​Australia’s Lucas Herbert surged into the lead at Royal Birkdale on Friday, equalling a British Open record with a six-under-par 28 on the front nine. He began the day at level par, but birdies at the first three holes, followed by additional gains at the fifth, seventh and ninth, carried him past overnight leader Jackson Suber. Herbert’s front nine 28 matches the record set by Denis Durnian at Birkdale in 1983 for the lowest opening nine in Open history.
Suber, ranked world number 115, struggled with three straight bogeys on the sixth, seventh and eighth holes which temporarily ceded his advantage. He regrouped on the back nine and finished five under par for the tournament with three holes remaining in his second round.
Colin Morikawa, the 2020 Open champion, was also in the mix as conditions remained ideal on the northwest coast of England. He collected two birdies in his first four holes, moving to four under par.
Rory McIlroy started brightly as he seeks to rebound from a challenging opening round that jeopardized his chances of winning a seventh major title. The world number two opened with a flawless approach and quickly converted a birdie at the second hole, while four pars through the opening stretch left him at one over par for the tournament after five holes.
Scottie Scheffler, the current world number one, is among the later starters as he attempts to build on a solid start to his defense of the Claret Jug. He opens at two under par, joining a marquee group that features Bryson DeChambeau and England’s Tyrrell Hatton, scheduled to tee off at 3:04 p.m. local time (14:04 GMT).