Key events
On 17, Kim Si-woo wedges from a bank to the right of the green to three feet, and makes the birdie putt that takes him to within a shot of the lead. He's -8. And at 15 it's another bogey for Cameron Young, whose bid has unravelled in the last hour. He's -4.
Bryson DeChambeau nearly drains an uphill 50-footer on 16 for another birdie. The ball shaves the right-hand edge of the cup. Such a good putt, but he doesn't get his reward. Sam Burns nearly makes pretty much the same putt, but his dies a couple of rolls shy. At -6 and -9 respectively, they move on.
Birdie for Jackson Suber on 14. The latest to get up and down from a greenside bunker on that hole. At -8, he's now just one stroke behind his playing partner Lucas Herbert, whose attempt to go clear of co-leader Sam Burns is scuppered when his pretty straight 12-foot birdie putt horseshoes out.
Scottie Scheffler finishes the day with a wild zig-zag up 18. A drive over the fences on the left, his second back over the fence, then over the bunkers to the right of the green, then a chip swished up to three-and-a-half feet. He tidies up for par, but a level 70 wasn't what the defending champion was looking for today. He's -4. Whether he'll be starting early enough to take any Ryan Fox-style advantage is a moot point. Either way, he'll need to go very low if he wants to keep hold of the Claret Jug. His Jug jig looks up, if we're being honest.
It's back-to-back birdies for Ryan Gerard. He gets up and down from a greenside bunker at 14, and moves to -7. Also moving in the right direction: Bryson DeChambeau, who creams his tee shot at the par-three 15th to six feet and carefully rolls in the birdie putt. He's -6, and suddenly that big save on the previous hole looks even larger in scale now!
Tommy's ball had in fact squirted out of the rough it had initially disappeared into, and rested near the grandstand at the back. He takes Texas Wedge, and rolls up to six feet, then raises the roof as he tickles in for bogey. That's some fine damage limitation, but a round of 69 promised to be so much better, and he ends the day at -5. He embraces his pal Jon Rahm, who ended the day with a 70, his dream pretty much dashed by that wild opening tee shot. Rahm is -4.
Bryson gets up and down from the swale at the back of 14. That's some par, given where his second shot ended up. But he was after something more. He remains -5, four off the lead … and that lead is now co-owned by Sam Burns, who tramlines a 30-footer for birdie that would still be rolling now if it hadn't hit the cup!
-9: Burns (14), Herbert (13)
-8: Fox (F)
-7: Kim (15), Suber (13)
The pressure of crowd-pleasing finally proves too much for poor Tommy Fleetwood. Having taken his medicine on 18, he hooks his approach wide left, and his ball disappears into thick rough. That's a huge miss, following the poor tee shot, and he turns away from the green with a look on his face that suggests his Open dream is dying. That's not quite the case yet, but he's going to have to stem the bleeding here, if he's not to make his job super-difficult tomorrow. Meanwhile Jackson Suber finds a fairway bunker on 13 and it eventually costs him a stroke. He slips back to -7. And Scottie Scheffler misses yet another birdie putt, this time on 17, and walks off fuming. He remains -4.
Bryson's ball trickles into a greenside bunker at the front of the par-five 14th. Right up against the left-hand edge, the face looming in front, he's got no stance whatsoever. One foot in the sand, one knee on the edge, he leans in and slashes hard at the ball. The contact's not great, but any contact is an achievement, and his ball flies over the tall face … but also over the green. Big up and down for par coming up here.
“This weekend has been dynamite, quite apart from the golf,†begins Simon McMahon. “Just waiting on Donald / Gianni / Bobby Mac / Kent Brockman wading in with their hot take on Bryson. Slogans written on bed sheets for sure. Plenty effing and jeffing too. Why can't we all just be nice? Like Tommy Fleetwood. Come on Tommy!†Sad to report, Simon, that the local lad has been stumbling his way home a wee bit. No birdie since 11, that bogey on 15, a disappointing par on 17, and now he's slam-dunked his drive into a fairway bunker to the left of 18. He's forced to take his medicine and bash out. He's battling to save par now.
