rewrite this title Scheffler cards 8 birdies, holds 1-shot Open lead

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Scottie Scheffler had no idea what was coming his way Friday at The Open. He warmed up in a short-sleeved shirt. The umbrella was out when he walked off the first green.

For the thousands at Royal Portrush watching him, they knew exactly what to expect from the world’s No. 1 player, and Scheffler delivered another relentless performance. Three straight birdies to close the gap. Two more at the end to take the lead.

Scheffler had a 15-foot putt that was one turn away from dropping for a final birdie. He happily settled for a 7-under 64, his lowest round in a major, to take a one-shot lead over former U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick of England.

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It was his lowest round in a major, yes, but there was a normalcy about it, too. Scheffler has been doing this for three years now, and there is little left to say. Even when Sky Sports showed a list of his key statistics — driving accuracy down, greens in regulation great — that elicited little more than a shrug.

“Overall, I’m hitting the ball solid,” Scheffler said. “The tournament is only halfway done. I got off to a good start.”

Scheffler made eight birdies on another wild afternoon of weather, putting him at 10-under 132 as he chases the third leg of the career Grand Slam.

Fitzpatrick was equally dynamic when he began the back nine with four straight birdies, only to miss a 5-foot par putt on the 14th to slow his momentum, and a 3-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole that was mildly irritating. He shot 66.

“I felt like every facet of my game was on today and I felt like I really played solid,” Fitzpatrick said. “To take advantage of the opportunities I had out there was obviously really positive.”

Brian Harman got the best of the weather — surprising sunshine — and took dead aim in his hunt for another claret jug. Harman played bogey-free for a 65 that left him only two shots behind, along with Haotong Li of China, who had a 67.

Everyone else was five shots behind or more.

That includes Rory McIlroy, who went around Royal Portrush in his native Northern Ireland with plenty of cheers but only a few roars. McIlroy had a 69 but lost a lot of ground because of Scheffler, Fitzpatrick and Harman.

Fitzpatrick was at his lowest point just four months ago when he changed his caddie and coach and began pulling himself up. And now he takes that into the weekend against Scheffler.

“He’s going to have the expectation to go out and dominate. He’s an exceptional player. He’s world No. 1, and we’re seeing Tiger-like stuff,” Fitzpatrick said. “I think the pressure is for him to win the golf tournament. For me, obviously, I hope I’m going to have some more home support than him, but it’s an exciting position for me to be in given where I was earlier this year.”

Scheffler was sharp from the start. He hit eight of the 14 fairways — compared with three in the opening round — though his misses never left him too badly out of position. But he is seeing the breaks on smoother Portrush greens, and he looks confident as ever.

None of his eight birdies was closer than 7 feet. Five of them were in the 10-foot range, and then he threw in a 35-foot birdie on the sixth. His lone bogey came on a drive into deep grass on the 11th that kept him from reaching the green.

It’s his 10th time holding a share of a lead after a major round since the start of 2020, four more than any other golfer in that span. He is the first world No. 1 to have at least a 36-hole lead at The Open since Woods in 2006, an event Woods went on to win.

Harman was called the “Butcher of Hoylake” when he won the claret jug at Royal Liverpool two years ago because the British press was fascinated by the Georgia native’s love for hunting. Now it’s about his golf, and it was superb.

Harman played bogey-free, only once having to stress for par as Royal Portrush allowed for some good scoring in surprisingly good weather in the morning.

“They’re very different golf courses, but the golf is similar,” Harman said. “You’ve got to be able to flight your golf ball. You’ve got to know how far everything’s going. Then you can’t get frustrated. You’re going to end up in funny spots where it doesn’t seem fair, and you just have to kind of outlast that stuff.”

The group at 5-under 137 included Harris English (70), Harman’s former teammate at Georgia; Tyrrell Hatton of England (69); and Chris Gotterup (65), who wasn’t even planning to be at Royal Portrush until winning the Scottish Open last week.

Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.