It was a putt to send echoes around Royal Portrush, from all of 23 feet for a precious par. Matt Fitzpatrick poured it in and avoided one final setback to show the contrasting nature of what an Open Championship test requires. Yet barely a few minutes later, the scale of the task for Fitzpatrick and the rest of the field became ominously clear.
Fitzpatrick is already a major champion, so he knows the merit of a shot-saver, as much as the spectacular strokes that lay the table before, notably those four consecutive birdies from 10-13 when he held a mesmeric control over that little white ball. But that putt only allowed him to cling onto the heels of Scottie Scheffler. A telling reminder of what he’ll need to trade blows with the world’s best player over the next 36 holes.
The soggy conditions around Royal Portrush saw Fitzpatrick emerge with a remarkable five-under-par round of 66 to sit at nine-under-par, bettered only by Scheffler at 10-under-par, as he pursues a second major to complement his US Open title. A feat that would cement his place, once again, in Luke Donald’s Team Europe for the Ryder Cup this September. Moreover, a second major title would catapult him into rare company. Multiple majors are just held in different esteem.
The Sheffield man has played some exquisite golf, leading the field in strokes gained tee-to-green. Yet there was a reminder of the minor blemishes that could prove costly over the weekend. Especially against Scheffler. Fitzpatrick’s remarkable round of golf could have been even better, but for the pesky seven-footer missed on 14 to squander a stroke. Then, a par, which felt like a bogey, on 17 after his enormous 362-yard drive. Then came a magnificent cross-handed chip, which has become synonymous with Fitzpatrick’s polished short game. It took a skid up the green before the brakes screeched. A simple birdie putt, surely, yet the two-footer wouldn’t drop.
It should be emphasised that Scheffler was not flawless, either. But he was pretty close. A wayward drive on 17 saw him forced into a jarring technique after good fortune to land on the wispy surface created by the hordes of spectators. Naturally, he carved out a shot to produce another birdie chance, with the ensuing 14-footer enough to eclipse Fitzpatrick.
That rare blemish off the tee for the three-time major champion highlighted his newfound weapon that could leave his rivals in the dust. The short stick is heating up after a puzzling week at the Scottish Open, where he lost 0.36 strokes gained putting. There, in a rare chance to relate to the best player in the world, Scheffler was left bewildered, remonstrating with his arms outstretched at a short miss. He had made just 33 percent of his putts in the 10-20 feet range. And his candid revelation over how golf fails to fulfil him further added to that vulnerability.
But through his first 25 holes this week, he cut a different figure, converting 100 percent from that same range to produce a 1.58 strokes gained putting advantage. And after the relentless downpour, the course started to dry up and Scheffler’s trend fizzed once more in an imposing close to his seven-under-par round of 64, three better than his previous best at the Open (67, -4 in 2023). Calamity Corner? Not a bit of it, a second consecutive two arrived before that dagger on 17 ensured an outright lead.
Before Scheffler’s run, a bunched leaderboard produced many heroes and villains. Enter Brian Harman, who relished his job in dampening the festival-like atmosphere two years ago, emerging from a Hoylake downpour to become the surprise Champion Golfer of the Year.
And the avid hunter, who sparked a furore in the British tabloids over his favourite pastime in 2023, conjured a blazing six-under-par round of 65 to sit just two behind his Team USA colleague.
As did China’s Haotong Li, who even briefly stormed past Harman, only to fall back to eight-under-par.
But if Harman has established himself as a willing villain, then the ultimate hero, Rory McIlroy, quickly banished any negativity from the overwhelming pressure felt from a nation behind him. Instead, McIlroy snapped back to the reality of two more rounds in front of his adoring Northern Irish fans after posting a 69 to sit tied-12th and seven behind Scheffler. It was a privilege not afforded to him back at the 2019 Open Championship, with that agonising missed cut.
“I don’t know if you can ever flow around here,” said McIlroy, who finished on three-under-par and six shots behind the lead. “This golf is very demanding. It’s quite visually intimidating off the tee. I’m excited for the opportunity. To play an extra two days in this atmosphere in front of these crowds. I feel like my game’s definitely good enough to make a run.”
The Open often distinguishes itself from the other three, US-based major championships, with the nuisance imposed by the elements. Yet its mature, informed fans, with 278,000 expected across the week, provide a home for characters far and wide.
Tyrrell Hatton is considered to be a tedious presence at the top of the game by some due to his fiery temper and petulant antics on the course. Yet Hatton, in a world of polished, risk-adverse sporting personalities, has never wavered from his blunt approach to what in inarguably a game that torments anybody that dares to pick up a club. A near miss at Oakmont, a US Open test many dismissed as a candidate for Hatton’s game, has only fuelled the fire for one of the more unique talents of the game. As others obsess over their ball flight’s curvature, Hatton’s majestic, straight-shooting approach saw him establish himself at the top of a major championship leaderboard once more: 68-69 enough for T-5 and a performance worthy of a treat.
“Be rude not to,” Hatton remarked when asked if he would repeat the trick of three pints of Guinness at a local pitch ‘n’ putt with friends on Wednesday. “I think 3’s the magic number.”
Elsewhere, Robert MacIntyre is well placed to challenge at five-under-par. Now “a completely different golfer, physically and mentally” six years on from finishing sixth here on his major debut in 2019, the Scot hopes to build on his second-place finish at the US Open this year.
While fellow Ryder Cup hopeful Rasmus Hojgaard is tucked in with MacIntyre at five-under-par, one ahead of his brother, Nicolai, who played for Team Europe at Marco Simone in 2023.
Tommy Fleetwood, highly fancied entering the week to go one better than his runner-up finish here six years ago, produced a brave response to a first-round of 72, rallying with a 69 to get back in the red at one-under-par overall.
