Leaderboard
-7 Harman (15)
-6 English (11)
-5 Hojgaard (F), Hatton (14), MacIntyre (13), Li (3)
Selected Irish:
-2 McIlroy (12)
-1 Lowry
E McKibbin (7)
+3 Clarke (3)
+6 Harrington (5)
Later tee times:
12.53pm Darren Clarke, Davis Riley, Lucas Herbert
3.10pm Shane Lowry, Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa
Decent approach by McIlroy (-2) but didn’t quite get the pitching point that the previous group did that all hit it close and birdied it. Fleetwood (-2) hits it much closer with his approach.
Birdie for McIlroy! His eagle putt just slips by but a stress-free birdie tap-in to get to -2 and onwards to the par 3 13th, which is another birdie chance. Back to five behind.
Great iron approach by McIlroy (-1) after his long drive at the par 5 12th, sets up an eagle opportunity. That’s more like it!
English moves to six under with a birdie at the 11th, getting one against the field there.
Big birdie and big smile for Hojgaard (-5) as he birdies the last for a round of 68.
McIlroy (-1) is miles down the fairway on the par 5 12th, 330 off the tee, good start there.
Bogey for Hatton (-5) and he’s livid at that one to give Harman a two-shot lead.
Birdie for Clarke! He gets to +3 with a birdie on the 3rd. The cut is +2 and he’ll do everything in his power to make the weekend.
Another beaut of an iron by MacIntyre (-4), gets that to move to -5. Heavily tipped before the tournament and hit a lot of key metrics, he is delivering on the big stage so far.
Fair play to DeChambeau (+4) who is three under today and has hit it close on the same hole as MacIntyre. He has a chance to make the cut after his disastrous 78 yesterday as he knocks in his putt, six birdies today. Rose (-1) birdies it too. The entire group birdies 13.
Good lag putt by McIlroy (-1) on 11 again, should be a par. His round has gone a bit quiet but it’s not too easy out there with the breeze. Birdie at the next, the par 5 12th is essential if he is to keep his round going in the right way.
It’s 182 yards for McIlroy (-1) with his approach at the tricky 11th hole, eases a 7 iron up but way short at the front of the hole, difficult two putt ahead.
MacIntyre (-3) has had a very composed round today and hits a great chip at the 12th for a short birdie putt and move into the top 5, which he gets.
McIlroy (-1) misses the fairway again at 11 but just avoids the heavy rough, first cut there.
Harman (-7) is waggling away but balling away, hits another crisp iron shot to the middle of the green at the par 4 14th, the hardest hole on the course. Here was his birdie on 13:
Birdie for Hatton (-6) at 13, the leading players starting to separate themselves.
Harman (-6) has shown he can play in the wind and in links conditions before, and he hits a fine iron shot at the 13th, letting it roll up the hole and another chance to extend his lead. He makes it to get to -7... that’s a two-shot lead for the 2023 champion.
Hatton (-5) takes his par 5 at the 12th after hitting into a pot bunker.
McIlroy (-1) makes a par on 10, a good attempt, but not to be for birdie.
Rose (Even) makes a triple bogey on the 11th, ouch.
Rose (-3) blocks his iron shot, his fourth shot at the par 4, and it shows how tough Portrush can play.
McIlroy (-1) from 142 yards tugs his wedge a bit at the 10th but the wind is really swirling now and on the green isn’t too bad. Fleetwood (-2) misses the green and has a tough up and down.
Fairway finder for McIlroy, back on it at the 10th. Ahead of him, Rose (-3) has hit into a bush and there must be 20 people looking for it but can’t find it. Looking for at least three minutes but no sign and back to the tee.
Good lag putt by McIlroy (-1) to two feet for par, which he makes, from a long distance. Fleetwood (-2) just misses for birdie from off the green to get to -3
The leader Harman (-6) leaves himself 15 feet up the hill for birdie to extend his lead at the par 5 12th hole, but he misses.
McIlroy (-1) gets away with his bad drive and avoids all the bushes to get a great lie. He hits a wedge to the back of the 9th green.
