Key events<\/p>\n
Tommy\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Bryson gets up and down from the swale at the back of 14. That\u2019s some par, given where his second shot ended up. But he was after something more. He remains -5, four off the lead \u2026 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\u2019t hit the cup!<\/p>\n -9: Burns (14), Herbert (13) Share<\/a><\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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\u2019s not quite the case yet, but he\u2019s going to have to stem the bleeding here, if he\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Tommy Fleetwood plays a shot from a bunker on the 18th. Photograph: Michael Reaves\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.55 EDT<\/p>\n Bryson\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019s not great, but any contact is an achievement, and his ball flies over the tall face \u2026 but also over the green. Big up and down for par coming up here.<\/p>\n DeChambeau plays out of a bunker on the 14th. Photograph: Peter Morrison\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.53 EDT<\/p>\n \u201cThis weekend has been dynamite, quite apart from the golf,\u201d begins Simon McMahon. \u201cJust 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\u2019t we all just be nice? Like Tommy Fleetwood. Come on Tommy!\u201d 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\u2019s slam-dunked his drive into a fairway bunker to the left of 18. He\u2019s forced to take his medicine and bash out. He\u2019s battling to save par now.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 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\u2019mine.<\/p>\n -9: Herbert (12) Lucas Herbert leads the charge. Photograph: Adrian Dennis\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.42 EDT<\/p>\n Tommy Fleetwood\u2019s birdie effort is always destined to die on the low side. A frustrating par on a hole that\u2019s averaging 4.53. In the meantime, Ludvig \u00c5berg 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\u2019s back in the clubhouse on -6. He\u2019s 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!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 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\u2019s his first bogey of the day. It just doesn\u2019t look like it\u2019s going to happen for the world number one this week, his putter just not functioning properly. It\u2019s also totally possible that he\u2019ll suddenly catch fire tomorrow, so let\u2019s not bother bookmarking this entry. Back to -4, where he started the day.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 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 \u2013 who, it bears repeating, played his very first round of links golf this Monday just gone \u2013 returns to -8.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 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\u2019s hanging on a bit here, but that\u2019s 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\u2019t get close, and slips back to -5, alongside DeChambeau, in short order.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Bryson DeChambeau powers out of a steep-faced greenside bunker at 12 and knocks in the ten-footer that remains for par. But he\u2019ll have to do it all again at 13, finding more sand, to the right of the green. Meanwhile Lucas Herbert\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Ludvig \u00c5berg 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 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\u2019t 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.08 EDT<\/p>\n Bryson doesn\u2019t get a good lie down the left of 11. But he\u2019s got the power and skill to muscle one into the heart of the green \u2026 then nearly drains a downhill right-to-left swinger from 40 feet. He swishes the air with his putter in great annoyance. Par\u2019s not the worst outcome after that tee shot. He\u2019s -5.<\/p>\n DeChambeau powers out of the rough on the 11th. Photograph: Andrew Redington\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.26 EDT<\/p>\n Lucas Herbert\u2019s drive at the short par-four 9th stops just short of a bunker to the right. He\u2019s got enough space to putt around the right-hand side of it, the contours taking his ball to tap-in distance. He\u2019s regained the leadership he enjoyed last night: he\u2019s -9. Meanwhile birdie for Jon Rahm at 14, and he\u2019s back to where he started the day. That double bogey on 1 so costly. What he\u2019d give to take that OB tee shot again. (Well, he did have to take it again, but you get the gist.)