Lucas Herbert just torched Royal Birkdale. The Australian golfer fired a historic round of 62 on Friday evening to seize the solo lead at 8-under par as Round 2 of the 154th Open Championship officially wrapped up.
But the leaderboard is tightly packed. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler remains firmly in contention at 4-under after shooting a 68, while Bryson DeChambeau sits just one stroke back of Herbert at 7-under despite a costly rules infraction that derailed his momentum.
Key Details
- Sam Burns also fired a 62 during the second round, joining Herbert in tying the all-time major championship single-round scoring record.
- The R&A assessed DeChambeau a two-stroke penalty for inadvertently improving the area of his intended backswing on the fifth hole.
- The official cut line fell exactly at 1-over par, eliminating heavyweights like Jordan Spieth (), Viktor Hovland (), Matt Fitzpatrick (), and Wyndham Clark ().
The burnt-out links and challenging pot bunkers at Birkdale are providing a stiff test this year. That makes the scoring at the top even more unusual.
Herbert’s solo lead at -8 didn’t just rattle the top of the leaderboard. It etched his name into the history books alongside Burns.
DeChambeau nearly caught him. The American was cruising until the R&A stepped in. He took a two-stroke penalty on the fifth hole, a ruling confirmed in updates from Royal Birkdale. That single mistake cost him a share of the outright lead heading into the weekend.
Then there is Scheffler. Chasing his fifth major and back-to-back Claret Jugs, the reigning Olympic gold medalist followed his opening day performance with a composed 68. He looks entirely unbothered by his missed cut at the Genesis Scottish Open last week, maintaining his striking distance according to the PGA Tour’s broadcast analysis.
For others, the tournament is already over. Spieth, who won The Open the last time it was held at Birkdale in 2017, completely collapsed. His 10-over par finish sent him packing early.