Updated July 17, 2026, 7:46 p.m. ET
The second round of the 2026 Open Championship was bookended by highs and lows.
After Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns both finished their rounds with eight birdies to end with 8-under 62s that tied the major championship 18-scoring record, Bryson DeChambeau was slapped with a two-stroke penalty for a rules violation. The penalty dropped DeChambeau from second place and a one-shot deficit to a tie for fifth place and a three-shot deficit.
“The rules official said I improved my lie,” DeChambeau said to his associates as he left the scoring tent, according to a report from USA Sports. Two of the three major winners from 2026 (Aaron Rai and Wyndham Clark) failed to make the cut, while the other one, Rory McIlroy, shot 3-under to get himself on the right side of the line. It was a high-stakes day with a whole lot going on, and USA TODAY Sports tracked it all.
Here’s how the second round unfolded from Royal Birkdale, with up-to-date leaders, highlights and analysis:
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2026 Open Championship live leaderboard See the live 2026 Open Championship leaderboard here
Round 2 leaderboard
1. Lucas Herbert: -8 T2. Jackson Suber: -6 T2. Cameron Young: -6 T2. Ryan Gerard: -6 T5. Sam Burns: -5 T5. Bryson DeChambeau: -5 T5.
Si Woo Kim: -5 T8. Matt Wallace: -4 T8. Bud Cauley: -4 T8.
Thomas Detry: -4 T8. Robert MacIntyre: -4 T8.
Alex Fitzpatrick: -4 T8. Francesco Molinari: -4 T8. Scottie Scheffler: -4 T8.
Tommy Fleetwood: -4 T8. Jon Rahm: -4 Click here for the full 2026 Open Championship leaderboard. Bryson DeChambeau reacts to penalty Bryson DeChambeau will head into the weekend with a chip on his shoulder. And it does appear he will play. DeChambeau posted his reaction to being handed a two-stroke penalty more than two hours after it happened.
Cooler heads really do prevail. Will Bryson DeChambeau quit the Open? After being assesses a two-stroke penalty for a rules infraction, Bryson DeChambeau appeared to make a veiled threat. While discussing the penalty, DeChambeau appeared to tell an official he’s “not playing tomorrow.”
Brett Falkoff, DeChambeau’s manager, said “your guess is as good as mine” when he was asked if DeChambeau would still play in Saturday’s third round. Who missed the cut at the Open? Aaron Rai and Wyndham Clark, winners of this year’s PGA Championship and U.S. Open, respectively, were among the big names to miss the cut at the Open Championship.
The cut line was 1-over par, which leaves 78 golfers to play the final two rounds at Royal Birkdale. Why was Bryson DeChambeau penalized? Bryson DeChambeau had just finished what appeared to be a second consecutive resurgent round when the drama began to unfold. “The rules official said I improved my lie,” DeChambeau said to his associates as he left the scoring tent, according to a USA Sports report.
DeChambeau is referring to the No. 5 hole during the second round. His wayward drive landed in long fescue grass and replays showed DeChambeau walking over and stepping on long grass in a manner that could have potentially improved circumstances for his backswing. DeChambeau and the rules official eventually took a golf cart back to the scene of the shot at No. 5 to “discuss his actions,” according to R&A rules official Charlie Maran. Bryson DeChambeau penalized Though there hasn’t been an official word, the penalty seems to have been handed down to Bryson DeChambeau as the scoreboard now lists him at 5-under par and in a three-way tie for fifth place. Bryson DeChambeau facing potential penalty Just when you thought things were looking up for Bryson DeChambeau, a potential penalty strikes.
After his round ended, DeChambeau was taken to the par-4 No. 5 hole with rules officials. DeChambeau had an animated discussion with an official, clearly pleading his case about a rules violation that could cost him two strokes. He appeared to say he won’t play tomorrow. Jon Rahm cards 3-under for the day After an opening round of 1-under par, Jon Rahm turned in a 3-under day during the second round at Royal Birkdale, giving him a 4-under for the tournament. Rahm bogeyed the par-3 No. 15, but bounced back to go birdie-birdie-par to finish with a 67.