<\/p>\n -9: Herbert (9) Share<\/a><\/p>\n Bryson DeChambeau\u2019s driving has been getting a little ragged of late. Fairways missed at 8 and 10, and now another wild one at 11. He\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Tommy Fleetwood plays out from the bunker on the 14th. Photograph: Phil Noble\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.01 EDT<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n -8: Fox (F), Burns (10), Herbert (8) Share<\/a><\/p>\n Scottie Scheffler can\u2019t get a putt to drop at all. He tickles a downhill 30-footer towards the cup on 13, and it\u2019s in all the way, until it isn\u2019t, 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\u2019s within easy reach of the leaders, whom he could quickly and efficiently swipe aside one by one, in short order, with the wind behind.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Rory: ‘I won’t defend Bryson … I’m not fond of him’<\/p>\n The latest dispatch from Ewan Murray at Royal Birkdale. Rory McIlroy\u2019s been telling it as he sees it, and you won\u2019t be hearing the last of this.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.36 EDT<\/p>\n 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\u2019t get close with his first putt, and pays the price with bogey. That\u2019s extremely careless on a hole that\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n -8: Fox (F), SW Kim (10), Burns (9), Herbert (7) Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lucas Herbert pours in his birdie putt on 7, and he\u2019s back on terms for his round today at -8. Over on 9, Sam Burns has indeed caught a good break, and even though he\u2019s hitting blind into the green off a bare lie, he\u2019d 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\u2019t have an easy two-putt, but at least par is now possible.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Sam Burns is already four under for his round through eight holes. What price consecutive 62s?! Ah, let\u2019s not get too far ahead of ourselves \u2026 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Sam Burns on the charge. Photograph: Andy Buchanan\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.26 EDT<\/p>\n Lucas Herbert lags his long birdie putt on 6 to tap-in distance. He\u2019d 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\u2019d 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\u2019t take full advantage of it. And up on 7, Sam Burns makes his birdie putt to claim sole ownership of the lead. It\u2019s all happening on Moving Day!<\/p>\n -9: Burns (7) Share<\/a><\/p>\n Jackson Suber\u2019s drive at 6 goes miles left. He\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 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 \u00c5berg, who opened with bogey today, has birdied 2, 5 and now 13 to arrive just in time to the party!<\/p>\n -8: Fox (F), Burns (7), Suber (5) Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lucas Herbert\u2019s tee shot at 5 is swallowed by one of the deep bunkers to the left of the green. He\u2019s 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\u2019s in and the one further on. That was smart thinking, although he didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 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 \u2013 he\u2019s got that wrong, you\u2019d think, surely?! \u2013 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\u2019d got that spot on. He\u2019s back to -5, where he started the day.<\/p>\n Bryson DeChambeau after his birdie putt on the 6th. Photograph: Andy Buchanan\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.08 EDT<\/p>\n 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\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n -8: Fox (F) Share<\/a><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Bryson bundles a chip up from the swale on 5, the ball rolling 15 feet past the hole. That\u2019s not a bad effort from a tight lie, over undulating links land, but not close enough for birdie. That putt missed, he tidies up for par. A four isn\u2019t ideal on a hole averaging 3.61 today, so he\u2019s giving up ground to the field, but at least it\u2019s better than yesterday, when he took five strokes seven strokes, so onwards and upwards. He\u2019s -4.