Key events
Jon Rahm has flipped the momentum after that bogey at 15. He birdied 16 after an approach to three feet and he's just missed an eagle try at 17 after two hefty blows with those popeye arms. That second straight circle on the scorecard has put him back in the top 10: tied seventh at -4.
Cheers for Rahm's birdie are followed by a ‘BOOM!' as Fleetwood follows him in for a ‘4' of his own. Tommy to -4 and very nicely placed to make the fairytale home win an actual thing this weekend.
Bryson blasts another tee shot into orbit down the middle of 18. He deserves that after a smile and doff of the cap for Hatton's birdie at 17. DeChambeau needs birdie to get into the final group of the day tomorrow. Time for a leaderboard update.
-8: Herbert (F)
-6: Suber (F), Young (F), DeChambeau (17)
-5: Burns (F), Gerard (15)
Lovely touch from Bryson DeChambeau at 17. To the side of the green in two, his only chance of stopping the ball is bumping it into an upslope and he executes the shot perfectly. The tap-in takes him to -6 and tied second.
But the biggest roars are for Tyrrell Hatton. From much closer, he also has to come over the crest of a hill but there's no need for a tap-in here as his ball takes the rise, tracks towards the hole and drops. That's birdies at 14, 15 and 17 for the Englishman, who makes a playful move for the crowd to lap up.
Scottie Scheffler? He plays a delicate chip from a sidehill lie but he's holed nothing today and so it continues. The par keeps him at -4.
The Silver Medal for leading amateur isn't handed out if none of them make the weekend. And, as it stands, all 10 are outside the cut line. There is still hope though. Irishman David Howard, who came through Final Qualifying at Dundonald Links in Scotland, is +2 with five to play. If he can pick up just one more shot, he'll be through.
Warm applause for Justin Rose as he walks up 18 but there's a sympathetic tone to it as, at +3, he's going to miss the cut.
Perhaps I've got it wrong and the roar was just someone's TV belting out action from earlier. It runs in the family celebrating highlights. My Dad will often provide live reaction to a wicket even though it's old footage of a Botham five-fer from 1981.
Although hang on, Min Woo Lee has just holed from 22 feet for a birdie at 18 that will sneak him inside the cut line. Perhaps that was it.
As Rahm stalls, fellow ‘rage guy' Hatton makes it back-to-back birdies to join the Spaniard on -2. A wonderful approach over the top of the flag at 16 leaves him just over four feet and he pours it in.
Meanwhile, another big roar travels over to the Media Centere from the nearish-by 18th green. What happened there then?
As I walk back past the big TV screen in the Media Centre having just made a cup of free tea, I look up and catch sight of a furious Jon Rahm. He's bogeyed 15. Combined with his par at 14 and he's not a happy chappy. The Spaniard sits at -2 and will want at least one more birdie before the day is out.
DeChambeau's birdie try from 25 feet across the 15th green pulls up just short. He grimaces but not for long. A tap-in par and then he's touching hands with spectators as he files past and walks to 16, still at -5. It's fair to say a few drinks have been consumed up in the stands in what is a very mild version of TPC Scottsdale's infamous 16th.
Next to play the par-5 14th are Jon Rahm (-3), Tommy Fleetwood (-1) and Jordan Spieth (+4). Rahm unloads an ‘f bomb' after a poor drive that leaves him chipping out with his second while Spieth's chip with shot three ends in a sandy grave on the opposite side of the green. Fleetwood putts up the side of a bunker with his third and it pulls to a stop four feet away. Outcomes? Two-putt par for Rahm, messy bogey for Spieth and a welcome birdie for ‘Tommy lad' but only after his four-foot trickler does a dance around the hole. Fleetwood nudges up to -2.
Despite nearly giving his driver a Basil Fawlty-style damn good thrashing on 14 after a vicious pull, Hatton trundles in his 10-foot birdie putt at the par 5 to get to -1. And there's a birdie too for Scottie Scheffler, the pre-tournament favourite rising to -4 with a six-foot conversion. But Bryson misses the party. A leaked approach and modest chip combine for poor course work and result in a final mark of par.
England not reaching the World Cup final has avoided a mighty clash which the R&A seemed rather blasé about. But if you're a spectator wanting to get away to watch Spain v Argentina, there's not much leeway. Using a technique called ‘when did Scott Murray call the winner in the Guardian blog?' I've discovered that, over the last five Opens, the champion golfer of the year was confirmed at 18:43, 18:24, 18:20, 18:40 and 18:36.
So add in time for players to get to the scorer's hut, some TV interviews and a couple of blokes in brown coats and flat caps bringing on a wonky table to plonk the claret jug on and we're getting worryingly near kick-off time.
