Masters champion Jon Rahm surged into contention for his third major title with a stunning third round in the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

Rahm only made the cut with a shot to spare following rounds of 74 and 70, but took advantage of unexpectedly benign conditions on Saturday to card eight birdies in a flawless 63, just one shot outside the lowest score in major championship history.

The world number three is the first player to shoot lower than 65 in an Open at Hoylake and closed to within four shots of halfway leader Brian Harman just two minutes before the American got his round under way.

“That is the best round I have played on a links course ever,” said Rahm, who followed a birdie on the fifth with four in succession from the ninth before picking up further shots on the 15th, 16th and 18th in a back nine of 30.

“Starting on 11 everything became downwind and it got easier.

“It is my lowest round on a links course and it is in the Open Championship. It’s the lowest round shot on this course.

“It feels really good but there is a lot of work to do tomorrow.”

A stunning second round of 65 had given Harman a halfway total of 10 under par and made him the ninth player in the last 40 years to hold a 36-hole lead of five strokes or more in a major, with each of the previous eight going on to win.

Scottie Scheffler was the most recent to do so in last year’s Masters, while Louis Oosthuizen was the last to achieve the feat in the Open; the South African led by five at St Andrews in 2010 and won by seven.

However, nearest challenger Tommy Fleetwood was not about to give up the chase in front of his adoring fans, having recently produced rounds of 64 and 67 to force a play-off in the Canadian Open and winning the 2022 Nedbank Golf Challenge from four behind at halfway.

Fleetwood immediately received some encouragement when Harman bogeyed the first and the gap was down to three when Fleetwood holed from nine  feet on the second.

Rory McIlroy had also closed the gap to the leader, birdies on the first, third and fifth taking the four-time major winner, who triumphed at Hoylake in 2014, to four under par.

England’s Tyrrell Hatton insists he is not trying to be funny with his on-course remonstrations – in fact it is completely the opposite.

The 31-year-old is well known for his often expletive-laden outbursts which accompany poor shots but after taking a quadruple-bogey at the last on Friday he was even more demonstrative.

After tapping in for a nine, having hit two drives out of bounds, which ended his hopes of contending for the final major of the season Hatton turned round and used his putter to mimic shooting three times at the tee.

After a third-round 68 lifted him back to one under for the tournament, still too far back with one round to go, Hatton was asked about his mannerisms.

“I’ve done that one before on 18. Just a reaction to not being happy – but I definitely didn’t do a middle finger (gesture) ,” he said after his third round.

“I’m not doing it to be funny. I’m just being myself, what comes into my head at that time. That’s it.

“I just had two bad swings back-to-back and that kind of effectively takes us out of the tournament.”

Rickie Fowler gave hope to the pack attempting to hunt down halfway leader Brian Harman on day three of the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

Fowler, who made the cut with nothing to spare on three over par, overcame miserable conditions in the early part of his round to card a bogey-free 67 and improve to one under par.

That score was soon matched by fellow American Patrick Cantlay, with Olympic champion Xander Schauffele also four under for the day after 12 holes as the players exploited a welcome calm, dry spell at Hoylake.

A stunning second round of 65 had given Harman a halfway total of 10 under par and made him the ninth player in the last 40 years to hold a 36-hole lead of five strokes or more in a major, with each of the previous eight going on to win.

Scottie Scheffler was the most recent to do so in last year’s Masters, while Louis Oosthuizen was the last to achieve the feat in the Open; the South African led by five at St Andrews in 2010 and won by seven.

However, nearest challenger Tommy Fleetwood was in no mood to give up the chase in front of his adoring fans, having recently produced rounds of 64 and 67 to force a play-off in the Canadian Open and winning the 2022 Nedbank Golf Challenge from four behind at halfway.

“I’ve put in chases before in the past,” Fleetwood said after a battling second round of 71.

“At the end of the day, if somebody said you’re going out in the last group on Saturday, I don’t care what the situation was or what anybody had shot, I’d have probably taken it.

“I can’t have asked for any more from anybody with all the support they’re giving me out here and everybody is talking about it.”

Harman and Fleetwood were due out in the final group at 3.30pm.

History, if not the weather, was firmly on Brian Harman’s side as the American attempted to claim his first major title in the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

A stunning second round of 65 meant Harman became the ninth player in the last 40 years to hold a 36-hole lead of five strokes or more in a major, with each of the previous eight going on to win.