<\/p>\n Bryson DeChambeau chips to the pin on the 5th. Photograph: Jacob King\/PAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.06 EDT<\/p>\n Rory McIlroy walks up the 18th fairway to a champion\u2019s ovation. He\u2019s not going to be the champion, though. He does earn himself another roar, getting up and down from a bunker, draining a 20-footer in doing so. But a round of 69 is not really any good to him. He finishes the day at -2 overall, six off the pace with a slew of world-class players in between. Moving Day? Gently Oscillating, maybe. Hey, if offered at the outset a 2026 major haul of the Masters and nowt else, do you think he\u2019d have turned it down?<\/p>\n Rory McIlroy acknowledges the crowd at the end of his round. Photograph: Richard Heathcote\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.42 EDT<\/p>\n Heeeeeeeeeeere\u2019s Bryson! On the 5th!<\/a> Perhaps unsurprisingly, he ends up pulling his drive to the left of the green, the ball disappearing down a swale. He catches a good lie at least. The gallery with a slight air of disappointment, as who wasn\u2019t secretly hoping for Return to Bryson Island? That would have made good content. Meanwhile Lucas Herbert sends his second into 3 over the back. He misjudges his Scottish-style bump and run from the bottom of the bank, leaving a 15-foot putt he can\u2019t make. He slips to -7 and Ryan Fox is the sole leader of the Open. \u201cHaving reviewed yesterday\u2019s footage from the 5th hole, I\u2019m not sure what all the fuss is about,\u201d writes Grant Tennille. \u201cWho doesn\u2019t want to put their stamp on the most storied of golf tournaments?\u201d<\/p>\n Bryson DeChambeau soaking up the adoration of the crowd. Photograph: Phil Noble\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.40 EDT<\/p>\n Another birdie for Sam Burns! The US Open nearly man (2024, 2025, 2026) had a top-ten finish at the Masters this year, and the feeling is that a major breakthrough isn\u2019t far away for the 29-year-old from Louisiana. That dream is one step closer after sending his tee shot at 4 to 14 feet and rolling home. He\u2019s kind of playing with house money this week, because he wasn\u2019t expecting to compete with a second baby due, but his wife delivered early, then encouraged him to go play. Now look!<\/p>\n -8: Fox (F), Herbert (2) Sam Burns with a great start to the third round. Photograph: Adrian Dennis\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.39 EDT<\/p>\n Jackson Suber, Open debutant, is not going anywhere. He briefly wobbled with three consecutive bogeys yesterday, his aggressive putting style costing him some needless three-putts, but he rallied impressively to maintain his presence near the top. Now he\u2019s wedged gloriously from 128 yards on 2 to kick-in distance. A birdie that moves him to -7, one off the lead.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A diminuendo finish to Hideki Matsuyama\u2019s round. Bogey, but that\u2019s still a fine 67. He\u2019s -4. Scottie Scheffler powers his second from the thick stuff down the side of 6 onto the green, and makes off with his par. Kim Si-woo\u2019s lie to the right of 3 wasn\u2019t so bad, and he exits with par, a score he matches on the following par-three. And belated news of birdie for Sam Burns at 2, Bryson having grabbed everyone\u2019s attention back there.<\/p>\n -8: Fox (F), Herbert (1) Share<\/a><\/p>\n The final game is out on the course. Jackson Suber splits the fairway with his opening tee shot, but Lucas Herbert sends a nervous one dangerously close to OB on the right. But the ball stops short and he catches a good lie. Both of them go on to make par. Meanwhile a second birdie of the day for Tommy Fleetwood, and those hoping for the home hero to lift the Claret Jug \u2013 pretty much everyone on the property \u2013 go wild.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n On 2, Bryson carelessly sends his second from 100 yards into thick rough behind the green, to ripples of laughter, no doubt some wag in the gallery making a crack about his playing the next shot with a strimmer. In fact he delicately jabs a wedge out of the oomska to four feet, a delightful touch. Ideally he\u2019d then perform an elaborate satirical soft-shoe shuffle in the rough, sending the grass hither and yon, but while that\u2019d be amusing for the rest of the world, it\u2019s probably better for the man himself that he refrains from making his point via the medium of contemporary dance. And then he misses the par putt. Oh Bryson! Bogey. Back to six under four under.