Perhaps it's therefore in everyone's interest to hope for a winner who makes a quick and terrible speech. A candidate? Step foward Sam Burns, who could reprise his words from today. Despite shooting a 62 (a 62!) he came out with this: “I would say I'm not a huge fan of links golf. I just haven't played well on links golf. It's not something I'm very familiar with. I get to do it maybe once a year. I don't know what to say.†Throw in a “thankyou and goodnight†and we're good to clear off.
Tyrrell Hatton hooks a tee-shot left at 14 and definitely thinks about standing on his misbehaving driver, leaving it in a tangled, sorry mess. He pulls out of the challenge but VAR are looking at it. The combustible Englishman has just one birdie and two bogeys today with five to play. At even par for the tournament, he has lots of catching up to do. Don't presume he'll unravel though. Hatton is in the McEnroe camp of being fuelled by his own rage.
Behind the scenes. The golf is on a couple of the TV sets in the media canteen but the sound is down, the airwaves instead filled by the sound of Bob Marley. It seemed very appropriate to be asked “just the one love?†by Sheila on the till when I purchased a kit kat. But when she then burst into tears and I replied “no lady, no tearsâ€, it was hard not to think I'd missed an opportunity. Did the great man ever play golf? Not that I know of but you can buy a Bob Marley golf ball on eBay.
DeChambeau is doing his best to bag a spot in Saturday's final group. At 13, he launches a towering iron – apex height 107ft – to around eight feet. Perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself but if he holes that, DeChambeau will have the par 5s at 14 and 17 to go at. He'd need to shoot -7 to be Lucas Herbert's playing partner tomorrow.
And… yes, I went a bit soon. His birdie try at 13 is always missing right. Still, birdies at 14 and 17 along with pars the rest of the way and -7 will be achieved. That's presuming no-one else gets in the mix. Ryan Gerard is the one most likely to disrupt that plan as Bryson's fellow American is also at -5 and still has seven holes to play.
Scottie Scheffler is in Jack Nicklaus hanging around mode. The Golden Bear's major tactic was to put himself in contention and let others make mistakes, those errors often induced by being spooked from Nicklaus' presence on the leaderboard. It probably explains why Jack has 19 runner-up finishes in majors to go with the 18 he won. Clearly, not everyone caved in.
Anyway, Scheffler has made 11 pars and a birdie today. That's good enough for -3 although at some stage he'll have to push harder, won't he?
David Howell, in commentary, describes Tommy Fleetwood as the ‘fifth Beatle' as the locals roar a good approach. It sure is a lengthy list these days. Tommy has some John Lennon vibes or at least looks like one of the entourage that followed The Beatles and the Maharishi to India but I still think George Best's mid-period Fab Four look wins it if the label is given to a sportsman.
At this point, I'll trot out one of my biggest moments of incredulity: Hideki Matsuyama revealing at the 2014 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool that he'd never heard of the Beatles! Astonishing! It was bad enough that Rory thought one of them was called George Lucas or that Bubba couldn't name any of them. But not to have actually heard of the greatest band of all time.
Bryson DeChambeau creeps closer to the lead with birdie at 11. The Open puzzle always seemed something he might struggle to solve but Bryson is now tied fourth here having finished tied eighth in 2022 (St Andrews) and tied 10th (Portrush last year) in two of the last four.
The roar at 18 is explained. It's Jake Knapp holing one from off the green for birdie. It gets him to +2 but that's not going to be enough, unfortunately.
Datagolf have a live prediction tracker and it reads:
Evs – 7.9%
+1 – 92.1%
+2 – 0.0 %
Thanks Scott. The Media Centre is a decent clip from the 18th but pretty sure I just heard a roar coming from that direction. Watch this space.
As you join me, Jon Rahm has just birdied 10 to get to -3. Official status: lurking.
Francesco Molinari leaves a 20-foot eagle putt on 17 ten inches short. Some slight disappointment etched across his face, but he taps in for birdie that takes him right into the thick of it.
-8: Herbert (F)
-6: Suber (F), Young (F)
-5: Burns (F), Molinari (17)
-4: Wallace (F), Cauley (F), Detry (F), MacIntyre (F), A Fitzpatrick (F), DeChambeau (10), Gerard (8)
… and with that, I'll hand over to Dave Tindall. See you tomorrow for Moving Day!
A no-fuss two-putt par for Bryson DeChambeau on 10. But Daniel Brown can't make his 20-foot saver on 18. A closing bogey, which of course will sting, but once he's had a couple of draws on a calming ciggie, he'll reflect that his eagle on 17 has done a lot to limit the damage of an otherwise disappointing day. A 71 to follow yesterday's 66. He's -3.