JS Olesen had an eight at the first hole, ouch. Out of bounds and then in the hay, he’s back to even par. A day’s work gone.
Fairway wood for McIlroy (-1) at the ninth, a dose of the lefts today, just struggling off the tee.
Bogey for Hojgaard (-5) drops him out of the lead, Harman is the solo leader. Aberg (-2) is four under today after a massive putt at the ninth.
Triple bogey for Harrington! Disaster on the third hole as he makes an absolute mess around the green at the par 3, taking five after the tee shot. He’s +7 and chances of making the cut are more or less gone.
Birdie putt missed by McIlroy at the 8th. He’s stalling when those around them are making birdies.
McIlroy (-1) on the eighth hits a good drive, it’s another missed fairway technically but again in that easy to play from first cut. Great shot in to 16 feet but has to start getting the birdies going.
Olesen (-4) reloads on 1 and then hits the next one into the hay on the left, oof tough start.
Could be a Williams sisters playing each other in the Wimbledon final type situation the way things are going with the Hojgaards. Rasmus takes the lead on -6 with another birdie at the 6th, Nicolai birdies the 2nd to go to -3.
McIlroy (-1) decides to chip instead of putt and it’s a little bit clumsy, leaves himself more than he’d like left for birdie. He misses the putt sadly, big missed opportunity after the tee shot.
Hatton and Hojgaard both join the lead on -5 with birdies on 9 and 12 respectively.
JS Olesen, one of the overnight leaders, starts his round with a massive slice out of bounds.
Fleetwood just misses the eagle, but up to -2.
Super shot in by Fleetwood (-1) at the par 5 seventh and he gets a great kick on to be pin high for eagle.
McIlroy (-1) only has an iron in at the same hole and doesn’t get the bounce that Fleetwood does, just rolls on the front and doesn’t kick on, ends up hitting the ball of Thomas (Even).
McIlroy (-1) at the par 5 seventh needs a good drive. Wind down and off the left and just rolls into the rough fringe but that’s a brilliant drive and good chance to attack the green in two. Fleetwood (-1) is also on the fairway, Thomas (Even) is in trouble down the right.
Good par for Fleetwood (-1) on the sixth after short siding himself. McIlroy (-1) tidies up for par.
Some stats from yesterday where the hardest hole was the 11th (.404 over par), the 14th (.308 over par), 9th (.301 over par). The easiest hole was the par 5 12th (.346 under par).
The hardest fairway to hit was the 17th, only 30.8 per cent hit it. Easiest was the 4th (63.5 per cent). The hardest green to hit in regulation was the 14th, only 32.1 per cent did.
Good tee shot by McIlroy (-1) on the 6th, pin high, which Fleetwood (-1) doesn’t manage and faces a very tricky chip to get up and down.
Disappointing putt by Rory, overreads it and leaves himself four feet back for par.
Bogey for McIlroy! 10 feet left for McIlroy wasn’t part of the plan at the 5th, and it’s another testing moment. A very sloppy 5 to give the shot back there, all came from the poor tee shot.
Very scenic at the fifth, well worth seeing if you’re attending this week at Portrush as the sea and beach come into view. A short spell of glorious sun now, which will make Discover Northern Ireland and the fans on the ground happy.
Birdie for McKibbin! He gets back to Even par on the first hole.
McKibbin and Harrington are under way off the first hole, both on the green for birdies but Harrington a long putt, McKibbin within 20 feet.
Bogeys for Rose (-2) and English (-4), who drops out of the lead, but he’s replaced by Harman (-5) who birdies the seventh.
Leishman (-1) is finished his round having been first out, and under five hours for the group, hopefully setting a quicker pace than almost six-hour rounds yesterday then. It’s a round of 68 for the Australian, who was five under for the round for a while but faded on the back nine.
McIlroy (-2) faces one of the most difficult shots in golf, a long bunker shot. 80 yards from a pot bunker, into the wind, with out of bounds behind. He only gets halfway up the green and spins back, tough two-putt ahead.