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.02 EDT<\/p>\n Finally, something happens for Scottie Scheffler. His drive at the short par-four 5th doesn\u2019t quite reach the green \u2026 and his chip up doesn\u2019t get as far as he\u2019d ideally like. But he rolls in the six-footer that he\u2019s left himself, and that\u2019s a first birdie of Moving Day for the defending champ. But he drags his tee shot at 6, the hardest hole on the course, dangerously close to a creek down the left. One more hop and that was in the hazard. The reason it didn\u2019t take one more hop, however, is because the ball snagged in some very thick verdant rough.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A little bit more on Gardenclearancegate from our sports desk.<\/p>\n R&A chief executive Mark Darbon, speaking to the BBC, on if penalising Bryson DeChambeau was more difficult because of his status in golf: \u201cI actually don\u2019t think it does make it a more difficult decision. We have a responsibility to our championship and to the rest of the field. And so irrespective of which player this affected, it\u2019s the same decision.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n An opening par for Bryson, who cracks a seven iron from the rough down the left into the heart of the green, and takes two careful putts. Par as well for his playing partner Sam Burns. Up on 2, Kim Si-woo guides a 12-foot right-to-left slider into the cup for birdie, and he moves up to -6 \u2026 though for how long time will tell, because he\u2019s just sent his tee shot at 3 into thick rough down the right.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The local hero makes his first move of the day! Tommy Fleetwood isn\u2019t going to toy with Bryson Island to the left of 5, laying up from the tee at the drivable par four instead. He wedges his second over the flag to seven feet, and makes his birdie. If you think the gallery adore Bryson, they\u2019re positively head over heels for Tommy. But then, who isn\u2019t? Swoon. Birdie meanwhile at 17 for the 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, his third in four holes, and with both of the players mentioned in this entry rising to -5, Moving Day is beginning to happen.<\/p>\n -8: Fox (F), Herbert Tommy Fleetwood makes hi putt on the 1st green. Photograph: Tom Jenkins\/The GuardianShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.08 EDT<\/p>\n It\u2019s not quite happening for Scottie Scheffler. A birdie putt lips out on 3. Another slides by the cup on 4. He remains at -4. Birdie at 2 meanwhile for Thomas Detry, who has been there or thereabouts since setting the pace as a member of the opening group on Thursday morning. He\u2019s -5.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Heeeeeeeeeeere\u2019s Bryson!<\/a> The man is showbiz to his bones, and emerges from the tunnel at the 1st tee to rapturous applause from the gallery. He acknowledges all three stands with a Churchillian V-for-victory sign, the thumbs up, and a modest smile. \u201cYou show \u2018em, Bryson!\u201d someone hollers. \u201cOn the tee, from the USA, Bryson DeChambeau!\u201d More applause. More acknowledgement of the punters. Then he unsheathes the driver and sends his opening tee shot left. That\u2019ll be OK, landing on some rough trodden down by the gallery. Delicious irony. You couldn\u2019t script that sort of thing. He\u2019s a star.<\/p>\n Bryson DeChambeau shakes hands with a rules official. Photograph: Tom Jenkins\/The GuardianShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.59 EDT<\/p>\n Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen is playing in his first Open this week. And making a very good fist of it. The 27-year-old Dane already has some major-championship pedigree, having tied for 12th at last year\u2019s US Open, and he\u2019s in form on the DP World Tour, having tied third in the World Tour Championship, one shot behind the Matt Fitzpatrick and Rory McIlroy play-off, and won the Australian Open. Now he guides in a left-to-right 20-foot swinger on 10, his fourth birdie of the day, and one that moves him up to -5.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Some more on Landscapegate from Ewan Murray at Birkdale.<\/p>\n double quotation markMarco Penge had taken to social media to express disquiet at the late distribution of Saturday\u2019s tee times. They appeared around 11pm on Friday, much to the public annoyance not only of Penge but fellow players including Justin Thomas.