Ryan Gerard finishing strong Ryan Gerard has made birdies on two of his past four holes and heads into No. 18 in a three-way tie for third place at 6-under par. Gerard was at 3-under 67 after Thursday’s first round. When was Bryson DeChambeau’s last major? Bryson DeChambeau is currently in second place at the Open Championship and just one shot behind leader Lucas Herbert.
This gives DeChambeau a legitimate shot at claiming his first major since 2024, when he won his second U.S. Open. DeChambeau only has those two majors to his name. His best finish at the Open is a tie for eighth in 2022.
Scottie Scheffler finishes bogey free Scottie Scheffler shot his second consecutive 68 after a bogey-free Round 2. After a 2-under round on Friday, Scheffler will head into the weekend at 4-under and four strokes behind leader Lucas Herbert.
Bryson DeChambeau ends round with exclamation point Bryson DeChambeau finished his second round with a second consecutive birdie after rolling in a 12-foot putt to get him to 4-under for the day and 7-under for the tournament. That puts DeChambeau just one stroke behind leader Lucas Herbert going into the third round. Jordan Spieth won’t make weekend Jordan Spieth was teetering on the fringe of the projected cut line most of his round.
But the three-time major winner is now all but officially out for the final two rounds at Royal Birkdale. Speith’s past four holes tell his roller-coaster story. After a double-bogey 7 on No. 14, Spieth went par-birdie on Nos.
15 and 16. Then came the par-5 No. 17, which gave him fits. After incurring a penalty from his drive, which he yanked left, his third shot went way over the fairway and out of bounds for another penalty. Four shots later he was in the hole for a quadruple bogey.
Tyrrell Hatton drains another birdie Englishman Tyrrell Hatton has found his rhythm with birdies on three of his past four holes. The latest, on the par-5 No.
17, came on a putt from 7 yards away from the hole. Hatton is now 3-under for the tournament, five strokes behind leader Lucas Herbert,
Tommy Fleetwood sinks second consecutive birdie Tommy Fleetwood has run his score to 3-under par after going birdie-birdie on Nos. 14 and 15 during the second round.
After a 4 on the par-5 No. 14 hole, Fleetwood drove to the green from his tee shot on he 211-yard par-3 No. 15. Sitting about 21 feet from the pin, Fleetwood made the putt for birdie. The gallery went bonkers for the Englishman, who is from Southport.
Scottie Scheffler finally sinks another birdie putt Scottie Scheffler said after Round 1 he felt he played better than his score indicated after missing just one fairway. It was shaping up to be much the same on Friday, with Scheffler unable to sink any of the reasonable birdie putts the rest of his game had been providing him around the greens. Before a 6-foot birdie on No.
14 moved Scheffler to 4-under for the tournament, and four shots back of leader Lucas Herbert, he had not connected on a putt of more than 3 feet during the second round. Scheffler is 2-under for his round with no bogeys on his scorecard thus far. The world No. 1 been the best player in the field …
except with his putter. Jose Luis Ballester nearly gets back-to-back eagles to make projected cut It looked as if Jose Luis Ballester, a promising 22-year-old former U.S. Amateur champion playing with LIV Golf, would miss the cut at the 2026 Open Championship after he arrived at the 17th hole Friday sitting at +4. But then Ballester sank an eagle putt on No. 17 and nearly holed out from 185 yards at No. 18 to set up another birdie. The 22-year-old moved to 1-over for the tournament, just enough to make it to the weekend based on the latest projected cut line as Round 2 winds down at Royal Birkdale.
Bryson DeChambeau closing in on leaders after another birdie Bryson DeChambeau is creeping closer to Lucas Herbert on the Open Championship leaderboard after his third birdie of Round 2 on No. 11 to move to 5-under for the tournament. DeChambeau has again been on point with other parts of his game than just his driver. He used a huge 354-yard drive to set up a bump-and-run play for a short birdie at No.