Scottie Scheffler was the most recent to do so in last year’s Masters, while Louis Oosthuizen was the last to achieve the feat in the Open; the South African led by five at St Andrews in 2010 and won by seven.

However, nearest challenger Tommy Fleetwood was in no mood to give up the chase in front of his adoring fans, having recently produced rounds of 64 and 67 to force a play-off in the Canadian Open and winning the 2022 Nedbank Golf Challenge from four behind at halfway.

“I’ve put in chases before in the past,” Fleetwood said after a battling second round of 71.

“At the end of the day, if somebody said you’re going out in the last group on Saturday, I don’t care what the situation was or what anybody had shot, I’d have probably taken it.

“I can’t have asked for any more from anybody with all the support they’re giving me out here and everybody is talking about it.”

Harman and Fleetwood were not due out until 3.30pm in the final group, with play getting under way shortly before 9am in miserable conditions.

Persistent and occasionally heavy rain greeted the early starters, whose number included world number one Scheffler.

Scheffler made the cut on the mark of three over par thanks to a somewhat fortunate birdie on the 18th on Friday evening, but might have been cursing his luck after starting round three with bogeys on the second and fourth.

History was firmly on Brian Harman’s side as the American attempted to claim his first major title in the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

A stunning second round of 65 meant Harman became the ninth player in the last 40 years to hold a 36-hole lead of five strokes or more in a major, with each of the previous eight going on to win.

World number one Scottie Scheffler was the most recent to do so in last year’s Masters, while Louis Oosthuizen was the last to achieve the feat in the Open; the South African led by five at St Andrews in 2010 and won by seven.

However, nearest challenger Tommy Fleetwood was in no mood to give up the chase in front of his adoring fans, having recently produced rounds of 64 and 67 to force a play-off in the Canadian Open and winning the 2022 Nedbank Golf Challenge from four behind at halfway.

“I’ve put in chases before in the past,” Fleetwood said after a battling second round of 71.

“At the end of the day, if somebody said you’re going out in the last group on Saturday, I don’t care what the situation was or what anybody had shot, I’d have probably taken it.

“I can’t have asked for any more from anybody with all the support they’re giving me out here and everybody is talking about it.”

Shot of the day

Not much beats a hole-in-one, achieved by Travis Smyth on the short 17th, but fellow Australian and defending champion Cameron Smith managed it with a stunning eagle on the 18th to make the cut with a shot to spare.

Round of the day

Brian Harman had some of his competitors wondering which course he was actually playing after carding four birdies and an eagle in a stunning 65.

Quote of the day

Harman when asked to expand on how he followed a missed cut in the Masters by killing a pig and a turkey on his Georgia farm.

Statistic of the day

Not a good omen for Fleetwood or his thousands of fans.

Easiest hole

The par-five fifth played as the easiest for the second day running, with two eagles and 62 birdies leading to a scoring average of 4.699.

Hardest hole

Fleetwood was one of just 10 players to birdie the 14th, with almost exactly a third of the field (53 players) making bogey and 12 carding a double-bogey six. That resulted in a scoring average of 4.462.

Weather forecast

Cloudy with outbreaks of light to moderate rain, with a chance of drier spells at times. Winds gusting up to 19mph. Heavier bursts of rain are possible overnight Saturday and into Sunday.

Key tee times

0855 Robert MacIntyre, Rickie Fowler
1425 Rory McIlroy, Max Homa
1510 Jason Day, Shubhankar Sharma
1520 Min Woo Lee, Sepp Straka
1530 Tommy Fleetwood, Brian Harman

American Brian Harman responded to missing the cut in the Masters in April by returning to his farm in Georgia and killing a pig and a turkey.

Three months later, the left-hander carved out a commanding five-shot lead over home favourite Tommy Fleetwood at the halfway stage of the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

Harman carded four birdies in a row on the front nine and holed from 15 feet for an eagle on the 18th to complete a flawless second round of 65 and post a 10-under-par halfway total of 132.

That matched those recorded at Hoylake by Rory McIlroy in 2014 and Tiger Woods in 2006, although both men were 12 under on their way to lifting the Claret Jug as the course was a par-72 at the time.

It also made Harman the first player to lead the Open by five shots after 36 holes since Louis Oosthuizen in 2010, the South African going on to win by seven at St Andrews.

