World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler surged into sole possession of first place heading into the weekend at golf’s final major of 2025, putting together the best round of the day (7-under 64) to wind up one shot ahead of 2022 U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick at 10-under overall for the tournament.
Brian Harman, the 2023 British Open winner, also made a charge during the early tee times of the second round, and Rory McIlroy is lurking within striking distance back home in Northern Ireland. There are plenty of contenders in the mix with the unorthodox challenges presented by links golf.
Open Championship 2025 leaderboard
Leaders during Round 2. Click here for the latest leaderboard updates and tee times.
1. Scottie Scheffler: -10 (F)
2. Matt Fitzpatrick: -9 (F)
T3. Brian Harman: -8 (F)
T3. Haotong Li: -8 (F)
T5. Rasmus Højgaard: -5 (F)
T5. Tyrrell Hatton: -5 (F)
T5. Robert MacIntyre: -5 (F)
T5. Harris English: -5 (F)
T5. Chris Gotterup: -5 (F)
T10. Tony Finau: -4 (F)
T10. Nicolai Højgaard: -4 (F)
Who missed cut at 2025 Open Championship?
The cut line was 1-over after the completion of Friday’s second round based on the top 70 and ties on the current leaderboard. Here’s a breakdown of all the notable golfers that didn’t make the cut at Royal Portrush following the conclusion of Friday’s second round at the 2025 Open Championship:
Joaquin Niemann: +2 (F)
Jason Day: +2 (F)
Zach Johnson: +3 (F)
Si Woo Kim: +3 (F)
Tom Kim: +3 (F)
Patrick Cantlay: +3 (F)
Stewart Cink: +4 (F)
Michael Kim: +4 (F)
Patrick Reed: +5 (F)
Min Woo Lee: +5 (F)
Darren Clarke: +6 (F)
Louis Oosthuizen: +6 (F)
Collin Morikawa: +7 (F)
Brooks Koepka: +7 (F)
Cameron Smith: +8 (F)
Adam Scott: +9 (F)
Padraig Harrington: +9 (F)
Scottie Scheffler grabs outright lead
The world’s No. 1 golfer is putting on a show with his putter Friday at the 2025 Open Championship. Scottie Scheffler just birdied No. 17 to move to 10-under par for the tournament. He’s now alone atop the leaderboard and on the verge of the best round of the day approaching the 18th hole.
Scottie Scheffler tied for lead
Here comes Scottie Scheffler. The world No. 1 has officially grabbed a share of the lead during the second round at the 2025 Open Championship with a 17-foot birdie putt on No. 16. He’s now tied with Matt Fitzpatrick atop the leaderboard at 9-under for the tournament, and he’s six-under for the day with two holes to play.
Matt Fitzpatrick saves par on No. 18 to preserve lead
Matt Fitzpatrick just closed his remarkable surge to the top of the Open Championship leaderboard with a 5-under 66 Friday that featured eight birdies. After missing a short birdie putt on No. 17, he had to sink a 23-foot putt to save par on the final hole of his round to remain at 9-under entering the clubhouse. Scottie Scheffler, one shot back, is the only golfer left on course with a chance to catch up to Fitzpatrick ahead of Saturday’s third round at Royal Portrush
Matt Fitzpatrick misses chance to extend lead
Matt Fitzpatrick is trying to hold onto the lead with Scottie Scheffler still charging through the back nine to close out the second round at the Open Championship Friday. But Fitzpatrick just missed a birdie putt of less than three feet at the 17th hole with a chance to extend his lead back to two shots over Scheffler. It came after a nifty cross-handed chip shot and a well-executed 362-yard drive on the par-4 hole. Scheffler has moved back to 8-under after a birdie at No. 13.
Scottie Scheffler, Matt Fitzpatrick streaks end
Matt Fitzpatrick just saw his streak of four consecutive birdies end with a bogey at No. 14 to drop back to 9-under, one shot ahead of Brian Harman and Haotong Li. Scottie Scheffler, meanwhile, just suffered his first bogey of the second round at No. 11 to fall back to 7-under for the tournament after three consecutive birdies on the front nine and four birdies on his opening 10 holes.
New solo leader at Open Championship
Matt Fitzpatrick has taken the outright lead during the second round of the 2025 Open Championship after another birdie on the par-5 12th at Royal Portrush. He has pushed his score to 10-under for the tournament and sits two shots ahead of Brian Harman and Haotong Li, who are both in the clubhouse at 8-under heading into the weekend.
