeChambeau after suggesting the star had improved his lie by stepping on some tall grass back on the 5th hole.
While looking for his ball in some tall rough, DeChambeau, accompanied by a sizeable camera crew – had moved around and near the area of his ball looking for an advantageous shot. The shot was taken, and play continued uninterrupted until DeChambeau was set to head to the clubhouse after the 18th. After much deliberation behind closed doors, officials assigned a two-stroke penalty to DeChambeau, dropping his score from 7 to 5-under par.
Winners
- Lucas Herbert wasn’t the only member of the field who shot a 62 on Friday. Sam Burns tied that mark with a perfect 8-under par round brining his two-day cumulative score to 5-under par.
- Tommy Fleetwood did his best to woo the local fans as the hometown hero was fantastic in getting on the green, though his finishing ability with the putter will need to improve if he hopes to push past the contenders and finally breakthrough for that elusive first major championship!
- Ludvig Aberg, Patrick Reed, and Adam Scott all had over-par first rounds but recovered in a big way on Friday morning each shooting a 66. All legitimate contenders for this Open, they’ll survive the cut and look to use their star power to make a strong weekend push.
- Speaking of big names who kept themselves in the tournament, Rory McIlroy’s 67 was a huge bounce back from some porous play on Thursday. Widely considered the favorite to win The Open, Rory will go into Saturday in a good position to contend.
Losers
- Jordan Spieth, there are no words…but we’ll try. What looked like a so-so day ended in absolute disaster on the Par 5 17th. Spieth’s total score of 9 on the hole was something you never want to see happen, whether it be on your local golf course playing with friends, or watching a pro, especially one of Spieth’s calibre, struggle so mightily. About to turn just 33 years old in a week, it’s sad to see a fan favorite like Spieth headed towards the PGA Tour’s Track 2 circuit.
- Matt Fitzpatrick (4-over par) and Justin Rose (3-over par) , two of England’s native sons and rather big favorites to win this tournament did not survive the cut and will be headed home early. Both men have enough FedExCup points to skip all the tournaments leading up to the Cup Playoffs which begin August 13th in Memphis.
- Like Fitzpatrick and Rose, Wyndham Clark figured to be a favorite for this tournament after dominating golf for the month of June, and that of course includes winning his second U.S. Open trophy at Shinnecock. Clark’s first round 73 was just enough to bury the two-time major winner beneath the cut line.
- The amateurs who executed superbly to qualify for The Open, but could not play up to the level of their professional colleagues.