Ryan Gerard rakes in a middle-distance putt on 13 to return to -6, where he began the day. About time for a leaderboard update, dear old golfing pals o'mine.
-9: Herbert (12)
-8: Fox (F), Burns (13), Suber (12)
-7: SW Kim (14)
-6: Ã…berg (F), Fleetwood (17), Gerard (13)
-5: Neergaard-Petersen (F), DeChambeau (13), C Young (13)
Tommy Fleetwood's birdie effort is always destined to die on the low side. A frustrating par on a hole that's averaging 4.53. In the meantime, Ludvig Ã…berg splashes out from a bunker guarding the front left of 18 to a couple of feet, and the resulting par gives him a round of 67. He's back in the clubhouse on -6. He's been going round today with Shane Lowry, who also pars the last for a round of 69. The 2019 champion is -4. The Ryder Cup pals embrace each other with broad smiles; both of them are in with a shout tomorrow!
Tommy Fleetwood is this close to holing out from 60 yards on the par-five 17th for eagle. Two bounces and it was inches from in. However it continues to bound 15 feet past, and birdie is not a gimme. What a difference it would make. Meanwhile back on 16, Scottie Scheffler, putting through his own shadow, shoves a five-footer for par egregiously right, and that's his first bogey of the day. It just doesn't look like it's going to happen for the world number one this week, his putter just not functioning properly. It's also totally possible that he'll suddenly catch fire tomorrow, so let's not bother bookmarking this entry. Back to -4, where he started the day.
A no-fuss birdie for Jackson Suber on 11. Tee shot down the middle, approach to ten feet, putt into the centre of the cup. The debutant – who, it bears repeating, played his very first round of links golf this Monday just gone – returns to -8.
Bryson in the bunker part two. He clips his ball out of the bunker at 12 with great elegance, and will surely tidy up from three feet. In it goes. Another fist pump. He's hanging on a bit here, but that's what you have to do in majors. A case in point: Cameron Young, who drops a shot at 11 having sent his tee shot into a fairway bunker, then makes another bogey after being forced to chip despite being on the par-three 12th green, rough jutting into the kidney-shaped green getting in his road. He doesn't get close, and slips back to -5, alongside DeChambeau, in short order.
Bryson DeChambeau powers out of a steep-faced greenside bunker at 12 and knocks in the ten-footer that remains for par. But he'll have to do it all again at 13, finding more sand, to the right of the green. Meanwhile Lucas Herbert's spawny journey up 11 continues, as he pulls his second, the ball bounding off a grassy knoll to the left of the green and back on, pin high. If that birdie putt goes in from 16 feet, lump on, because the golfing gods are currently rooting for the 30-year-old Aussie.
Ludvig Ã…berg could be the sleeper hit of this tournament. Having operated on the margins for most of the week, he walks in a left-to-right slider on 17 for birdie, and at -6 he's now a major player in this story. Meanwhile an outrageous slice of good fortune for the leader Lucas Herbert, who carves a 3-wood taken for safety towards a hazard running down the right of 11. His ball hits the bank of the stream on the far side, then bounces on the opposite bank, before springing up and landing safe, outside the red line on the left-hand side. The thin margins between success and failure at golf.
A big par save for Scottie Scheffler on 14. Like Tommy Fleetwood before him, he gets up and down from the bunker front-left of the green, although unlike Fleetwood he didn't explode out from the sand to a couple of feet, and requires the holing of a ten-foot putt to save his par. He modestly punches the air, knowing how big that could be. Speaking of Tommy, he sends his tee shot at the new par-three 15th down a swale to the right, and there's no escaping this time. His first bogey of the day, met to almost complete silence, and the local hero slips to -6, three off the pace.
Bryson doesn't get a good lie down the left of 11. But he's got the power and skill to muscle one into the heart of the green … then nearly drains a downhill right-to-left swinger from 40 feet. He swishes the air with his putter in great annoyance. Par's not the worst outcome after that tee shot. He's -5.