Matt Fitzpatrick grabs share of the lead
The 2022 U.S. Open champion has been lingering near the top of the leaderboard throughout the first two rounds of the Open Championship, and now Matt Fitzpatrick has moved into a three-way tie for the tournament lead with Brian Harman and Haotong Li. Fitzpatrick is now 8-under after a birdie putt at No. 11 left him at 4-under for his second round.
Fitzpatrick hasn’t had a good 2025 thus far, ranking 60th in the FedEx Cup rankings on the PGA Tour and No. 50 in the world golf rankings. But he’d been playing better leading up to the Open Championship with consecutive top-10 finishes. He’s looking like a major contender again at Royal Portrush this week.
Scottie Scheffler moves up leaderboard
The world’s No. 1 golfer is making some noise in the late afternoon at Royal Portrush. Scottie Scheffler just sank a 34-foot putt on the par-3 sixth hole for his second-straight birdie and then got a third in a row at No. 7. He moved to -7 for the tournament, one shot off co-leaders Brian Harman and Haotong Li. Scheffler, who won his first PGA Championship earlier this year, has never won the Open Championship.
Li, who had been the lone bogey-free golfer in the field, carded a bogey at the par 4 14th to move back to 8-under for the tournament.
Open Championship projected cut line update
The projected cut line at the 2025 Open Championship has been hovering between +1 and +2 throughout Friday’s second round. Only the top 70 on the leaderboard, including ties, after 36 holes make the cut for the weekend following the conclusion of Round 2. Notable past major winners like Brooks Koepka and Collin Morikawa are among the group of golfers in danger of missing the cut.
Haotong Li takes solo lead at Open Championship
Haotong Li is surging after another birdie at No. 12 gave him the solo lead at The Open Championship. Li sits at 9-under for the tournament and appears to avoided the worst of the brief bout of rainy weather that hovered over parts of Royal Portrush in the past hour.
Haotong Li tied with Brian Harman for British Open lead
The only bogey-free golfer in the 2025 Open Championship is Haotong Li of China, who just tied Brian Harman atop the leaderboard at Royal Portrush at 8-under. Li just birdied No. 10 after three birdies on the front nine of his second round, and nearly took the solo lead when he barely missed a birdie attempt at No. 11.
Li, with four career wins on the DP World Tour, previously finished in third at the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale and had the 36-hole lead at the 2020 PGA Championship but has otherwise never been in contention at a major.
Rory McIlroy closes in contention (and in the rain)
Rory McIlroy will be in the mix entering the weekend at the 2025 Open Championship, and that should add plenty of drama given the size of his gallery through the first two days of golf. He nearly birdied No. 18 Friday soon after the rain started falling at Royal Portrush, ending his second round at 3-under for the tournament and five shots back of current leader Brian Harman.
McIlroy is playing in his home country of Northern Ireland and in good position at another major, tied for 11th on the leaderboard at the moment. He missed the cut when The Open Championship was last played at Royal Portrush.
Bryson DeChambeau authors drastic turnaround
Bryson DeChambeau’s struggles with links golf courses appeared to be a roadblock again this year at the Open Championship when the two-time U.S. Open champion posted a 7-over 78 during Thursday’s first round. But after seeming destined to miss the cut this week at the final major of 2025, DeChambeau is likely to make it to the weekend at Royal Portrush and perhaps put himself on the fringe of contention entering Saturday’s third round with a scintillating 18 holes of golf.
DeChambeau posted a 6-under 65, tying tournament leader Brian Harman for low round of the day thus far. DeChambeau now sits at 1-over that featured seven birdies less than 24 hours after he went without any during the first round. He currently leads the field in strokes gained-approach on Friday.
Brian Harman is leader in clubhouse
Brian Harman’s second round is complete and the 2023 Open champion was on his game throughout Friday. Harman is now the leader in the clubhouse at the British Open, reaching 8-under for the tournament after posting a 6-under 64 in the second round. He has a one-shot lead over Haotong Li.
Brian Harman, Robert MacIntyre going low
Brian Harman is the first golfer to reach 7-under par at the 2025 Open Championship, opening up a one-shot lead on Haotong Li because he’s 5-under during Friday’s action. Harman is tied with Robert MacIntyre and Ludvig Aberg for the low round of the day so far at Royal Portrush.
MacIntyre is 5-under for the second round (and 5-under for the tournament) and moved into a tie for third in the overall leaderboard with three holes to go on Friday. Both Harman and MacIntyre are bogey-free at the moment.