<\/p>\n After signing for a third round of 69, Penge had not backed down. \u201cIt was a bit of a joke, really,\u201d said the Englishman. \u201cI am staying at home this week, an hour away, so not getting your tee time until 11pm is not great really. Obviously there was a load of commotion so that delayed things.\u201d<\/p>\n Penge assumes the times were delayed as it was ascertained whether Bryson DeChambeau was going to play. While reluctant to offer opinion on DeChambeau\u2019s rules breach, Penge added: \u201cIf I was in that position, I\u2019d just be very careful where I\u2019m standing and how I get into the ball and make sure I don\u2019t improve my lie.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The defending champion Scottie Scheffler has still to find any real rhythm at Birkdale. It\u2019s kind of been that way in the majors all season, and yet he still nearly did enough to come bursting from the pack in second gear to steal both the Masters and US Open. So the rest of the field won\u2019t be sleeping on Scottie. He\u2019s been hovering on the shoulders of the leaders all week, and continues to do so. He starts par-par, the second a delightful save on 2 having dunked his approach into thick greenside rough. He whips gently out to kick-in distance, despite having a downhill lie and very little green to play with. So delicate. He\u2019s -4.<\/p>\n Scottie Scheffler digs one out on the second. Photograph: Tom Jenkins\/The GuardianShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.16 EDT<\/p>\n Jon Rahm briefly threatens to spin out after that double-bogey start. He yanks his tee shot at 2 into a native area, then sends his approach too far left. But his ball takes a kind bounce off the bank, and rolls up to seven feet! in goes the putt, and that could be a momentum shifter for the big man. It\u2019ll certainly alter his mood for the better. He\u2019s -3.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Im Sung-jae made a preposterous par on the par-five 14th yesterday. Taking a shy for the green in front of a steep-faced fairway bunker with a downhill lie, he thinned his wood into the face and was forced to splash out sideways with his third shot. Then he got up and down from 210 yards. Great fun. If he goes on to win this championship, they\u2019ll show that footage for years. And that\u2019s not outside the realms, because he\u2019s just hit the turn in 31 strokes after birdies at 2, 5 and 9. He\u2019s -5 and fair set.<\/p>\n -8: Fox (F), Herbert Im Sung-jae in earlier action on the 4th. Photograph: David Goldman\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.05 EDT<\/p>\n While we\u2019re on the subject of Bryson DeChambeau \u2026 given the back-and-forth he enjoyed with Nick Faldo earlier in the week<\/a> regarding his \u201czero clue of strategy\u201d, did anyone expect the three-time Open champion to keep his counsel over Stompgate? Nope, no Sir, and earlier on Sky Sports, Faldo told it as he saw it \u2026<\/p>\n double quotation markYou cannot remove anything in your intended swing path \u2026 It was totally inadvertent but it has nothing to do with that, it has nothing to do with Bryson, but he is a golfer that has put his foot down and moved the grass \u2026 It is in the rule book \u2026 The R&A handled it beautifully \u2026 Bottom line \u2013 job done. \u2018Sorry mate, you\u2019ve got a two-shot penalty.\u2019 \u2026 He lost the plot for a couple of minutes, the video is pretty factual.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s the same old story for Rory McIlroy: he just can\u2019t keep any momentum going this week. He follows that chip-in eagle on 9 with bogey at 11. Back to -1, and a second Claret Jug continues to hover out of reach. At least he\u2019s got one. Jon Rahm has a strangely underwhelming record at the Open: a couple of high finishes in 2019 and 2023 without ever really looking likely to win. And it\u2019s threatening to happen again. He carves his opening drive over the bushes to the right and out of bounds, and starts with a double-bogey six. His fume is internal, but it is real, registering eight-and-a-half out of ten on Bryson DeChambeau\u2019s patented R&A-o-meter\u2122.