Scottish golfer Bob MacIntyre sits four shots off the lead at four-under par after the second round of The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. The 29-year-old followed his opening 67 on Thursday with a one-under-par 69 on Friday, putting himself in prime position to challenge for a first major title over the weekend.
MacIntyre was playing at level par for his round before holing a 40-foot eagle putt on the par-five 17th hole. Although he suffered frustration on the 18th by recording his second bogey of the day, he remained pleased with his performance on the baked-out links course.
Bob MacIntyre performance and reactions
With a strong breeze blowing and the course running extremely fast, conditions were much tougher than during MacIntyre's Thursday morning round. He dropped a stroke at the 3rd hole and had to scramble to make par on the 4th, admitting he ran hot early on and had to fight to stay calm.
"I've talked about patience and discipline," MacIntyre said. "The shot was hit into the heart of the green. I was kind of being a bit aggressive, trying to get it in tight to that back right pin, knowing that just long was okay, but it ran that couple yards further on into the rough. I was running hot there, but it was about getting back in the game. It’s just about patience, a round of one-under par is okay out here."
MacIntyre acknowledged that he mutters to himself when he makes errors on the course. "I'm not nice to myself. That's just the standard I set. When I make a mistake, it's one of them ones like we just switched off. I felt like for a couple of holes we switched off. But, overall, I think it was a great round of golf. Yeah, I don't have any other words. It was a great, great round of golf."
The Scot insists he is in a great position as he prepares to hunt for the Claret Jug over the final two days. "Yeah, I’m in a great spot," MacIntyre said. "I can't really be in a better spot going into the weekend. It's where I want to be. I feel like the game's in a good spot. I'm missing it in the right spots, the short game is sharp, putting's decent. Just maybe hit a few more greens and make life a little bit easier."
Record scores for Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns
Australian golfer Lucas Herbert leads the tournament at the halfway point after shooting a historic 62 to equal the lowest round ever recorded in a men's major. The 30-year-old LIV Golf Tour player had a four-foot putt for a 61 on the 18th green to break the record outright, but his attempt slipped past the hole for his only bogey of a nine-birdie round.
"It was not lost on me the amount of history in major championships and the opportunity I had to obviously break the record," Herbert said. "But then to tie it as well is still something I'm really proud of. I'm a golf nerd anyway, so I know all the numbers, all the records, everything like that."
Herbert was eight-under par through his first 12 holes during his scintillating round. "The first 12 holes, I might not play 12 better holes in my life. I was eight-under through 12, and you could make a very good argument I could have been a couple better as well. I have dreams of winning The Open Championship for sure, and I'm in a great position to do that through two rounds. There's still a lot of golf to go and a lot of work to do. I have a great opportunity."
Barely 20 minutes after Herbert finished, American Sam Burns also posted a 62 to reach five-under par overall. Burns matched Herbert by holing out for a birdie from a greenside bunker on the final hole.
Burns was initially uncertain if he would play in the tournament after his wife recently gave birth to a baby daughter on the 3rd. "I think it was probably last Friday I decided I was definitely playing here this week," Burns said. "Honestly, I thought there was zero per cent chance. Then we ended up having our daughter on the 3rd. Even then, I still wasn't expecting to play."
"I had a bunch of conversations with my wife, and she encouraged me to come over here and play, and here we are. She is amazing, a superhero. If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't be here."
Burns admitted that links golf is new territory for him. "I am not actually a huge fan of links golf, just purely because I haven’t really played well on links courses before, but it’s going nicely so far this week."
DeChambeau penalty and Open leaderboard
Bryson DeChambeau birdied his final two holes to reach seven-under par and move into second place, but was hit with a controversial two-shot penalty after his round. Officials ruled that the American had stood on long grass behind his ball on the 5th hole.
Rory McIlroy recovered from a poor opening round by shooting a 67 to move to one-under par for the tournament. Local hero Tommy Fleetwood sits at four-under par, joined on that total by Jon Rahm as well as World No 1 and reigning champion Scottie Scheffler.
Several big names missed the cut at Royal Birkdale, including Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland, Cam Smith, Aaron Rai, and Wyndham Clark.