Rasmus Højgaard finishes strong
After bogeys on consecutive holes dropped Rasmus Højgaard on the leaderboard, the Danish star finished par-par-birdie to score 2-under for the round and will head into the weekend at 5-under overall. He’s currently just two shots off the lead.
Justin Rose almost aces No. 13
It’s been an up-and-down day for Justin Rose, who started the second round at 2-under. He was 2-under on the front nine to get to 4-under for the tourney but had a colossal meltdown on No. 11 with a triple bogey 7. Two holes later, on the par-3 No. 13, Rose’s shot off the tee came to within 2 feet of a hole in one. He tapped in for birdie and sits at 1-under overall.
Bryson DeChambeau nearly makes eagle putt
The 2025 Open hasn’t been kind to Bryson DeChambeau, who shot 7-over on Thursday and is in danger of missing the cut. DeChambeau has, however, played a much-better second round, notching two birdies on the front nine and nearly making a 38-foot eagle putt on No. 12. He settled for a birdie and is now at 4-under for the tournament.
Rasmus Højgaard struggling late
After shooting 2-under during the first round, Rasmus Højgaard got off to a fast start Friday with five birdies (and one bogey) through 13 holes. But Højgaard turned in two consecutive bogeys before hitting his tee shot on 16 into deep rough. He saved par, though, with a nice chip onto the green that left a 7-foot putt that he rolled in.
Who leads at the Open?
Brian Harman set the tone early with birdies on his first two holes. The Savannah, Georgia native has shot 4-under through 11 holes during the second round and has a one-shot lead over Tyrrell Hatton and Harris English.
Keegan Bradley moving up leaderboard
Keegan Bradley has had a second round that puts him among the contenders at the Open. Bradley had an eagle 3 on No. 2 and scored par on every other hole on the front nine. With two birdies on the back nine, he’s at 4-under after 16 holes for the day – and 3-under for the tournament.
Rory McIlroy score at the Open
McIlroy has been a bit uneven during the second round at Royal Portrush. He birdied Nos. 1 and 4, but bogeyed Nos. 3 and 5 to remain 1-under for the tournament.
Jakob Skov Olesen starts with quadruple bogey
Jacob Skov Olesen was one of five golfers tied for the lead after the first round of the Open Championship.
That lead evaporated quickly for him after he hit two tee shots out of bounds on the first hole Friday and finished with a quadruple bogey to fall to even for the tournament.
Where to watch Open Championship: TV channel, streaming Friday
Live coverage of this year’s Open Championship will be provided by NBC, USA Network, Golf Channel and Peacock. Live streaming is also available via Fubo, which is offering a free trial for new subscribers.
All times Eastern
Thursday, July 17 – Friday, July 18
Rounds 1 and 2
1:30-4 a.m.: Stream on Peacock
4 a.m-3:30 p.m.: Watch on USA Network, NBC Sports app, Peacock, Fubo
3:30-6 p.m.: Golf Channel live from The Open
Watch the 2025 Open Championship with Fubo
The Open tee times today: British Open pairings
For a full list of tee times, you can find Friday’s starts here.
All times Eastern; (a) amateur
1:35 a.m. — Stewart Cink, Matteo Manassero, Marc Leishman
1:46 a.m. — Francesco Molinari, Jesper Svensson, Connor Graham (a)
1:57 a.m. — Zach Johnson, Daniel Hillier, Daniel Brown
2:08 a.m. — Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler, Ethan Fang (a)
2:19 a.m. — Laurie Canter, Elvis Smylie, Sergio Garcia
2:30 a.m. — Andrew Novak, Matthieu Pavin, Matt Wallace
2:41 a.m. — Davis Thompson, Dean Burmester, Rikuya Hoshino
2:52 a.m. — Si Woo Kim, Shugo Imahira, Sebastian Cave (a)
3:03 a.m. — Michael Kim, Bud Cauley, John Parry
3:14 a.m. — Matt McCarty, Shaun Norris, Angel Hidalgo
3:25 a.m. — Keegan Bradley, Sungjae Im, Daniel Berger
3:36 a.m. — Rasmus Hojgaard, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Romain Langasque