Up and down round from McIlroy (-2) continues, takes an iron off the tee with the wind behind at the short par 4 5th and hooks it and ends up in the bunker well back, turning a birdie hole into something more difficult.
Fleetwood (-1) takes a wood and goes just right and short. Thomas (Even) takes driver and knocks it up the left rough.
McIlroy (-1) went 350+ with that drive and left him 154 yards on the par 4 4th. Beautiful shot! To five feet.
Birdie for McIlroy! The crowd chants “Rory, Rory!”. He moves back to -2.
Fleetwood (-1) was in the rough off the tee and left his approach short. Good pitch and you’d expect him to get his par, which he does.
Harris English (-5) takes the lead with a birdie at the par 5 2nd, finally breaking away from that group.
McIlroy (-1) at the fourth hits his best drive for a while, smashes it down the middle.
Hovland (-1) is another player who started with three straight birdies and just misses another.
Thomas (Even) gets tough luck as his ball hangs on the lip and it looked like it might fall in. He takes his time to hope it does, but finally taps it in.
Birdie for Fleetwood (-1). Birdie-birdie-birdie start, he’s on fire.
Bogey for McIlroy (-1)! Misses his bogey putt from 16 feet and knocks it three foot past, but tidies up.
Birdie for Thomas (Even), McIlroy’s playing partner, as does Fleetwood (Even), who starts birdie-birdie. And another good iron shot at the third.
McIlroy (-2) doesn’t hit a great shot, but gets unlucky as his ball doesn’t roll down in the bunker, but instead gets stuck just above the bunker. Really awkward stance and shot now. He grips way down the shaft and gets a nice connection but goes well past the hole. Tough par putt now.
Birdie for Hojgaard (-4), who rejoins the lead. Pleasant enough conditions today at Portrush with less wind.
A brilliant pitch by McIlroy (-2) leaves him seven left for par, what a par that would be.
Par for McIlroy! Sets it out outside edge, smooth putting stroke and straight in. Big save after a penalty shot where he could have been out of bounds.
McIlroy (-2) takes an unplayable after that wayward drive, two club lengths. Now to try to find a way to rescue a bogey here.
Or maybe a par! Superb shot from the rough after the drop to just short of the green. Thomas (+1) is on the green in two at the par 5, Fleetwood (+1) is just over it.
R Hojgaard (-3) drops out of the lead after a bogey at the par 5 7th when he lost his drive.
Oh dear, bad drive by McIlroy (-2) at the second. Just in bounds it looks, only a foot or so. Horrible lie ahead in really big rough. Could be disastrous.
Birdie for Rose (-3) means he’s also one off the lead, the Masters runner-up going along very nicely. English (-4) is off at the first with a par.
Birdie for McIlroy! He studies the putt in detail and it’s right in the middle of the hole. What a start! He’s -2. Birdie too for Fleetwood, he’s back to +1.
Two more players join the lead, Rasmus Hojgaard and Hatton at -4.
Great shot at the 1st by Fleetwood (+2), good birdie chance. Thomas (+1) is more conservatively on the right.
McIlroy is 160 yards from the semi rough on the left, hits a lovely draw to set up a go at birdie from 16 feet.
Rory McIlroy is on the tee for his second round... big cheers from the grandstand at the 1st.
McIlroy (-1) is in the first cut of rough, not his best swing ever but safely away and all good. Fleetwood and Thomas are on the fairway.
Feeling like Hoylake again with Brian Harman (-3) smoking fairway woods to greens from 250 yards out. He makes the green in two at the par 5 second and has a chance to take the lead.
Marc Leishman (-3) continues to motor up the leaderboard, he’s five under for his day. Justin Rose (-2) is teeing off now, as is Bob MacIntyre (Even). Then next is Spieth, Aberg and Hovland, all +2. Then McIlroy, Thomas and Fleetwood.
Brian Harman (-2), the champion two years ago, hits a cracker into the first green to gimme range for birdie. Maverick McNealy (-2) hits a good one too. Now Tyrrell Hatton (-3) is teeing off and he’s safely down the first.