Lucas Herbert's drive at the short par-four 9th stops just short of a bunker to the right. He's got enough space to putt around the right-hand side of it, the contours taking his ball to tap-in distance. He's regained the leadership he enjoyed last night: he's -9. Meanwhile birdie for Jon Rahm at 14, and he's back to where he started the day. That double bogey on 1 so costly. What he'd give to take that OB tee shot again. (Well, he did have to take it again, but you get the gist.)
-9: Herbert (9)
-8: Fox (F), Burns (10)
Bryson DeChambeau's driving has been getting a little ragged of late. Fairways missed at 8 and 10, and now another wild one at 11. He's caught good lies so far; his heart will be in his mouth right now as the ball disappears from sight. Meanwhile a staunch up-and-down from a pot bunker at the side of the 14th green by Tommy Fleetwood, and the gallery erupts in relief. The home hero remains -7.
Bogey for Kim Si-woo on 11. Always out of position after missing the fairway to the left. Ryan Fox, long relaxing in the clubhouse, must be getting through the metaphorical brandy and cigars at the moment.
-8: Fox (F), Burns (10), Herbert (8)
-7: Fleetwood (13), SW Kim (11), C Young (9), Suber (8)
-5: Neergaard-Petersen (F), Ã…berg (16), Scheffler (13), DeChambeau (10), Gerard (9)
Scottie Scheffler can't get a putt to drop at all. He tickles a downhill 30-footer towards the cup on 13, and it's in all the way, until it isn't, and kinks off to the left on its last turn. He squats on his haunches before puffing out his cheeks in irritation. Just the one birdie today and a slew of pars. He remains at -5, but if those putts do start toppling in, he's within easy reach of the leaders, whom he could quickly and efficiently swipe aside one by one, in short order, with the wind behind.
Rory: ‘I won’t defend Bryson … I’m not fond of him’
The latest dispatch from Ewan Murray at Royal Birkdale. Rory McIlroy's been telling it as he sees it, and you won't be hearing the last of this.
Kim Si-woo takes another step towards the top with birdie at 10. A 20-foot rake takes the 31-year-old Korean to -8. Bogey at the last for Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, who signs for a 67 and ends his day at -5. And on 9, Sam Burns can't get close with his first putt, and pays the price with bogey. That's extremely careless on a hole that's averaging 3.93. Speaking of extremely careless, his playing partner Bryson DeChambeau shoves a three-foot birdie putt wide right, to audible gasps, and remains at -5. The leaderboard bunches.
-8: Fox (F), SW Kim (10), Burns (9), Herbert (7)
-7: Fleetwood (13), C Young (8), Suber (7)
-5: Neergaard-Petersen (F), Ã…berg (14), Scheffler (12), DeChambeau (9), Gerard (8)
Lucas Herbert pours in his birdie putt on 7, and he's back on terms for his round today at -8. Over on 9, Sam Burns has indeed caught a good break, and even though he's hitting blind into the green off a bare lie, he'd have taken that when peering at his tee shot sailing away in the wrong direction. He finds the back portion of the green, and won't have an easy two-putt, but at least par is now possible.
Sam Burns is already four under for his round through eight holes. What price consecutive 62s?! Ah, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves … and perhaps a little giddy upon hitting the top of the leaderboard, Burns yanks his tee shot at 9 towards trouble down the left. He might have gotten a break on a dust path. Let's wait and see. Meanwhile on 9, Bryson whips his drive greenside, in exactly the same place Rory chipped in from earlier. And on 7, Lucas Herbert screws his tee shot to five feet. This Open is great fun.
Lucas Herbert lags his long birdie putt on 6 to tap-in distance. He'd have snatched that par from your hands when he was in thick rough to the right of the fairway. Jackson Suber nearly drains his long par saver, but he'd have taken bogey when watching his drive fly towards real filth down the left. He copped a good lie in the circumstances, even if he didn't take full advantage of it. And up on 7, Sam Burns makes his birdie putt to claim sole ownership of the lead. It's all happening on Moving Day!
