World No 1 Scottie Scheffler leads Matt Fitzpatrick at the Open Championship halfway mark
By
SABC Sport
19th July 2025
Scottie Scheffler fired the lowest round of the week at Royal Portrush to take a one-shot lead at the halfway mark of the 153rd Open, but fellow Major champion Matt Fitzpatrick is hot on his heels.
May's US PGA Championship winner Scheffler carded eight birdies and a single bogey on Friday afternoon to sign for a 64 and head into the weekend on ten under par.
The American turned in 32 after following up a birdie at the first with a hat-trick of gains from the fifth before a late flourish saw him overtake 2022 U.S. Open champion Fitzpatrick at the top of the leaderboard.
Englishman Fitzpatrick sits one shot off the lead after shooting a 66 that featured four consecutive birdies from the tenth.
The nine-time DP World Tour winner had a good chance to get to double figures under par at the 17th but could not convert his close-range birdie try.
Fitzpatrick made amends at the 18th, though, saving par from 23 feet to stay at nine under.
Chinese star Haotong Li and 2023 Open Champion Brian Harman share third place on eight under.
Scheffler, who began the day one stroke off the lead, got off to a strong start by holing his seven-foot birdie putt at the first.
He saved par from a similar distance at the second before picking up his second shot of the day with another solid putt on the fifth.
A monster birdie putt followed on the par-three sixth and he made it three gains in a row from seven feet at the seventh.
Scheffler started the back nine with a birdie, but gave the shot back at the 11th.
Birdies at each of the back nine's par threes - the 13th and 16th - handed Scheffler a share of the lead on nine under before he birdied the 17th from almost 15 feet to hit the front on his own.
He gave himself another chance at the last, but had to settle for a closing par and a one-shot lead.
Scheffler said: "It felt like I did a lot of things well.
"I holed some nice putts, hit a lot of really good iron shots and I definitely hit a few more fairways than I did yesterday so I'm pretty proud of the number I was able to post.
"I'm excited. Two more days, the tournament's only halfway down and I got off to a good start.
"I'll go home, get some rest and get ready for more."
Fitzpatrick went out in 34 after making four birdies and two bogeys on the front side.
He caught fire after the turn as heavy rain began to fall, birdieing the tenth, 11th, 12th and 13th to give himself a two-shot lead.
But the birdie run ended with a bogey on the 14th, dropping him back to nine under.
Fitzpatrick said: "I felt like every facet of my game was on today and I felt like I really played solid. To take advantage of the opportunities I had out there was obviously really positive.
"I've given myself an opportunity to win the golf tournament, but there's still a long way to go.
"Obviously the aim of the game is to stay in it for as long as possible and hopefully you can pull away right at the death. I'm obviously 50 per cent there. We'll see what the weekend brings."