Here's a stat from Sky Sports. Yesterday the field collectively shot 224 over par; today they're currently 45 under. A lot of that explained by the rough drying out: it's a lot less lush having been baked under constant sun, and thus easier to swish out from. The low scoring may not stop over the weekend … although there is a slight chance of showers tomorrow. Winds getting stronger throughout the day, as they have yesterday and today, so Moving Day could be will be a blast.
Bryson DeChambeau needn't worry about the face of the fairway bunker at 10. He's got enough room to whip into the heart of the green, but doesn't bother taking the pin on. But up on 18, Dan Brown has to chip out sideways. He wedges his third pin high, but will need to knock in a 20-footer if he's to save his par. Meanwhile Victor Perez pulls a short par putt on 15 and slips back to -3.
Trouble off the tee at 18 for Daniel Brown, who finds a bunker down the right. The face shouldn't be an issue, but the stance might. And Bryson DeChambeau also finds fairway sand, at 10, but his problem may be set by the steep face. More when we have it.
Bogeys for both Robert MacIntyre and Alex Fitzpatrick at the last. The former the result of a skied iron from the tee, the latter a drive yanked over some fences down the left. They sign for 69 and 67 respectively, and will start Moving Day at -4. A diminuendo end, but they're both in the mix … as is Dan Brown, who rolls in his eagle putt to return to where he began the day at -4! Smokin'.
Tommy Fleetwood finds a fairway bunker from the tee at 8, and having been forced to take his medicine by splashing out carefully, there goes his first shot of the day. He's back to -2. As is his playing partner Jon Rahm, but from the other direction, making birdie. Meanwhile Bryson's tee shot at 9 ended up in a swale to the right of the green, not quite as bad as the dramatic camerawork suggested. A delicate little bump and run to tap-in distance, and he'll be moving to -4 in a minute.
Daniel Brown has struggled to build on his 66 yesterday. He's currently two over for his round coming up 17 … but from 227 yards, he creams a long iron straight at the flag, the ball landing on the front portion of the green and rolling up to eight feet. He'll have a huge chance for an eagle that would take him back to where he started the day at -4. Meanwhile Bryson DeChambeau goes for the green at the drivable par-four 9th, where Rory McIlroy got so close earlier … and sends one way out right that doesn't look like hooking back as per the plan. More when we have it.
A careless three-putt bogey for Im Sung-jae on 16. Meanwhile bogey for Francesco Molinari on 13 … and an immediate bounce back with birdie at 14. And so here's the state of the new-look leaderboard …
-8: Herbert (F)
-6: Suber (F), Young (F)
-5: Burns (F), MacIntyre (17), A Fitzpatrick (17)
-4: Wallace (F), Cauley (F), Detry (F), Molinari (14), Perez (13), Smalley (11), Gerard (5)
A couple of outrageous shots on the par-five 17th. Bob MacIntyre, whose drive took a lucky kick off the bank to the left of the hole, sends his fairway wood away to the left, and surely into the big bunker. But it somehow skirts around it on the outside, the camber after the trap taking the ball back into the green. Then he rakes in the 40-footer that remains! Talk about taking advantage of your good fortune! That's exactly what you have to do if you're to win the Open. Meanwhile his playing partner Alex Fitzpatrick, up against the face of the bunker Bob Mac had somehow circumvented, opens the club and absolutely hammers his shot up and out; it lands a couple of feet from the hole, an amazing escape from a very unpromising lie, in a bunker 25 yards out. He taps in for birdie, and both players move to -5. What drama! The crowd give it plenty.
Jon Rahm tries he very best to salvage that par at 6. He powers out from the rough to the right of the fairway, from 70 yards to seven feet. But he doesn't commit to the putt, which dribbles by apologetically. His second bogey of the day, and he slips to -1, much closer to the projected cutline than the lead. (The cut looks likely to be level par, maybe +1.)
So who is this unexpected presence sitting in a share of second on the current leaderboard? Andy Bull has your back.
Trouble for Jon Rahm on 6. His drive ends up in thick rough down the left, and unlike most of the trouble around Birkdale this week, the patch he's found hasn't been frazzled by the sun. It's still lush and verdant. And so it grabs the hosel of his six iron, the ball squirting off to the right, across the fairway and into more rubbish. Serious work to be done if he's to escape with a par.
Back-to-back birdies at 11 and 12 for Victor Perez, who inserts himself into the story at -4. The 33-year-old Frenchman, now a LIV golfer, is in good nick after the tie for ninth at the Scottish Open last week that got him into this championship. Meanwhile on 6, Bryson DeChambeau very nearly bounces back with birdie, but his 15-foot putt slips by on the low side. And Thomas Detry, after that 100mph birdie on 15, pars his way in for a 69 that sits very nicely alongside yesterday's 67.