Fleetwood, who must have been taken aback to start his second round so far behind after sharing the overnight lead, closed to within four when he birdied the 14th and 15th, but dropped a shot on the next and eventually signed for a hard-fought 71.

That at least got the 32-year-old from Southport into the final group with Harman for Saturday’s third round, with Austria’s Sepp Straka a shot behind Fleetwood following a brilliant 67 which included six birdies and a bogey in his last seven holes.

Nine years after lifting the Claret Jug at Hoylake, McIlroy heads into the weekend nine behind Harman after a closing birdie saw him add a second round of 70 to his opening 71.

Speaking after his stunning 65, Harman happily explained the story behind his unusual reaction to his Masters missed cut, laughing off a query about whether the local livestock would be safe this weekend.

“Sheep don’t taste as good as the turkeys do I would imagine,” Harman said.

“I’ve been a hunter my entire life. I enjoy the strategy of it. Yeah, we eat a lot of wild meat at my house, so I enjoy butchering, and I do a lot of hunting.”

Harman, who is bidding to become just the third left-hander to win the Open after Bob Charles (1963) and Phil Mickelson (2013), admitted he owed his position to a “hot putter” and would need to work hard on not getting ahead of himself this weekend.

“I’m just not trying to get too caught up in it. It’s just golf. I think when I held the 54-hole lead at the US Open (in 2017) I just probably thought about it too much.

“It’s hard for me. I’ve always struggled with trying to predict the future and trying to forecast what’s going to happen. I’ve just tried to get really comfortable just not knowing.

Harman made his Open debut at Hoylake in 2014 and finished 26th, but missed the cut on his next four appearances before finishing 19th in 2021 and sixth last year.

“I came over early for the Scottish Open last year and I think I beat two people; played horrible,” he said. “Then played bad the first day at St Andrews and was like, ‘Golly, I love coming over here but I’m getting my teeth kicked in’.

“I had a really nice back nine in the second round, made the cut by a couple and then played really well on the weekend.

“I’d say it was nice to finally turn the corner last year. This is my eighth Open Championship and before last year I’d never really even been anywhere close to in contention or even doing halfway decent.”

Rory McIlroy believes he still has a chance of winning the 151st Open despite failing to make a serious move in his second round at Royal Liverpool.

The world number two did not build significantly on his level-par opening round as he shot a one-under 70 on Friday.

That left him nine shots off the clubhouse lead held by Brian Harman but, even though he has much ground to make up, he is not writing off his chances.

“I might be nine back, but I don’t think there’s going to be a ton of players between me and the lead going into the weekend,” said the 34-year-old, who is bidding to end a nine-year wait for a fifth major title by winning for a second time at Hoylake.

“It depends what the conditions are tomorrow and obviously depends what Brian does as well.

“Right now it’s not quite out of my hands. I think if I can get to three, four, five under par tomorrow going into Sunday, I’ll have a really good chance.”

McIlroy produced a strong finish on Thursday by saving par on the par-five fifth after hitting bunker trouble.

He looked to have carried some momentum into his second round with two early birdies but they were cancelled out by bogeys on the back nine.

Yet he got a shot back with another birdie on the 18th and, despite his frustrations, was happy enough with his performance.

McIlroy said: “It played really, really tough. Ten under par is unbelievably impressive out there.

“We’ll see what the weekend holds but I’m actually pretty happy with my two days’ work.

“I don’t think I have to do anything differently. I’m hitting the ball well from tee to green.

“I’ve missed a couple of chances on the greens and the wind got me today.”

Tyrrell Hatton became the latest victim of the difficult 18th hole at Royal Liverpool on day two of the 151st Open Championship.

Hatton was two under par for his round when he walked on to the tee of the 596-yard par five, but ended the hole two over par following a quadruple-bogey nine.

The world number 13 carved two drives out of bounds before pulling his fifth shot so far left it almost found the fairway on the first hole, which runs in the opposite direction.

From there Hatton took two more shots to find the putting surface and two-putted from 20 feet to finish two over par and 12 shots off the clubhouse target set by American Brian Harman.

Harman had earlier taken six shots fewer than Hatton to play the 18th, holing from 15 feet for an eagle in his flawless 65.

Hatton reacted to his nightmare finish by turning to look back down the fairway and using his putter to mimic shooting three times at the tee.

Two-time major winner Justin Thomas had also recorded a nine on the 18th in an opening 82, while Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho fared even worse with a 10 in his 83.

