Scottie Scheffler was the favourite to win the 2025 British Open heading into the final major of the season at Portrush. On Friday, he put himself into the driver’s seat.
Scheffler had the best score of the day, as he posted a seven-under-par 64. As a result, he has a two-day score of -10, and a one-stroke lead over his nearest competitor, the 2022 United States Open champion, Matt Fitzpatrick of Sheffield, England, who is second place at -9.
There are two more golfers in third place and in contention at -8. They are China’s Haotong Li and American Brian Harman of Savannah, Georgia, the British Open champion from two years ago.
Scheffler’s round on Friday contained eight birdies and one bogey. He birdied the first, fifth, sixth, seventh, 10th, 13th, 16th, and 17th holes. Scheffler also bogeyed the 11th hole. The 11th and 14th holes seemed to give the golfers the most challenge throughout the day. The birdies on 16 and 17 were key, as Scheffler separated himself from Fitzpatrick. However, it should be noted that there is a possibility that Fitzpatrick might have some momentum heading into round three because he made a long par putt on the 18th hole to remain at -8.
In Scheffler’s first round, Scheffler had five birdies and two bogeys. He birdied the third, seventh, 10th, 16th, and 17th holes, and bogeyed the ninth and 11th holes. What I also saw from Scheffler after the first round was a high degree of relaxation. He was seen joking with Cara Banks of Golf Channel after his round, and he just seemed to be in a low pressure mindset. Scheffler is going after his fourth career major title after winning the 2022 and 2024 Masters and 2025 PGA Championship.
