Scottie Scheffler is halfway to another awesome celebration of up to two minutes. And also halfway to securing the third leg of the career Grand Slam.
The world No.1 shot the low round of the championship on day two of The Open, assembling an impeccable seven-under 64 in the second round at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland to seize control of the year’s men’s final major. The effort, which also marks his low round in a major, enabled Scheffler to post 10-under 132 and surge one stroke ahead of England’s Matt Fitzpatrick.
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It’s the 10th time Scheffler had held the outright lead or a share of the lead in a major since he won his first of two Masters titles in 2022, a span of 62 rounds. One of those leads came after 54 holes of the PGA Championship in May at Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina, where he went on to win. To say Scheffler appears in complete control of his game is probably an understatement.
Complementing his usual ball-striking proficiency with some inspired putting – he ranks second in strokes gained/putting through 36 holes – Scheffler leads for the first time after any Open round in what is his fifth appearance in golf’s oldest championship. His best finish is T-7 last year at Royal Troon.
“I felt like I hit a few more fairways than I did yesterday, hit some really nice iron shots, and was able to hole some putts,” said Scheffler, 29, offering a rather clinical summary of his performance.
Photo: Glyn Kirk
Scheffler, who earlier this week offered his insights on how he views his success in the game at which he excels, was able to move to the top of the leaderboard despite playing in some of the most adverse conditions of the day, including a couple of bouts of heavy rain. The Dallas pro shook off the change of weather to convert eight birdies against one bogey, that coming at the par-4 11th hole when he missed an 18-footer.
He bounced back to birdie both par-3 holes, the 13th and 16th, and took the lead with his final birdie at the par-4 17th by holing a 14-foot putt for his 19th career 36-hole lead or co-lead on the PGA Tour – and fourth this year.
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“When we were teeing off, depending on what weather forecast you looked at, it was going to tell you something different,” said Scheffler, who is on a run of 10 straight top-10 finishes, including three wins, and is the only player to place among the top 10 in the year’s first three majors. “It was super-sunny when we were on the driving range, I’m out there in short sleeves, it’s warm out. Then we get to the first hole, it’s still sunny. Then all of a sudden, you look around and it’s super dark and it starts pouring rain. You’re like, Boy, I wonder how long this is going to last?
“Fortunately, it didn’t pour the whole time. We only had maybe four or five holes where it was really coming down, and I was able to take advantage of the holes where we had some good weather.”
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Scheffler and Fitzpatrick will be paired together in the final game of the third round. With two rounds to play, anything can still happen. Yet with the dominant way Scheffler is performing in almost every aspect of the game, he looks like the man to beat this weekend. It’s hard to see him falling back over the next two rounds, thus applying pressure to Fitzpatrick and others to try to chase him down.
That is going to be easier said than done.