American Brian Harman set a daunting clubhouse target to leave Rory McIlroy with a mountain to climb to end his major drought in the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

Harman carded four birdies in a row on the front nine and holed from 15 feet for an eagle on the 18th to complete a flawless second round of 65 and post a 10-under-par halfway total of 132.

That matched the totals recorded at Hoylake by McIlroy in 2014 and Tiger Woods in 2006, although both men were 12 under on their way to lifting the Claret Jug as the course was a par-72 at the time.

Nine years on, McIlroy will head into the weekend nine shots behind Harman after a third birdie of the day on the 18th saw him add a second round of 70 to his opening 71.

Harman, who is bidding to become just the third left-hander to win the Open after Bob Charles (1963) and Phil Mickelson (2013), said: “I’ve had a hot putter the last couple of days so (will) try to ride it through the weekend.

“I’m delighted with how I’m playing. (I’m) just really focused on getting some rest and getting after it tomorrow.

“(I’m) Just not trying to get too caught up in it. It’s just golf. I think when I held the 54-hole lead at the US Open (in 2017) I just probably thought about it too much.”

The 36-year-old’s superb round came after tournament officials took the unorthodox step of changing the way the bunkers were raked between rounds.

Masters champion Jon Rahm described the course’s 82 bunkers as “proper penalty structures” after having to play backwards out of one during his opening 74, while McIlroy needed two shots to escape sand on the 18th.

In response, the R&A instructed greenkeeping staff to build up the edges of the bunkers to allow more balls to roll back into the centre.

“Yesterday afternoon the bunkers dried out more than we have seen in recent weeks and that led to more balls running straight up against the face than we would normally expect,” the R&A said in a statement.

“We have therefore raked all of the bunkers slightly differently to take the sand up one revet on the face of the bunkers.

“We routinely rake bunkers flat at most Open venues but decided this adjustment was appropriate in light of the drier conditions which arose yesterday.

“We will continue to monitor this closely for the remainder of the Championship.”

Even those players who managed to successfully escape from the bunkers on day one had expressed their concerns, with former champion Stewart Cink speaking out following a bogey-free 68.

“Eventually it’ll catch up with you,” the 2009 winner said. “The bottoms of them are so flat that if a ball comes in with any momentum, it’s just going right up to the lip and stop.

“There’s not a little upslope that helps you at all. They are very penal.”

Four people were arrested after Just Stop Oil protesters disrupted the second day of the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

American golfer Billy Horschel intervened to help remove one who invaded the 17th to throw powdered orange paint on the green. A smoke flare was also let off.

The 36-year-old escorted a woman wearing a Just Stop Oil T-shirt away from the putting surface and towards a police officer.

Another woman and two men, wearing similar T-shirts, were also handcuffed and marched off the course by several police officers.

Merseyside Police confirmed four people had been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit criminal damage and public nuisance.

“At around 12.20pm Just Stop Oil supporters ran onto hole 17 at The Open in Royal Liverpool,” read a Just Stop Oil statement given to the PA news agency.

“They set off a smoke flare and threw orange powder paint on the green before being removed by security.”

Greenkeeping staff were dispatched to the hole and removed the powdered paint with leaf-blowers.

Merseyside Police said while it respected the rights of people to protest, disorder would not be tolerated.

“A small amount of powder was discarded onto the playing surface and it was reported that one person had a smoke pyrotechnic,” read a police statement.

“Two males and two females were quickly detained by both stewards and officers and they were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit criminal damage and public nuisance. They will be taken into police custody to be questioned.

“Merseyside Police respects the right to protest and expression of views but anti-social, criminal behaviour or disorder will not be tolerated and will be dealt with robustly.

“Police and The R&A management will be looking to ensure the activities of anyone who wants to protest don’t disrupt the event itself and if necessary we will use relevant legislation to deal with those people involved in it.

“Contingency plans are in place to help visitors enjoy these events in safety and with minimal disruption.”

Horschel declined to speak after his round but Merseyside Police has been contacted for comment.

In a statement, the R&A said: “A protester was quickly apprehended on the 17th hole and is one of four people who have been arrested by police.

“Play was not disrupted and we would like to thank the marshals, players and other spectators for their vigilance and understanding as the protesters were removed.”

American golfer Billy Horschel intervened to help remove protesters who invaded the 17th green at Royal Liverpool on the second day of the Open Championship.

