Li, Harman lead British Open as McIlroy hangs on at Portrush
PORTRUSH: China’s Li Haotong and American Brian Harman led the British Open second round on eight under par as home favourite Rory McIlroy’s rollercoaster ride continued at Royal Portrush on Friday.
Li picked up five birdies in his first 12 holes in changeable weather conditions to lead the tournament on his own, but the world number 111 bogeyed the 14th hole, his first dropped shot of the tournament, to slip back.
Harman lifted the Claret Jug at a soggy Royal Liverpool two years ago but arrived on the Northern Ireland coast under the radar after enjoying little success since his first major triumph.
The world number 26 birdied the first two holes, however, and picked up four more shots, sinking an eight-foot putt at the last to complete a flawless round of 65 and move to eight under par.
“I love the golf over here,” Harman said. “It suits me. Distance, of course, matters over here, but it doesn’t matter as much as maybe some other tournaments because the ground is so firm that the ball rolls.”
Northern Ireland’s McIlroy, again attracting huge galleries, scrambled to an opening one-under 70 and it was a similar story early in his second round as he mixed mistakes with brilliance.
The 36-year-old, bidding to win his second Open 11 years after his first, had the crowds roaring with a birdie on the first and did brilliantly to salvage a par five at the second after slicing his drive into deep rough and taking a penalty drop.
He wasted several opportunities with careless putts before birdies at the 12th
and 14th completed a round of 69 to finish at three under par.
“I didn’t have this opportunity six years ago, so to play an extra two days in this atmosphere in front of these crowds, I’m very excited for that,” McIlroy said, referring to the 2019 Open at Portrush when he missed the cut.
“I feel like my game’s definitely good enough to make a run. I’m excited for the weekend.”
World number one Scottie Scheffler moved to six under par with three early birdies to boost his bid for a first Open title, level with England’s Matt Fitzpatrick.
Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard finished on five under alongside Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre, England’s Tyrrell Hatton and American Harris English.
After Thursday’s heavy rain showers and stiff breezes, bright conditions and light winds greeted the early groups on Friday and with receptive greens several players profited.
With his trademark accuracy and hot putter again in evidence, the 38-year-old Harman birdied the par-four opening hole after a superb approach shot left him a tap-in.
Harman capitalised on the two par-fives on the outward nine, with birdies on both, and reached six under after another laser-like approach left him a tap-in on the 10th.
Among the big names likely to miss the cut were former Open champions Zach Johnson, Stewart Cink, Louis Oosthuizen, Padraig Harrington and Cameron Smith.
Joint overnight leader Jacob Skov Olesen began his second round in horrible fashion with a quadruple bogey eight on the first after driving out of bounds twice off the tee. In one hole, the Dane dropped from the top of the leaderboard to 36th
Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2025
