FLEETWOOD what on from today, ending his play at the 18th as the Sun started to set, following a fantastic day at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club. The homegrown fan favourite safely navigated a testing afternoon on the links to remain firmly in the hunting pack ahead of the weekend.

The 154th Open Championship on:- Friday, 17 July 2026, was a very interesting day, with many twists and turns as the groups progressed around the course. Royal Birkdale served up a masterclass in drama as calm morning conditions allowed scoring records to crumble before the afternoon breezes forced the later starters into a gritty battle of attrition.

On X (formerly Twitter) the Royal Birkdale Golf Club said today:- "Friday crowds at #TheOpen. There is something special about seeing our dunes covered with spectators, turning every hole into its own natural amphitheatre."


 

History was made early in the day as Australia's Lucas Herbert and America's Sam Burns both fired jaw dropping rounds of 62 to equal the lowest individual round record in major championship history. Herbert surged to the outright lead at:- 8 under par, holding a 2 shot advantage over the chasing pack.
 

Position Player Score Round 2 Score
1 Lucas Herbert (AUS) -8 62
T2 Jackson Suber (USA) -6 69
T2 Cameron Young (USA) -6 66
T4 Sam Burns (USA) -5 62
T4 Si Woo Kim (KOR) -5 67

 

Notable names lingering menacingly behind include:- world number 1 Scottie Scheffler at 4 under par and Rory McIlroy, who kept his championship hopes alive with an impressive bounce back 67 to sit 7 shots back.

With the 36 hole cut successfully made, the stage is set for a thrilling Saturday:- "Moving Day" The pairings will head out in reverse leaderboard order. Here are some of the key feature pairings and provisional tee off times (BST) to watch closely:-

Tee Time Pairing / Competitors To Par Scores
08:10 Russell Henley (USA) / Jack McDonald (SCO) +1 / +1
08:20 Ryo Hisatsune (JPN) / Min Woo Lee (AUS) +1 / +1
08:30 Josele Ballester (a) (ESP) / Kazuki Higa (JPN) +1 / +1
08:40 Naoyuki Kataoka (JPN) / Marcus Plunkett (USA) +1 / +1
08:50 Brooks Koepka (USA) / Peter Uihlein (USA) +1 / +1
09:00 Keegan Bradley (USA) / Aldrich Potgieter (RSA) +1 / +1
09:10 Alex Smalley (USA) / Alex Norén (SWE) E / E
09:20 Max Homa (USA) / Rickie Fowler (USA) E / E
09:30 Ryan Fox (NZL) / Xander Schauffele (USA) E / E
09:45 Marco Penge (ENG) / Kristoffer Reitan (NOR) E / E
09:55 Kurt Kitayama (USA) / Casey Jarvis (RSA) E / E
10:05 Sahith Theegala (USA) / Laurie Canter (ENG) E / E
10:15 Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra (ESP) / Michael Brennan (a) (USA) E / E
10:25 Nick Taylor (CAN) / Eric Cole (USA) -1 / E
10:35 Kazuma Kobori (NZL) / John Parry (ENG) -1 / -1
10:45 Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) / Justin Thomas (USA) -1 / -1
10:55 Hennie Du Plessis (RSA) / Benjamin Griffin (USA) -1 / -1
11:10 Andy Sullivan (ENG) / Patrick Cantlay (USA) -1 / -1
11:20 Rory McIlroy (NIR) / Jacob Bridgeman (USA) -1 / -1
11:30 Shaun Norris (RSA) / Jesper Svensson (SWE) -1 / -1
11:40 Michael Thorbjornsen (USA) / Jordan Smith (ENG) -2 / -2
11:50 Im Sung-jae (KOR) / Nicolas Echavarria (COL) -2 / -2
12:00 Matthew Southgate (ENG) / Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (DEN) -2 / -2
12:10 Collin Morikawa (USA) / Adam Scott (AUS) -2 / -2
12:20 Chris Gotterup (USA) / Patrick Reed (USA) -2 / -2
12:35 Johnny Keefer (USA) / Sepp Straka (AUT) -2 / -2
12:45 Corey Conners (CAN) / Victor Perez (FRA) -2 / -3
12:55 Tyrrell Hatton (ENG) / Daniel Brown (ENG) -3 / -3
13:05 Cameron John (AUS) / Shane Lowry (IRL) -3 / -3
13:15 Ludvig Åberg (SWE) / J. J. Spaun (USA) -3 / -3
13:25 Pierceson Coody (USA) / Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) -3 / -4
13:35 Jon Rahm (ESP) / Scottie Scheffler (USA) -4 / -4
13:45 Francesco Molinari (ITA) / Matt Wallace (ENG) -4 / -4
14:00 Robert MacIntyre (SCO) / Alex Fitzpatrick (ENG) -4 / -4
14:10 Thomas Detry (BEL) / Bud Cauley (USA) -4 / -4
14:20 Kim Si Woo (KOR) / Bryson DeChambeau (USA) -5 / -5
14:30 Sam Burns (USA) / Cameron Young (USA) -5 / -6
14:40 Ryan Gerard (USA) / Jackson Suber (USA) -6 / -6
14:50 Lucas Herbert (AUS) (Solo Leader) -8
Championship Update:- A total of 78 players successfully survived the 36 hole cut, which fell exactly at 1 over par (+1). In accordance with R&A regulations for the third round, competitors will go out in pairs starting from the 1st tee in reverse leaderboard order. All times listed are British Summer Time (BST)

What's your thoughts about today's play? What sporting action was your highlight? Please do let us know....

  

  

  

  

More information about the Open Golf and tickets can be found online at:- RANDA.Org.

Don't forget that the AIG Women's Open takes plave this year at:- Royal Lytham & St Annes, from:- 29 July to 2 August 2026.