The 36-year-old escorted a woman wearing a Just Stop Oil T-shirt covered in orange paint off the green of the Hoylake links and into the custody of a police officer.

Both her and two other people wearing similar T-shirts were handcuffed and marched off the course by several police officers.

Just Stop Oil confirmed three people in total were involved in the protest.

“At around 12.20pm three Just Stop Oil supporters ran onto hole 17 at The Open in Royal Liverpool,” said a statement given to the PA news agency.

“They set off a smoke flare and threw orange powder paint on the green before being removed by security.”

Greenkeeping staff were dispatched to the hole and removed the powdered paint with leaf-blowers.

The environmental group have targeted a number of high-profile sporting events this summer, including the second Ashes Test at Lords – where England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow physically manhandled one pitch invader to the boundary – and Wimbledon, where three people ran onto the court throwing orange paper and jigsaw pieces.

Open organisers were prepared for a protest and stressed they had put in extra security precautions.

They did advise players not to engage with anyone who entered the course but Horschel decided against that.

This week the R&A revealed they had received a credible threat regarding Just Stop Oil protesters targeting last year’s Open at St Andrews but any action failed to materialise after security was stepped up.

It is understood police have now deployed one officer to each green on the course.

The R&A and Merseyside Police have been contacted for comment. Horschel declined to speak after his round.

American Brian Harman set an impressive pace in the second round of the 151st Open after tournament officials took the unorthodox step of changing the way the bunkers were raked between rounds.

Masters champion Jon Rahm described Royal Liverpool’s 82 bunkers as “proper penalty structures” after having to play backwards out of one during his opening 74, while Rory McIlroy needed two attempts to escape sand on the 18th in his 71.

In response, the R&A instructed greenkeeping staff to build up the edges of the bunkers to allow more balls to roll back into the centre.

“Yesterday afternoon the bunkers dried out more than we have seen in recent weeks and that led to more balls running straight up against the face than we would normally expect,” the R&A said in a statement.

“We have therefore raked all of the bunkers slightly differently to take the sand up one revet on the face of the bunkers.

“We routinely rake bunkers flat at most Open venues but decided this adjustment was appropriate in light of the drier conditions which arose yesterday.

“We will continue to monitor this closely for the remainder of the Championship.”

Even those players who managed to successfully escape from the bunkers on day one had expressed their concerns, with former champion Stewart Cink speaking out following a bogey-free 68.

“Eventually it’ll catch up with you,” the 2009 winner said. “The bottoms of them are so flat that if a ball comes in with any momentum, it’s just going right up to the lip and stop.

“There’s not a little upslope that helps you at all. They are very penal.”

Harman initially had no problems with the bunkers as he made four birdies in succession to surge into the lead, the left-hander holing from 20 feet on the second and similar distances on the third and fourth before hitting the pin with his chip to the par-five fifth to set up a simple tap-in.

Even when he had to play backwards out of a bunker on the 12th and missed the green with his third shot, Harman promptly chipped in for par to remain eight under, four clear of American Max Homa and Scotland’s Michael Stewart.

McIlroy began his second round in ideal fashion with a birdie on the first and, after missing from four feet on the third, got up and down from a bunker on the par-five fifth to improve to two under.

Australia’s Min Woo Lee had set the early clubhouse target on three under following a 68.

Tournament officials have changed the way the bunkers are raked for the 151st Open Championship following complaints from players that they were overly “penal”.

Masters champion Jon Rahm described Royal Liverpool’s 82 bunkers as “proper penalty structures” after having to play backwards out of one during his opening 74, while Rory McIlroy needed two shots to escape a greenside trap on the 18th.

In response, the R&A instructed greenkeeping staff to build up the edges of the bunkers to allow more balls to roll back into the centre.

“Yesterday afternoon the bunkers dried out more than we have seen in recent weeks and that led to more balls running straight up against the face than we would normally expect,” the R&A said in a statement.

“We have therefore raked all of the bunkers slightly differently to take the sand up one revet on the face of the bunkers.

“We routinely rake bunkers flat at most Open venues but decided this adjustment was appropriate in light of the drier conditions which arose yesterday.

“We will continue to monitor this closely for the remainder of the Championship.”

Even those players who managed to successfully escape from the bunkers on day one had expressed their concerns, with former champion Stewart Cink speaking out following a bogey-free 68.