A very odd shot off the first by Min Woo Lee, with Bo Martin on the bag, pull hooks it only 180 yards into the rough. The threat of out of bounds does strange things to golfers.
Joaquin Niemann (-1), the LIV star, is off and is looking to his underwhelming record in Majors. His shot at the first won’t help though, he’s hooked it out of bounds with a fairway wood. He reloads and knocks the next one on the fairway but no second serves in golf.
Bezuidenhout (-4) is back in the leading group with a birdie at the second, Rasmus Hojgaard is up to 3 under meanwhile, who won the Irish Open at Royal County Down, beating Rory McIlroy last year, while his twin Nicolai is 2 under.
Another birdie for Leishman (-2) who is four under for the day now, which shows that birdies are out there.
South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout (-3) drops out of the lead with a bogey at the first hole. Rickie Fowler is back at even par for the day (-2) and Rasmus Hojgaard (-2) is also under way. Three players are three under for their day so far Marc Leishman (-1), Daniel Brown (+2) and amateur Ethan Fang (+2), who beat Gavin Tiernan in the Amateur final to qualify.
An early highlight for Rickie Fowler:
Some other Northern Ireland links news announced this morning:
“Galgorm Collection today unveiled plans to invest more than £30 million to create a new, landmark links golf course at Bellarena on the region’s stunning north west coast.
“The company, which owns and runs the championship parkland course at Galgorm Castle in Ballymena and the wonderfully scenic Roe Valley course in Limavady, said its plans would create the first championship links course in Northern Ireland in over 100 years.
“Galgorm said its plans to develop a new 18-hole links course at Bellarena – located between Portrush and Limavady around 30 minutes’ drive from the City of Derry and its adjacent airport.
“Subject to planning approval, Galgorm Collection said development of Bellarena Golf Links will start next year and open in 2029, bringing its total investment in the north west to around £65 million and an additional 300 jobs created."
Check out McIlroy’s quotes from his presser yesterday:
“Yeah, it was good. I had it going 3-under through 10 and let a few slip there around the middle of the round. I steadied the ship well, played the last four at 1-under, and it was nice to shoot under par. I felt like, once we turned for home, like played 10 and turned back and played 11, the wind picked up a little bit, and it just became that little bit more difficult. Yeah, it was a tough enough day, especially either chopping out of the rough or out of the fairway bunkers most of the time. So to shoot under par was a good effort.”
On the home support:
“Yeah, absolutely incredible. Look, I feel the support of an entire country out there, which is a wonderful position to be in, but at the same time, you don’t want to let them down. So there’s that little bit of added pressure. I felt like I dealt with it really well today. Certainly dealt with it better than I did six years ago. I was just happy to get off to a good start and get myself into the tournament. I was sort of surprised - there’s a few guys at 4-under, but I’m surprised 4-under is leading. I thought someone might have gone out there and shot 6 or 7 today. Only three back with 54 holes to go, I’m really happy with where I am.”
Here is Philip Reid’s report from yesterday:
Hello and welcome to live coverage of day two of the Open. It was a memorable first day at Royal Portrush where Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy made solid starts to the championship in rounds that promised more at times, but kept them well in contention at three shots back on one under.
The play was painfully slow yesterday, which meant that McIlroy finished after 9pm after nearly six hours on the course and he does not have long to rest, teeing off at 10.09am this morning with Tommy Fleetwood (+2) and Justin Thomas (+1). Later, Lowry is out with world number one Scottie Scheffler (-3), who looks ominous, and Collin Morikawa (+4) at 3.10pm. Tom McKibbin (+1) and Pádraig Harrington (+4) are out at 11.26am with Nicolai Hojgaard (-2). Darren Clarke (+4) battles to make the cut at 12.53pm. That’s all ahead of us.
On the course, there is not much movement today so far, Rickie Fowler losing a shot to drop to one under. There are five players tied for the lead at 4 under, the first of those out is Christiaan Bezuidenhout at 8.36am.
