Watch out for Matt Fitzpatrick

New York Times

19-07-2025

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler took The 2025 Open Championship by storm on Friday at Royal Portrush, with a stunning round of 64 Getty Images
The second round of the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush saw world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler grab the lead with Matt Fitzpatrick one shot back.
Scheffler finished Friday at 10-under after he added a brilliant round of 64 to his opening 68, while Fitzpatrick has now shot scores of 67 and 66.
Former champion Brian Harman and Haotong Li are two shots back, with Harman going round in 65 today, while Li shot a 67.
Local favorite Rory McIlroy (-3) is still in the mix after shooting a 2-under 69, with 33 players under par heading into the weekend. Share your views: [e-mail]
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Open Championship 2025 Round 2: What to know as Scottie Scheffler takes the lead
Matt Fitzpatrick has never finished better than T-20 at The Open. His 67 yesterday was the lowest opening-round score of his major championship career.
Fitzpatrick is coming off back-to-back top-10 finishes after just one in his first 14 of 2025.
And here's a full look at the leaderboard entering today, with that aforementioned historic five-way tie at the top.
World no. 1 Scottie Scheffler and English star Tyrrell Hatton are among those just one back of the lead.
This is the second-highest number of players tied at the top of the leaderboard after a first round in the history of The Open.
Only The Open at Royal St. George's in 1938 had more co-leaders after the first round, with six.
The first day of the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club featured rain, windy conditions and a lengthy opening round.
It produced a five-way tie for the lead atop the leaderboard at 4-under-par between Harris English, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Jacob Skov Olesen, Haotong Li and Christian Bezuidenhout.
Local boy Rory McIlroy weathered a tricky back nine and poor tee shots to finish 1-under 70, three shots off the lead despite only hitting two fairways. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is one off the lead and in a four-way tie for second after firing a 3-under 68, and he only hit three fairways.
Two-time major winner Jon Rahm, who entered this tournament among the favorites to hoist the Claret Jug, also in the hunt with a 1-under 70.
English had the best round among the afternoon wave of golfers, getting into a share of the lead. While the rain subsided, the wind started to pick up, leading to a long first round that was still going on after 9 p.m. local time.
To catch up on Day 1 of The Open as it happened, check out our day one live blog covering all the action here.
And here are when several notable trios will begin their second rounds at Royal Portrush in the late morning and afternoon local time. Again, co-leaders are noted in italics. 6:26 a.m. ET/11:26 a.m. BST: Padraig Harrington, Nicolai Højgaard, Tom McKibbin
7:09 a.m./12:09 p.m.: Jason Day, Taylor Pendrith, Jacob Skov Olesen
7:20 a.m./12:20 p.m.: Phil Mickelson, Daniel Van Tonder, Ryan Peake
7:41 a.m./12:41 p.m.: Jordan Smith, Haotong Li , Dustin Johnson
8:15 a.m./1:15 p.m.: Thomas Detry, Chris Gotterup, Lee Westwood
8:37 a.m./1:37 p.m.: Thorbjorn Olesen, Matthew Jordan, Filip Jakubcik (a)
9:26 a.m./2:26 p.m.: Hideki Matsuyama, Ryan Fox, Matt Fitzpatrick
9:59 a.m./2:59 p.m.: Xander Schauffele, J.J. Spaun, Jon Rahm
10:10 a.m./3:10 p.m.: Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler
11:16 a.m./4:16 p.m.: Sadom Kaewkanjana, Riki Kawamoto, Sampson Zheng
Here are when several notable trios will begin their second rounds at Royal Portrush in the early to mid morning local time. Co-leaders are noted in italics. 2:08 a.m. ET/7:08 a.m. BST: Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler, Ethan Fang (a)
2:19 a.m./7:19 a.m.: Laurie Canter, Elvis Smylie, Sergio Garcia
3:36 a.m./8:36 a.m.: Rasmus Højgaard, Christiaan Bezuidenhout , Romain Langasque
3:47 a.m./8:47 a.m.: Aaron Rai, Sahith Theegala, Harry Hall
4:25 a.m./9:25 a.m.: Brian Harman, Maverick McNealy, Joaquin Niemann
4:36 a.m./9:36 a.m.: Russell Henley, Tyrrell Hatton, Min Woo Lee
4:47 a.m./9:47 a.m.: Robert MacIntyre, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose
4:58 a.m./9:58 a.m.: Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Åberg, Viktor Hovland
5:09 a.m./10:09 a.m.: Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood
5:20 a.m./10:20 a.m.: Harris English , Nick Taylor, Tony Finau
5:31 a.m./10:31 a.m.: Lucas Glover, Jhonattan Vegas, Tom Kim
Here's where each pin will be located at Portrush during the second round:
Have a look. Take in those dunes. The medieval ruins down along the coastline. The clubhouse walls jammed with mementos of the legends of Portrush.
When you're done, don't bother hurrying out the door. A table of chatty members and a pint of Guinness are waiting for you upstairs.
Royal Portrush Golf Club might be the host of this week's Open Championship and a top 20 course in the world, but it can also be yours for the day.
It will take some significant foresight and a few hundred quid in peak season, but yes, anyone can book a tee time at Royal Portrush, the final men's major championship venue of 2025.
The Portrush philosophy is simple, and it echoes that of other golf clubs around the U.K. and Ireland.
You don't need to pull any strings or solicit an invitation from an influential member. You just need to plan ahead, deploy your credit card, and brace for seaside gusts. Read more about how you can access the club below.
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Open Championship host Royal Portrush is the rare golf major championship venue you can play Getty Images
Royal Portrush Golf Club, founded all the way back in 1888.
It's nestled right along the cliffs on the northern coast of Northern Ireland, and has hosted the Open twice before in its history — 1951 and 2019.
England native Max Faulkner won the 1951 Open at Royal Portrush, while Ireland's own Shane Lowry took home the victory six years ago and is back for another try this year.
The field remains wide open as we start the second round of the 2025 Open Championship.
Can the momentum of playing at home carry Rory McIlroy to a second major championship this year? Will the current leaders build on their strong starts? And where will Scottie Scheffler finish?
Send your thoughts on the above questions or anything else surrounding the Open Championship via email to: [e-mail] and your response could be shared in today's blog. Getty Images
That would be 6:30 a.m. BST, which translates to 1:30 a.m. ET and 10:30 p.m. PT Thursday evening on the east and west coast of the U.S., respectively.
Quite an early morning (or late night) for those on both sides of the pond getting (or staying) up to watch!
Hello! Welcome back to The Athletic 's live coverage of the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Antrim, Northern Ireland.
We enter play on day two with five players tied atop the leaderboard at -4: Harris English, Matt Fitzpatrick, Jacob Skov Olesen, Haotong Li and Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
Yesterday, local legend Rory McIlroy shot a 1-under 70 despite only hitting two fairways, while world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is one off the lead after shooting a 3-under 68 — and he only hit three fairways!
What will day two have in store? Follow along throughout the day to find out.