“Eventually it’ll catch up with you,” the 2009 winner said. “The bottoms of them are so flat that if a ball comes in with any momentum, it’s just going right up to the lip and stop.

“There’s not a little upslope that helps you at all. They are very penal.”

American Brian Harman was having no issues with any bunkers as he carded four birdies in succession to surge clear at the top of the leaderboard.

Harman holed from 20 feet on the second and similar distances on the third and fourth before hitting the pin with his chip to the par-five fifth to set up a simple tap-in.

At eight under par the left-hander led by three shots from Tommy Fleetwood and South African amateur Christo Lamprecht, with Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo falling out of an overnight share of the lead following a double bogey on the second.

McIlroy began his second round in ideal fashion with a birdie on the first to improve to one under.

Overcast conditions greeted the early starters as day two of the 151st Open Championship got under way at Royal Liverpool.

Home favourite Tommy Fleetwood shared the overnight lead on five under par with Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo and South African amateur Christo Lamprecht, but was not due out in round two until shortly before 3pm.

Rory McIlroy was set to resume his bid for an overdue fifth major title just before 10am, the 2014 winner at Hoylake having made what could prove a crucial par save on the 18th on Thursday evening.

Fifty of the last 52 Open champions have been within five shots of the lead after round one and McIlroy holed from 10 feet on the last – having needed two shots to escape from a bunker – to return a level-par 71.

“It was a really good par in the end,” McIlroy said. “I got lucky because that ball could have gone into a deeper part of my footprints and I could have been there all night.

“I could have let that round get away from me, but I didn’t with the two birdies on the back nine. I need to shoot something in the 60s [on Friday] and I will be right there for the weekend.”

Fleetwood had earlier ridden a wave of home support to the top of the leaderboard in what will be an emotional week, with Friday marking the first anniversary of the death of his mother Sue.

“It really was a great day,” the 32-year-old from Southport said. “To get that support all day was amazing.

“If you’re not going to enjoy this atmosphere and these experiences then what’s the point? Make sure you have the time of your life out there.”

Spain’s Adrian Otaegui was the first contender back out on the course on Friday and scrambled a par on the opening hole to remain one off the pace.

Rory McIlroy had a clear target in mind as he looked to boost his bid for a second Open Championship victory at Royal Liverpool on Friday.

McIlroy recovered from a slow start to card an opening level-par 71 to trail Ryder Cup team-mate Tommy Fleetwood, Emiliano Grillo and South African amateur Christo Lamprecht by five shots after day one.

The world number two, who lifted the Claret Jug at Hoylake in 2014, was two over par after 13 holes before making birdies on the 14th and 15th and a crucial par on the 18th after needing two shots to escape a greenside bunker.

“It was a really good par in the end,” McIlroy said. “I got lucky because that ball could have gone into a deeper part of my footprints and I could have been there all night.

“I could have let that round get away from me, but I didn’t with the two birdies on the back nine. I need to shoot something in the 60s and I will be right there for the weekend.”

Fleetwood had earlier ridden a wave of home support as he carded six birdies and a bogey in a five-under-par 66.

“It really was a great day,” the 32-year-old from Southport said. “To get that support all day was amazing. If you’re not going to enjoy this atmosphere and these experiences then what’s the point? Make sure you have the time of your life out there.”

Austria’s Sepp Straka plays mainly on the PGA Tour but showed he has the imagination to thrive on links courses with a deft chip on the 18th.

Three players shot 66, but the nod goes to 22-year-old amateur Lamprecht for an impressive performance on his Open debut.

As one of his sponsors is an American airline, Stewart Cink had to be diplomatic about his travel woes on the way to Hoylake.

The par-five fifth played fractionally easier than the 15th, giving up two eagles and 72 birdies for a scoring average of 4.673.

The 507-yard 10th hole is a par five for the members but a par four for the Open and played predictably difficult, yielding just 13 birdies and playing to an average of 4.346.

Turning cloudy with a chance of showers on Friday morning. Drier and brighter by the afternoon. Becoming breezy with wind gusting up to 24mph.

0635 Rasmus Hojgaard, Matthew Southgate, Alex Fitzpatrick
0958 Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Justin Rose
1253 Louis Oosthuizen, Joost Luiten, Christo Lamprecht
1404 Jordan Spieth, Matt Fitzpatrick, Jason Day
1448 Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood, Adam Scott