Royal Portrush settled into its rhythm on Friday as The Open Championship moved into full flow. The early tension of the opening round made way for a more composed atmosphere, both on the course and in the galleries. That certainly applied to Rory McIlroy, who put together a gritty second round in front of a huge home crowd, and to Bryson DeChambeau, who turned a brutal Thursday into a magnificent Friday.
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At the top of the leaderboard sits Scottie Scheffler, as the normal order of the world settles itself. With about 20 minutes of torrential rain clearing quickly, conditions favoured those out early. As the leaderboard began to take shape, Rory McIlroy went about righting the wrongs of 2019 with a steady, controlled performance.
There were all these talking points and more from a brilliant second day at The Open. On The NCG Golf Podcast, Tom Irwin and Matt Chivers discussed all the major talking points from day two at The 153rd Open Championship.
Listen to the NCG Golf Podcast
Can Rory deliver hometown glory?
Matt Chivers said: “The weekend is going to be very exciting. Especially if he does get into the thick of it. He’s three under par through two rounds, which I suspect he might have taken before the week started. Considering how last time went before him. It felt like the first two rounds were one big tee shot for him.
“There’s a lot of a lot can happen in 36 holes, and that will just sort of increase the excitement and the volume of the crowds.”
“I think what he’ll be focused on his distance to Scheffler. Because that’s kind of like he’s the guy with the target on his back”, said Tom Irwin. “He’s the he’s the guy that they know they all have to beat if they want, if they want to take the Claret Jug home.
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“You do have this sort of feeling that as we get into the weekend, that’s when he comes into into his own. He loves the idea of, I think having to chase. A lot of that early that first round tension would disappeared. Getting making the weekend will be like getting over a hurdle. It would have had in his head. Strange as it sounds, I think you will see an increasingly improved Rory as we get into the weekend.”
Slight improvement in the pace of play
“And I think the pace of play yesterday was appalling”, Irwin said. “I know that they’d made some changes overnight, haven’t they? Like they’ve made the fifth the call up pole, yeah. And because the place gets off to such a slow start with that reachable five, and then the short fifth in quick succession, and then another five after that, you’ve got a lot of hanging around waiting for groups to clear, having had a pop at a green.
“I think it’s more to do with just the scale of the thing and the nature of the golf course. Not a lot can be done about it, I don’t think. I think it just sort of is what it is, and as painful as it is to watch.”
Has Bryson finally concurred links golf?
Irwin said: “He’s undeniably one of the best golfers of his generation. Like he’s kind of, in many ways, revolutionised the game, hasn’t he? So, and he’s also unbelievably clever. So he is going to work it out.
“It’s an unbelievable score (he made today). So like, this is someone who’s a scientist. And we, and we’ve seen him out on the golf course this week with his launch monitor, measuring the effect of wind, measuring the effect of of moisture, or whatever, on on how far he’s hitting the golf balls. He’s a bloke who will go out and practice getting flyers to see how far the ball is going if he’s wet. So it’s like nothing, nothing is left to chance.
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“So I think there’s quite a lot too Bryson. Where I think that perhaps his game doesn’t necessarily suit Link’s golf 100%. Perhaps he is someone who needs to learn a little bit more about the nuances of it, but I think he will undoubtedly get there.”
Chivers added: “He’s a remarkable bloke. The things he comes out with on his YouTube channel, but he is an unbelievable competitor and golfer. And you just think he’s just so determines he’s very much got a no lie down attitude, which he has shown today on a golf course that ate him up and spat him out on Thursday.
“Maybe Bryson could use that time in June to go to North Berwick, Muirfield, or wherever The Open is next year. Bryson might go to West Lanks or Formby and try and prepare. He probably won’t, but maybe that’s what he needs to do.”
The Rise of the Left Handers
Irwin said: “I was trying to work on a theory that it was kind of like bit of a hooker’s paradise here, which often suits left handers, because they’re obviously hitting a fade most of the time. But, I’m not sure their scoring has really been any better.”
“Yeah, there’s a big pool of them. And Brian Harman is at risk of ruining another Open”, Chivers said in jest. “The way I say ruin is that it was just so comprehensive at Hoylake. Like not to denigrate his achievement, because it was an incredible achievement, and he’d have everyone’s full respects he already does, but even more so if he actually won a second car jug in two years, because no one really does that anymore.”
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A big NO for the Merch tent
“I think the merch, I think the merchandise turns rubbish”, said Irwin. “Back in the day, one of the massive things about coming to The Open as a kid was it, there was a huge merch tent that was full of all of the manufacturers. So they’d all have, like, nets and hitting bays where you could go and try the latest stuff. So it’s like a giant Demo Day, basically. So now and nowadays, it’s just all branded clothing.
“So I think it is lacking something for the fan. I feel like it should be much more of a kind of celebration of golf full stop. But it has the, I think, gone down this sort of corporate route, and that is very much, I think, the the feel in that merchandise tent. It’s great, because you can go and spend 100 quid on a polo that will demonstrate that you’re at The Open and it’s got an R&A on it, or an open logo on it. But it’s not, is it?
“I just think where’s the stuff for the fans do? Where’s the stuff for the kids to do, other than shell out more cash.”
Chivers added: “I know what you mean, there is a bit distasteful, isn’t it, how expensive it all is. I remember at when I went to St George my first Open was in St George’s in 2011 and my one, my next one after that, was Hoylake in 2014 I remember getting a really nice navy blue quarter zip.
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“That was probably about 40 quid. I don’t remember there being this corporate obsession, or all the brands, like, the shop is arranged in brands now, isn’t it? In that sense, it’s like Selfridges.”
Looking ahead to the weekend
Chivers said: “I think it’s going to be fairly dry this weekend, so unless there’s, unless there’s some wins, it might be a bit like this morning, where it’s favourable conditions. I suppose you might say that favors people like Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick, who are really good ball strikers, McIntyre Hatton, good ball strikers again.
So I suppose, if there’s less variables, Does that suit the the better players? I don’t know, but I could see Harmon definitely being there at the end. He’s quite gritty. I wouldn’t be surprised if no one passed him from now until the last patterns on Sunday. I’m quite interested to see how Scheffler’s weekend pans out. Because he was in contention last year, but this looks like it’s building up to a proper open tilt.
“So he, I’m very interested to see how his challenge unfolds. I’ll be disappointed if Hatton isn’t there at the end. I would like to see Hatton do the same as his Oakmont and properly contend at a major.”
Irwin added: “You’d have to say that that is a very stacked leaderboard. Not just from a the names on there, but the scoring like, no one’s run away with it. There’s loads and loads of players like, massively in the mix. And I feel like the way that the golf course has played for the first two days, there is scoring volatility. So you can go out and shoot 65 but equally, there are some sort of bigger numbers out there as well.
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“So I think it’s perfectly set up for the weekend, as long as nothing stupid happens with the weather. I think you’re gonna get two more days of this kind of thing. There should be plenty of birdies, plenty of bogeys, plenty of people moving forwards, plenty of people moving backwards. And it’s the names you want to see in it.”