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Ryan Fox speaks to Sky. \u201cThe game plan was to be aggressive \u2026 I hit driver a lot \u2026 your strategy changes with the wind around here \u2026 I had a couple of interesting shots on the back nine and kinda got away with them \u2026 pretty happy with 62 in the end, that\u2019s for sure \u2026 had a lot of fun with [Xander Schauffele] \u2026 he played really well too and we kind of fed off each other \u2026 was pretty happy to make par [on 18] from that fairway trap \u2026 I haven\u2019t really put four rounds together [at the Open] \u2026 hopefully this is a sign \u2026 I\u2019m in a pretty good place to give myself a chance so we\u2019ll see what happens!\u201d<\/p>\n Yes, a word for the 2024 champ Schauffele, who shot a magnificent 66 today. Birdies at 5, 7, 8, 10, 14 and 17, with bogeys at 11 and 15. At -4 overall, he\u2019s probably going to be too far back, but much will depends on how the leaders do today \u2026 and what the wind does tomorrow. Schauffele will be starting relatively early, and if it\u2019s similarly benign \u2026 well, look at Ryan Fox!<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Ryan Fox shoots 62!<\/p>\n Fox is left with a 60-footer for birdie, and he leaves it a good four feet short. That\u2019s not a bad putt given the distance, but in these heightened circumstances it\u2019s very irritating: he\u2019ll die wondering. At least it\u2019s not agonising, though: one dimple short would have been a total nightmare. And he tidies up for his 62 to equal the men\u2019s major record. He\u2019s delighted anyway, and warmly congratulated by his playing partner Xander Schauffele, who has done this very thing twice already. Fox etches his name on the roll of honour \u2013 and he\u2019s the early clubhouse leader, and joint actual leader, at -8!<\/p>\n Branden Grace (2017 Open, Birkdale) Well played Ryan Fox! Photograph: Tom Jenkins\/The GuardianShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.16 EDT<\/p>\n Ryan Fox sends his drive at 18 into the second fairway bunker down the right. He\u2019s not right up against the lip, but the face is a factor. However, when you\u2019re hot, you\u2019re hot, and he opts to go for it, whipping a short iron onto the front-right portion of the green! That was a gutsy move \u2026 and a slightly fortunate one, because slow-mo replays show his ball grazing the very top of the lip of the trap. A couple of dimples lower, and that was staying in. In fact, that\u2019s an outrageous stroke of luck, because looking again, the very top layer of the revetted bunker had a small nick taken out of it \u2026 and that\u2019s the portion he clipped! So a little bit to either side, and the ball was back at his feet too. He\u2019ll have a putt for a record-breaking 61, albeit from long distance!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A dispatch from the Guardian\u2019s golf correspondent Ewan Murray, straight from Royal Birkdale \u2026<\/p>\n double quotation markBryson DeChambeau has arrived at Royal Birkdale, shortly after 2pm and less than 90 minutes before his tee off time. This will mean a short range session for the Open\u2019s man of the moment. Then again, he was whacking balls out there in darkness last night so maybe he feels further practise is needless.<\/p>\n Mark Dardon, the chief executive of the R&A, has just appeared on Sky to assert DeChambeau\u2019s penalty of yesterday evening was \u201cclear cut.\u201d Which leaves us all to ponder why neither Darbon nor any of his officials would field questions on the incident immediately after it happened.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Ryan Fox keeps on keepin\u2019 on! He kind of zig-zags his way down the par-five 17th, driving into the fescue on the left, sending his second into the rough on the right. But he chips close with his third, and tidies up for his ninth birdie of the day! He\u2019s now eight under for his round, and the same score for the tournament overall. A par up the last, and he\u2019ll be equalling the men\u2019s major low round of 62, which Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns shot yesterday. Either way, what a performance, and one he could sell for cash money to the late starters \u2026 especially as the wind is expected to rise a little, as per the pattern on Thursday and Friday.