Yesterday, we told you that the only element of little surprise is Scottie Scheffler. We are glad to report that the World No.1 proved us right. Scheffler hit the range in a short-sleeved t-shirt. By the time he reached the 18th, he had the hoodie on and an umbrella in his hand.

The weather was erratic, but not his game. Scheffler added eight circles to his scorecard (and one bogey) en route to a 7-under 64—the lowest score of his major career. At 10-under after two rounds, Scheffler holds a solo lead by one stroke.

He just walked into Portrush, cool as a cucumber—look at him trotting about in his average gym-bro outfit—but his lead is anything but comforting.

Only five of the last 28 players to have a one-stroke lead after the second round went on to win the Claret Jug. The last person was one whom Scheffler has been compared to a lot lately. Tiger Woods. 2006. Royal Liverpool.

Interestingly, though, despite his dominance, Scheffler was not the highlight of the day. That honor belonged to Bryson DeChambeau. On Thursday, the LIV golfer opened with a 7-over 78. Everyone was convinced he had already missed the cut. But DeChambeau refused to go out without a fight.

Seven birdies (and a lone bogey on Friday) catapulted him 93 spots on the leaderboard, and safely inside the cutline. Another U.S. Open champ, Wyndham Clark, also leapfrogged 90+ spots thanks to a 5-under 66.

Of course, not everyone could make a turnaround like these two. Sadly, many hotshots were on the wrong side of the 1-over cutline:

No amateurs made the cut either. So, there’ll be no silver medal on Sunday. Care to guess the last time that happened? 2019 Open. Royal Portrush. Clearly, it’s a major-worthy course!

In between comebacks and coming undone, a lot happened yesterday that flew under the radar. From a bat attack in the booth to Shane Lowry’s penalty, here are the big moments from Portrush that you probably missed.

Wrath: Joaquin Niemann mostly stays composed. Not yesterday, though. He missed the cut and almost stomped on his caddie’s hand, as you can see here.

Penalty: On the par-5 12th, Lowry stuck in deep rough somehow salvaged par. But three holes later, he was informed that it would be counted as a double. Reason? R&A deemed Lowry’s ball moved during a practice swing. You judge for yourself from this footage of it.

Bat attack: Dan Hicks and Kevin Kisner were pretty settled in their broadcast booth when, out of the blue, a bat attacked them! Watch the chaos unfold live below.

Wizardry: Justin Thomas’s 29ft birdie putt on the par-3 third curved beautifully, but stopped half an inch from the hole. What would you do in situations like this? Certainly not what JT did with his hands…

Uh-oh: No matter how rigorously you were watching the Open broadcast yesterday, if you weren’t listening carefully, you missed this soft (but loud) slip-up from a former PGA Tour winner turned on-course broadcaster!

With this, we are now into the last 36 holes of the last major of the season. Today, there is an 80% chance of rain, but as of now, we haven’t had to take out our umbrellas. Off to the weekend…

Cameron Smith. Not too long ago, that name struck fear into the leaders. When the majors called, Smith answered. What else would you call a final round of 64 at St. Andrews? An ice-cold takedown of Rory and Cam Young. Hitting fairway after fairway. And then tracking putts to perfection! That killer instinct, that clutch gene... It may still be there, but we sure as hell didn't see it on Friday.

Smith was a disaster in Portrush. A 7-over 78. 6 bogeys. 1 double. Offset by just one birdie. The 2022 Open champ just made history for all the wrong reasons at the 2025 majors. He is now the only person on a list NO Pro would ever want to be on!

In his last seven majors, Smith has a cumulative +44. He’s fallen hard!

The only thing more predictable than Scottie Scheffler finding his way to the top of the leaderboard is the English food. You don’t need a menu to order your breakfast. Please choose from scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon, baked beans, fried tomatoes and mushrooms, along with toasts, English tea, and a range of utterly forgettable coffee.

What would really help is food that covers the entire spectrum, like Bryson DeChambeau’s first round 78, followed by a 65. Some Thai would be good, having the heat of a Tyrrell Hatton after a mildly bad tee shot. Some Matt Fitzpatrick-like solidity in the form of chicken tikkas and naan would be nice. Or a complete surprise like Haotong Li contending at the halfway stage.

A quick walk of the golf course yesterday revealed that the two most popular items being sold, despite the typical wet and cold British weather, were beer and ice cream. But coming back to golf, with much better weather this Saturday morning — these clear skies and almost hole-outs are what we mean by that — it should be a feast for the fans.