9 and then executed an excellent approach shot at the 11th. Tommy Fleetwood gets Tiger Woods compliment, Royal Birkdale roars Tommy Fleetwood, the hometown favorite who grew up in Southport, England near Royal Birkdale Golf Club, is drawing attention to himself during a fast start to Round 2 at the Open Championship. Fleetwood is a clothing free agent in the golf world who has notably been spotted wearing a variety of gear during recent tournaments, including apparel from famous courses. For Friday’s second round, however, he was wearing a shirt from Tiger Woods’ brand, Sun Day Red.
And Woods noticed: “Lookin’ good out there,” the 18-time major winner tweeted at Fleetwood in the midst of Round 2 coverage. It’s unclear at this point if Fleetwood’s appearance in Sun Day Red is a precursor to a new endorsement deal. Fleetwood currently sits at 2-under for the tournament and 1-under for Friday’s round, and drew perhaps the biggest cheers of the tournament thus far with a long birdie putt on No. 2. Alex Fitzpatrick makes major statement despite late bogey One Fitzpatrick brother is in contention to win the 2026 Open Championship after Round 2 and the other isn’t going to play the weekend at Royal Birkdale. Only it’s not how most golf experts would have predicted.
Alex Fitzpatrick, the younger brother of world No. 3 Matt Fitzpatrick, just closed out a round of 3-under 66 and sits among the top-10 on the leaderboard heading into Saturday’s third round. Matt Fitzpatrick finished Friday at +4 and won’t make the cut. Alex Fitzpatrick, who earned his PGA Tour card earlier this season when he won the Zurich Classic playing on a team with his brother, capped off his rise with a beautiful bunker shot to set up a birdie at No.
17. He couldn’t close it out by saving par at No.
18 after a poor drive, but remains firmly in the mix for the Claret Jug. Jordan Spieth in danger of missing cut after ugly double bogey Jordan Spieth won the Open Championship when it was last held at Royal Birkdale in 2017. This year, he might not even get to play the weekend. Spieth just dropped to 4-over par for the tournament after a brutal three-putt on No. 7 led to a double bogey. All three putts were less than four feet from the cup. It followed a bogey at No.
6 after Spieth’s round had started with two birdies over the opening five holes. Click here for USA TODAY’s live cut tracker from the 2026 Open Championship second round. Robert MacIntyre vaults into top five with rare eagle Here comes Robert MacIntyre to help add to the eclectic leaderboard at the 2026 Open Championship.
The Scotsman just holed a 39-foot eagle putt over a slope on the 17th green to move to 5-under and join Sam Burns and Alex Fitzpatrick in a tie for fourth during Round 2 play at Royal Birkdale. Rory McIlroy will survive Open Championship cut line Rory McIlroy will play the weekend at the 2026 Open Championship after going bogey-free over his final 12 holes during Friday’s Round 2 and mixing in four birdies to get to 1-under for the tournament.
His round stabilized near the turn after, with back-to-back birdies that included a 377-yard drive on No. 9 that rolled 11 feet from the hole. He’ll begin the third round Saturday seven shots back of leader Lucas Herbert. Click here for USA TODAY’s live cut tracker from the 2026 Open Championship second round. Bryson DeChambeau makes early move up leaderboard Bryson DeChambeau is back in the mix near the top of the 2026 Open Championship leaderboard to start Round 2 after holing a 16-foot putt for an early birdie at No. 4.
He’s now at 4-under for the tournament after an encouraging performance in Round 1. What is the Open cut line? The projected cut line for the 2026 British Open is currently even par. That means all golfers with a score of par or better would make it to the weekend at Royal Birkdale. Follow here for live updates. Scottie Scheffler opens with back-to-back pars Scottie Scheffler, last year’s winner at the Open Championship at Royal Portush in Northern Ireland, has gone par-par to start his second round.