<\/p>\n -8: Fox (17), Herbert Share<\/a><\/p>\n Rory McIlroy meanwhile didn\u2019t get the fast start he was talking about in his post-round interviews last night. Bogeys at 3 and 4, and the Masters champion looked a busted flush for this championship. But he\u2019s responded in spectacular fashion: birdie at 5, then a chip-in from the side of 9 for eagle! He drove that green on the gettable par-four on both of his first two rounds, but it\u2019s only when he missed it that he\u2019s hit paydirt. That\u2019s golf for you! He\u2019s suddenly -2 and not out of this by any means. Not with the conditions as they are.<\/p>\n Rory McIlroy rues his missed putt for par on the 4th. Photograph: Andrew Boyers\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.21 EDT<\/p>\n As for the actual golf, the big news this morning is the performance of Ryan Fox. The temperature has dropped a little \u2013 down to around the 20C mark and lower during the night \u2013 so there\u2019s a bit more moisture in the air. That\u2019s not made a jot of difference to the fairways, but it has made the greens a tad more receptive. So there\u2019s every chance of some very low scoring today, as yesterday. And the 39-year-old Kiwi, whose best finish at the Open was a tie for 16th in 2019, is on a burner. Birdies at 2, 3, 5, 6 and 8 sent him out in 29 strokes \u2013 one off the championship record (28) set by Denis Durnian here in 1983 \u2013 and he\u2019s since added more birdies at 10, 14 and 16. Just the one bogey at 13, so with two holes to play, he\u2019s on for a 63 if he pars home. Fox, incidentally, is a past master at going on a tear-up at the Open: he\u2019s already joint holder of the record for lowest back nine, 29 at Portrush in 2019, a score subsequently matched by Lee Westwood last year.<\/p>\n Ryan Fox on the 15th. Photograph: David Cannon\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.25 EDT<\/p>\n Good afternoon, patrons, and with perfect timing, here comes Mark Darbon, the chief executive of the R&A, to have a word with Sky Sports on that rules infraction. \u201cWe have a clear process \u2026 an unfortunate set of circumstances \u2026 from a rules perspective this was really clear cut \u2026 we communicated it to Bryson \u2026 we understand there\u2019s some emotion around that \u2026 we can all empathise with it \u2026 but from a rules perspective this played out as we would hope it would.\u201d<\/p>\n As for the man himself, DeChambeau is on the property, so if there was any residual concern of his not teeing it up, that can be put to bed. So we can all move on. That\u2019ll never be mentioned again, then. Eh?<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n Welcome to Moving Day at the 154th Open Championship! After 36 holes<\/a>, the top of the leaderboard looked like this \u2026<\/p>\n
-8: Fox (F)
-7: Kim (15), Suber (13)<\/p>\n
-8: Fox (F), Burns (13), Suber (12)
-7: SW Kim (14)
-6: \u00c5berg (F), Fleetwood (17), Gerard (13)
-5: Neergaard-Petersen (F), DeChambeau (13), C Young (13)<\/p>\n
-8: Fox (F), Burns (10)<\/p>\n
-7: Fleetwood (13), SW Kim (11), C Young (9), Suber (8)
-5: Neergaard-Petersen (F), \u00c5berg (16), Scheffler (13), DeChambeau (10), Gerard (9)<\/p>\n
-7: Fleetwood (13), C Young (8), Suber (7)
-5: Neergaard-Petersen (F), \u00c5berg (14), Scheffler (12), DeChambeau (9), Gerard (8)<\/p>\n
-8: Fox (F)
-7: Fleetwood (12), SW Kim (9), C Young (7), Suber (6), Herbert (6)
-6: Neergaard-Petersen (17)
-5: \u00c5berg (13), Scheffler (11), DeChambeau (8), Gerard (7)<\/p>\n
-7: Fleetwood (11), SW Kim (8), C Young (6), Herbert (5)
-6: Neergaard-Petersen (17)
-5: \u00c5berg (13), Scheffler (10), DeChambeau (7), Gerard (6)<\/p>\n
-7: SW Kim (7), Burns (5), C Young (5), Suber (4), Herbert (4)
-6: Fleetwood (10)
-5: Scheffler (9), Gerard (5)<\/p>\n
-7: Burns (4), Suber (2)<\/p>\n
-6: Fleetwood (7), SW Kim (4), Burns (3), Gerard (2), C Young (2), Suber (1)
-5: Neergaard-Petersen (13), Scheffler (7), Detry (4)<\/p>\n
-6: Suber, C Young, Gerard
-5: Matsuyama (17), Neergaard-Petersen (12), Fleetwood (5), Detry (2), SW Kim (1)<\/p>\n
-6: Suber, C Young, Gerard
-5: Im (10), Burns, DeChambeau, Kim
-4: Schauffele (F), Thomas (15), Matsuyama (15), Neergaard-Petersen (9), Reed (7), Perez (5), Lowry (4), Fleetwood (2), Scheffler (1), Molinari (1), Wallace, Cauley, Detry, MacIntyre, A Fitzpatrick<\/p>\n
Rickie Fowler (2023 US Open, Valhalla)
Xander Schauffele (2023 US Open, Valhalla; 2024 PGA Championship, LA Country Club)
Shane Lowry (2024 PGA Championship, LA Country Club)
Lucas Herbert (2026 Open, Birkdale)
Sam Burns (2026 Open, Birkdale)
Ryan Fox (2026 Open, Birkdale)<\/p>\n
-6: Suber, C Young, Gerard
-5: Smith (7), Neergaard-Petersen (5), Burns, DeChambeau, Kim<\/p>\n