3:47 a.m. — Aaron Rai, Sahith Theegala, Harry Hall
4:03 a.m. — Justin Leonard, Thriston Lawrence, Antoine Rozner
4:14 a.m. — J.T. Poston, Chris Kirk, Carlos Ortiz
4:25 a.m. — Brian Harman, Maverick McNealy, Joaquin Niemann
4:36 a.m. — Russell Henley, Tyrrell Hatton, Min Woo Lee
4:47 a.m. — Robert MacIntyre, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose
4:58 a.m. — Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland
5:09 a.m. — Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood
5:20 a.m. — Harris English, Nick Taylor, Tony Finau
5:31 a.m. — Lucas Glover, Jhonattan Vegas, Tom Kim
5:42 a.m. — Brian Campbell, John Catlin, Frazer Jones (a)
5:53 a.m. — Nathan Kimsey, Jason Kokrak, Cameron Adam (a)
6:04 a.m. — Daniel Young, Curtis Luck, Curtis Knipes
6:15 a.m. — Younghan Song, George Bloor, OJ Farrell
6:26 a.m. — Padraig Harrington, Nicolai Hojgaard, Tom McKibbin
6:47 a.m. — Louis Oosthuizen, Guido Migliozzi, K.J. Choi
6:58 a.m. — Cameron Smith, Marco Penge, Justin Hastings (a)
7:09 a.m. — Jason Day, Taylor Pendrith, Jacob Skov Olesen
7:20 a.m. — Phil Mickelson, Daniel van Tonder, Ryan Peake
7:31 a.m. — Max Greyserman, Byeong Hun An, Niklas Norgaard
7:42 a.m. — Jordan Smith, Haotong Li, Dustin Johnson
7:53 a.m. — Darren Clarke, Davis Riley, Lucas Herbert
8:04 a.m. — Kevin Yu, Julien Guerrier, Mikiya Akutsu
8:15 a.m. — Thomas Detry, Chris Gotterup, Lee Westwood
8:26 a.m. — Patrick Cantlay, Cameron Young, Mackenzie Hughes
8:37 a.m. — Thorbjorn Olesen, Matthew Jordan, Filip Jakubcik (a)
8:48 a.m. — Henrik Stenson, Stephan Jaeger, Sebastian Soderberg
9:04 a.m. — Kristoffer Reitan, Martin Couvra, Adrien Saddier
9:15 a.m. — Takumi Kanaya, Justin Walters, Bryan Newman (a)
9:26 a.m. — Hideki Matsuyama, Ryan Fox, Matt Fitzpatrick
9:37 a.m. — Sepp Straka, Ben Griffin, Akshay Bhatia
9:48 a.m. — Sam Burns, Aldrich Potgieter, Brooks Koepka
9:59 a.m. — Xander Schauffele, J.J. Spaun, Jon Rahm
10:10 a.m. — Scottie Scheffler, Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa
10:21 a.m. — Corey Conners, Wyndham Clark, Tom Hoge
10:32 a.m. — Denny McCarthy, Nico Echavarria, Patrick Reed
10:43 a.m. — Matt Schmid, Ryggs Johnston, Richard Teder (a)
10:54 a.m. — Dylan Naidoo, Darren Fichardt, John Axelsen
11:05 a.m. — Justin Suh, Oliver Lindell, Jesper Sandborg
11:16 a.m. — Sadom Kaewkanjana, Riki Kawamoto, Sampson Zheng
2025 Open Championship odds
British Open odds according to BetMGM, as of the conclusion of Round 1:
Scottie Scheffler: +240
Rory McIlroy: +750
Matt Fitzpatrick: +1100
Tyrrell Hatton: +1100
Jon Rahm: +1200
Justin Rose: +2000
Harris English: +2200
Shane Lowry: +3000
2025 Open Championship predictions
Predictions made ahead of The Open Championship:
Golf.com: Rahm to have a top-7 finish
Brady Kannon writes: ‘Rahm played tremendous golf from tee-to-green at Oakmont — one of the very best in the entire field — but his putting was awful. He finally found a hot putter on the final day, shot a 67 and finished seventh. Not only am I looking for the top players and good current form, but I also want golfers who are well-versed in links-style golf. Rahm fits the bill as he has finished top-7 at the Open Championship in three of the past four years and has won the Irish Open three times.’
Golf Digest: Rory McIlroy
Alex Myers writes: ‘If you had said before the season that McIlroy would be coming back to his home country with three wins and a major under his belt in 2025, you’d have made him a clear favorite.’
BetMGM: Sepp Straka
Nick Hennion writes: ‘For Straka, his distance won’t be punished at the Open like it would at the Masters and PGA. That should allow his two best attributes – iron play and putting – to shine. Amongst all PGA Tour players this season, Straka ranks second in SG: APP, first in greens in regulation percentage and 16th in SG: Putting. Based on those factors, the price alone is worth it for Straka to claim his first major title.’