Scheffler shot 2-under par during Thursday’s first round to keep himself on the right side of the possible cut line. Sam Burns records a 62 Sam Burns found himself in the bunker on the 18th hole but executed a brilliant recovery, capping off his round with eight birdies and a superb 62. With this performance, Burns matches Lucas Herbert’s score and ties the Open record for lowest round. Lowest rounds in golf major history Lucas Herbert, 2026 Open Championship, Royal Birkdale, Round 2, 8-under Shane Lowry, 2024 PGA Championship, Valhalla Golf Club, Round 3, 9-under Xander Schauffele, 2024 PGA Championship, Valhalla Golf Club, Round 1, 9-under Rickie Fowler, 2023 U.S. Open, Los Angeles Country Club, Round 1, 8-under Xander Schauffele, 2023 U.S. Open, Los Angeles Country Club, Round 1, 8-under Branden Grace, 2017 Open Championship, Royal Birkdale, Round 3, 8-under Lucas Herbert narrowly misses history Lucas Herbert’s par chance on 18 rimmed out, giving him a 62 in the second round and tying the major record for the lowest round in history.
Herbert finishes his day at 8-under, two shots ahead of Jackson Suber. Lucas Herbert on the doorstep of history Lucas Herbert is on the verge of history and is on his way of breaking the major championship 18-hole scoring record of 62.
The last player to card a 62 at The Open was Branden Grace in 2017. Patrick Reed making moves up the leaderboard Patrick Reed has caught fire, posting seven birdies through 14 holes to climb to 4-under and surge up the leaderboard. His strong play has vaulted him into a four-way tie for seventh place. Lucas Herbert makes it look easy Lucas Herbert continues his stellar round, carding another birdie at the 12th hole to extend his lead to 8-under in the second round. Lucas Herbert extends his lead Lucas Herbert continues his impressive form, extending his lead to 7-under in the second round after carding another birdie on the 11th hole. Lucas Herbert in the solo lead Lucas Herbert’s second round at Royal Birkdale has featured six birdies through 10 holes, putting him at the top of the leaderboard with a score of 6-under.
How to watch Open Championship: TV, live stream for Round 2 The 2026 Open Championship will be broadcast nationally on NBC, USA Network or NBC Sports Network throughout the four competitive rounds of the tournament. Live streaming coverage of the 2026 Open Championship will be available via Peacock or Fubo. All times Eastern
Round 2 (July 17) 1:30-4 a.m.
(NBC Sports Network/Peacock) 4 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (USA Network/Peacock) British Open tee times Friday, Round 2 Here is a list of notable groups on Friday. Click here for a full list of Friday tee times. 2:30 a.m. — Sami Valimaki, Shaun Norris, Jackson Suber 2:52 a.m. — Keegan Bradley, Corey Conners, Casey Jarvis 4:14 a.m.
— Kristoffer Reitan, Patrick Reed, JT Poston 4:25 a.m. — Chris Gotterup, Sam Burns, Adam Scott 4:36 a.m. — Collin Morikawa, JJ Spaun, Nicolai Hojgaard 4:47 a.m. — Shane Lowry, Aaron Rai, Brooks Koepka 4:58 a.m. — Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Ludvig Aberg 5:09 a.m.
— Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick 5:31 a.m. — Patrick Cantlay, Daniel Berger, Nico Echavarria 7:25 a.m. — Robert MacIntyre, Rickie Fowler, Alex Fitzpatrick 7:47 a.m. — Sungjae Im, Daniel Brown, Fifa Laopakdee (a) 9:31 a.m. — Ben Griffin, Hideki Matsuyama, Min Woo Lee 9:42 a.m. — Russell Henley, Justin Rose, Viktor Hovland 9:53 a.m. — Justin Thomas, Alex Noren, Jason Day 10:04 a.m.
— Scottie Scheffler, Tyrrell Hatton, Bryson DeChambeau 10:15 a.m. — Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm 10:26 a.m. — Brian Harman, Si Woo Kim, Nick Taylor What time is the Open Championship today? The British Open tees off live from Royal Birkdale Golf Club with coverage starting at 1:30 a.m. ET. The first tee time is set for 1:35 a.m.