-8: Herbert (F)
-6: Suber (F), Young (F)
-5: Burns (F)
-4: Wallace (F), Cauley (F), Detry (F), A Fitzpatrick (16), Im (14), Perez (12), Smalley (9), Gerard (4)
Im Sung-jae makes one of the pars of the week on the par-five 14. His drive stops just short of a fairway bunker on the left of the hole. He's got a downhill lie, but reckons he's got enough loft with his fairway wood to get over the tall face of the bunker and have a shy for the green. Reader, he does not have enough loft. His ball slaps into the face and plops back into the sand. Trouble now, because he's forced to take his medicine and splash out. He's left hitting four in from 210 yards … and knocks it to 20 feet before curling in his par putt. That is preposterous. Magnificent viewing, and Im remains at -4. If he wins this tournament, they'll roll the film back to that hole more than once.
Bryson is wedging downhill, and downwind, from a tousled lie on the bank to the left of 5. He chops out as delicately as he can, and the ball doesn't release, leaving a tricky 12-footer for an unlikely par. He nearly makes it, but the ball trickles off to the right as his knees buckle in theatrical angst. That would have been an absurd par, really, given not only the initial drive, but the trouble he'd found on the other side of the hole with his provisional, and the luck it took to find the first ball. Bogey is not a bad outcome. Meanwhile Scottie Scheffler screeches a chip from over a bunker on the left to a couple of feet, and that's a birdie. Both of the USA's stellar stars are now -3.
Bryson's ball is under a mat of thickest rough. The average golfer would take one look and think NO WAY. The average professional golfer would think the same. But Bryson is a special one. He literally scythes through the reeds with his wedge, and powers his ball out, over rough, over water … and over the green, onto the grassy knoll on the other side. But that's not the worst result all considered. On that evidence, Bryson may even be able to make a score around this place …
Meanwhile back on 4, the gallery goes wild as Tommy Fleetwood makes it two birdies in three holes. A 25-foot left-to-right slider that never looks like missing. The fast start he was so desperate for. He's -3 now. His partner Jon Rahm can't get up and down from a greenside bunker and slips back to -1.
Apologies to Bryson DeChambeau for the good notice of the previous entry. The golfing gods having been piqued, Bryson carves a wild drive miles right of the short par-four 5th. Over the water, and into the thick reeds. “I wouldn't look for my kids in there,†Sky commentator Rich Beem observed earlier, when Viktor Hovland sent his tee shot in there. But look for it the spotters do, and it appears they've found it. That could be a huge break if so, because he'd hooked his provisional a ways left. Maybe the golfing gods aren't quite so irritated after all.
Bryson DeChambeau sends a gentle draw into the heart of the par-three 4th and rolls in the 20-foot putt. He's missed the cut in all three previous majors this season, but looks right back on his game this week. He might take some stopping. A birdie for Ryan Gerard on 2. And Bob MacIntyre has been quiet after dropping an early stroke at 3, but he's just sent a 20-foot left-to-right slider into the cup at the par-five 14th, and he's finally back where he started the day at -3. Some scoring opportunities still to come, so the chance to turn a bang-average day into a positive one remains.
-8: Herbert (F)
-6: Suber (F), Young (F)
-5: Burns (F)
-4: Wallace (F), Cauley (F), Detry (16), A Fitzpatrick (13), Im (12), Molinari (10), Smalley (7), DeChambeau (4), Gerard (2)
The 2018 champion Francesco Molinari fell off the radar a bit after his near miss at the Masters the following year. A lot of missed cuts in the majors. This is the 43-year-old Italian's first appearance in any of them for a year, and he's making the most of it. A 67 yesterday, and birdie at 3 earlier this afternoon. He finds trouble at 10, though, taking an unplayable in thick rough to the left of the green. He's battling to limit the damage … but then chops out, his ball rolling 60 feet across the dancefloor and straight into the cup. A par that will feel like a birdie, perhaps even more. He remains at -4 overall and it's good to see that infectious smile again. Think how happy Tommy Fleetwood will be for him, too.
Rory McIlroy, slightly deflated but putting on a brave face, talks to Sky Sports and kind of promises a devil-may-care firework display tomorrow. “A little better today … not as many mistakes … I played OK … I stalled a little on the back … overall a decent score … I look at the leaderboard and I'm a long way back … get off to a good start tomorrow and you never know … I've driven the ball really well … we'll see what the wind does … when I can get it close to the green I'm going to try to do that.â€
