Imperious Scheffler rises into British Open midway lead
Scottie Scheffler ignited his bid for a maiden British Open title by surging through the field to take a one-shot lead after the second round at Royal Portrush on Friday.The world number
one brushed aside 2 torrential rain showers in Northern Ireland to fire a seven-under par 64, the very best round of the week so far, and send out an ominous caution to his title rivals.Advertisement He is 10-under overall at the midway
phase, one stroke clear of Matthew Fitzpatrick.”Thankfully, it didn’t pour the whole time,”said Scheffler after his lowest round in a major.”We just had perhaps four or five holes where it was actually boiling down, and I had the ability to benefit from the holes where we had some excellent weather condition. “Fitzpatrick produced a brilliant 66 to boost his hopes of ending up being the first English winner because Nick Faldo claimed his 3rd title in 1992. Brian Harman, the 2023 champion, is one shot further behind on eight-under, along with China’s Li Haotong.Advertisement Home favourite Rory McIlroy carded a two-under par 69 to reach three-under for the competition, but is already 7
strokes off the
pace.Scheffler struggled off the tee on Thursday but still scored a first-round 68 to sit one stroke off the overnight lead.He got his 2nd settle to a flying start with a first-hole birdie in driving rain.The PGA Champion winner then reeled off 3 successive birdies from the fifth hole, consisting of a 34-foot putt down the hill on the par-three sixth.A 2nd downpour played its part in an uncommon bogey on the 11th, however Scheffler rapidly responded with his sixth birdie of the round on the par-three 13th. Ad The three-time significant champion got another shot on the treacherous 16th, called”Catastrophe Corner”, before reaching 10-under on the 17th in spite of striking his drive into the crowd.One last birdie putt pulled up simply short of the last hole, however Scheffler will be a company preferred going into the weekend as he considers his fourth win of the year.Former US Open champ Fitzpatrick reeled off four straight birdies at the start of the back 9 to
quickly reach 10-under, before giving a shot back on the 14th. He missed a three-foot birdie putt on the penultimate green but offseted it by draining a 23-footer for par on 18.
Advertisement” He’s world top, and we’re seeing Tiger-like things. I think the pressure is for him to win the golf tournament, “Fitzpatrick said, expecting playing
with Scheffler in Saturday’s final group.- Harman makes move -Harman, who won by six shots at Hoylake 2 years earlier, completed
a bogey-free 65
with his sixth birdie of the day on the 18th green. “It’s an extremely uninteresting approach that I take. I’m not trying to be brave or do anything insane,”he said.Li is bidding to end up being the first Chinese male to win a major champion and he made 5 birdies in a 2nd successive round of 67. Ad He came close to edging ahead of Harman, but saw a birdie putt on the 18th agonisingly slip by the hole.”Absolutely wish to be comfy … Will be a great deal of pressure for sure, however
just need to discover a method to handle that, “Li said of the examination which will be on him over the weekend.- McIlroy remains in touch-McIlroy’s roller-coaster competition continued, as his errant driving prevented him from maximizing excellent early scoring conditions.But the world second discovered his
groove late in his round, making two birdies in his final seven holes to remain in touch.” I feel like I possibly could be a couple better to the lead, but in general in a decent position heading into the weekend,
” stated Masters champion McIlroy.Advertisement Robert MacIntyre, hoping to become the first Scottish significant champ given that Paul Lawrie in 1999, travelled into contention with a 66 to reach five-under.
MacIntyre is level with Englishman Tyrrell Hatton, also looking for a first significant title, Danish youngster Rasmus Hojgaard and Scottish Open champ Chris Gotterup.Shane Lowry, who won the tournament when it was last dipped into Portrush in 2019, was handed a two-stroke charge after his round due to the
ball moving when he took a practice swing on the 12th hole.jc/ ea