ET. British Open odds: Favorites Odds via BetMGM as of Wednesday. Scottie Scheffler (+500) Cameron Young (+1100) Robert MacIntyre (+1400) Bryson DeChambeau (+1600) 2026 Open Championship Predictions Predictions made ahead of Open Championship Round 1. Steve Gardner: Matt Fitzpatrick (+1600) In addition to winning twice already this season on the PGA Tour, Fitzpatrick is coming in hot at the British Open. He has a trio of top-4 finishes in his last four events, including a tie for third this past week at the Scottish Open. He’ll have the backing of the home crowd at Royal Birkdale, which would be the perfect place to win his second major title. Jon Hoefling: Chris Gotterup (+2800) While it’s been an up and down year for Gotterup, he’s certainly on the up right now, recording a first-place finish at the John Deere Classic and an 11th-place finish last week at the Genesis Scottish Open.
He’s playing his best golf of the year and has somewhat of a track record in big moments, finishing tied for tenth at the 2026 Players Championship and third at the 2025 Open Championship a year ago. Kristie Ackert: Matt Fitzpatrick (+1600) Fitzpatrick comes in with some momentum, finishing T3 at last week’s Scottish Open where he led the entire field in strokes-gained approach. A cold putter kept him from winning. He has three wins on tour and top-five finishes in three of his last four starts. Scooby Axson: Tommy Fleetwood (+1600) It’s time for one of the more consistent players on tour to break through and win his first major. If he can get his putter right, he has a chance to be in the final group on Sunday and hoist the Claret Jug.
Blake Schuster: Rory McIlroy (+900) It’s easy to call this a boring pick, but I think I’m taking a risk with a guy who by his own admission is “so bad at golf”. May we all be as fortunate to play as poorly as the back-to-back Masters champ. McIlroy hasn’t won The Open since 2014, but he’s rarely out of it. The 37-year-old has six Top 10 finishes at The Open in his last 10 tries and is coming off a weekend at the Scottish Open where he roared back into contention on Sunday following a dreadful third round. If that happens again this weekend, he’ll have a raucous gallery on his side to help him finish the job.
Mark Giannotto: Jon Rahm (+2200) Rahm looks to bounce back after missing the cut at the U.S. Open and he’s got three top-seven finishes in his past five starts at The Open Championship. The LIV Golf star has proven he can play with precision to win a major and he’s due for a breakthrough performance after struggling at times on golf’s biggest stages in recent seasons. Open Championship weather forecast The Accuweather forecast for every round at the 2026 Open Championship calls for mostly clear and dry conditions, beginning with Round 1 action on Thursday, July 16 and culminating with the final round at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England on Sunday, July 19.
Friday, July 17 (Round 2) Decreasing clouds and warm, high of 75 and low of 56. Wind predicted to the northwest at 10 mph with gusts of up to 23 mph. British Open 2026 prize money payouts The winner of the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale is set to receive a record $3.2 million in prize money, tournament officials announced on Tuesday, July 14. The final men’s golf major of the season, which begins with Round 1 tee times on Thursday, will feature a total purse of $17.75 million. That’s an increase of $500,000 from last year’s Open Championship, according to Golfweek.
The payouts include $3.2 million to the golfer who captures the Claret Jug, up $100,000 from 2025. Read here for the full list of payouts. Who is Jackson Suber? Jackson Suber is a 26-year-old from Tampa, Florida, who is the Open Championship leader in the clubhouse at 5-under par.
Suber went to the University of Mississippi and turned pro in 2022. He’s put together three top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour, but he has never won a tournament.
Suber’s best finish in 2026 is fourth place, something he did at the RBC Canadian Open (June 11-14) and THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson (May 21-24). What is the projected cut line at the British Open after Round 1?
The cut line after the completion of Round 1 is +1. All golfers with a score of +1 or better would make it to the weekend at Royal Birkdale.
There’s a 29.6% chance the cut line remains at +1, according to the live model developed by Data Golf. The most likely projected cut line is +2 (41.8% chance).
There’s also a 18.7% chance the cut line rises to +3, according to the website. Open Championship cut rules: How many golfers make the weekend? Only the top 70 golfers (and ties) on the leaderboard after Friday’s Round 2 make the cut to play the weekend at the 2026 Open Championship.