-9: Burns (7)
-8: Fox (F)
-7: Fleetwood (12), SW Kim (9), C Young (7), Suber (6), Herbert (6)
-6: Neergaard-Petersen (17)
-5: Ã…berg (13), Scheffler (11), DeChambeau (8), Gerard (7)
Jackson Suber's drive at 6 goes miles left. He's got a blind shot off a dusty lie. He duffs his second, which sails over to the right-hand rough. Not the s-word, but not good. He wedges his third into the middle of the green, refusing to take on the flag and the bunker in front of it. Taking his medicine, and he's still got the chance of making a long par saver. Meanwhile his playing partner Lucas Herbert hits his second from the other side of the hole, and finds the heart of the green. And up on 8, Sam Burns wedges close from 90 yards and will have a good look at another birdie.
Tommy Fleetwood tidies up for his birdie. Birkdale responds. Fleetwood flashes that smile. Sam Burns also finishes his job, and joins the leaders. Meanwhile Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen holes out from 15 yards on 17 for eagle, chipping in from atop a greenside bank, and the Dane is closing in on a very enjoyable supper. And in more Scandi-news, Ludvig Ã…berg, who opened with bogey today, has birdied 2, 5 and now 13 to arrive just in time to the party!
-8: Fox (F), Burns (7), Suber (5)
-7: Fleetwood (11), SW Kim (8), C Young (6), Herbert (5)
-6: Neergaard-Petersen (17)
-5: Ã…berg (13), Scheffler (10), DeChambeau (7), Gerard (6)
Lucas Herbert's tee shot at 5 is swallowed by one of the deep bunkers to the left of the green. He's right up against the lip, with not much of a stance. So he turns sideways and blasts up and over, into a little saucer between the bunker he's in and the one further on. That was smart thinking, although he didn't really have many other options. He putts up from the depression to close range, and will be extremely happy to get out of Dodge with his par. Meanwhile his playing partner Jackson Suber birdies, having been unlucky not to drive the green, but knocked up close from the swale. He joins Ryan Fox in the lead at -8. Updated leaderboard to come, because Sam Burns has just stuck his tee shot at 7 to a couple of feet, while Tommy Fleetwood came very close to holing out from 150 yards on 11. More movement to come soon, surely.
An utterly brilliant birdie for Bryson DeChambeau on 6. He arrows his tee shot straight. He muscles his second onto the back-right portion of the green. Then he makes a 35-footer that sets out miles to the left – he's got that wrong, you'd think, surely?! – but then takes a huge turn to the right on the final third of its journey, and drops into the cup without touching the sides. A putt of the utmost perfection. And when DeChambeau set that ball off so far to the left, he looked after it excitedly: he knew he'd got that spot on. He's back to -5, where he started the day.
Cameron Young makes his first move of the day. The Players champion sends his drive to the left of the 5th green, questioning why he didn't get any cut. His ball ends up behind one of the big bunkers, the pin tucked behind, very little green in between. He opens the face of his wedge and goes hard and high. What bravery. What a result, four feet from the flag. He rolls in the putt for birdie. And up on the par-three 7th, Kim Si-woo gets some reward for courage too, screeching his tee shot five feet from a flag tucked front left, surrounded by traps. In goes the putt, and the top of the leaderboard is bunching up rather attractively.
-8: Fox (F)
-7: SW Kim (7), Burns (5), C Young (5), Suber (4), Herbert (4)
-6: Fleetwood (10)
-5: Scheffler (9), Gerard (5)
A doughty par save for Lucas Herbert on 4. Having missed the green to the right, his chip up dribbles away eight feet to the left. Staring a second successive bogey in the face, he rolls the putt, which has a little left-to-right hurt, into the centre of the cup. Perfectly judged. He remains at -7 and that should settle the 30-year-old Aussie after a shaky start.
