Friday at Royal Birkdale offered the kind of chaotic, record-breaking theater that only a men's major can produce. Under clear skies with temperatures hovering around a comfortable 76 degrees and brisk gusts reaching up to 22 mph, the 154th Open Championship links turned into a canvas for historic scoring alongside high-stakes officiating disputes.
By the time Friday's second wave wrapped up, the cut line settled at 1 over par, sending a wave of high-profile contenders home early. Major winners and household names including Cameron Smith (2 over), Aaron Rai (2 over), Tom Kim (3 over), Wyndham Clark (3 over), Matt Fitzpatrick (4 over), and Jordan Spieth—whose disastrous quadruple-bogey on the par-5 17th hole sealed his fate—found themselves on the wrong side of the weekend ledger. Meanwhile, amateur Mason Howell provided a bizarre moment of gallery theater when a wayward drive on the 466-yard par-4 eighth hole knocked a cup of coffee right out of his girlfriend's hand.
The 62 Club: Herbert's Near-Miss and Burns' Bunker Heroics
The morning wave belonged entirely to Lucas Herbert. The Australian LIV golfer played blistering golf, birding five of his first seven holes and carding a front-nine 6-under 28 to tie the historic Royal Birkdale course record previously held solely by English club pro Dennis Durnian since 1983. Herbert reached 9 under par through 16 holes before signing for an 8-under 62, though he admitted to lingering frustration after missing a short 5-foot par putt on 18 that would have claimed the outright single-round major scoring record.
Herbert's solitary hold on the historical books lasted mere hours. Sam Burns, who arrived at Royal Birkdale unexpectedly after his wife gave birth to their second child earlier than anticipated, mounted a stunning closing sequence. Capitalizing on a 40-foot birdie from off the 16th green and a 20-footer on the 17th, Burns capped his day by holing out directly from the greenside bunker left of the 18th green. His 62 joined an exclusive major tier alongside Branden Grace (Royal Birkdale, 2017), Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele (Los Angeles Country Club, 2023), and Schauffele and Shane Lowry (Valhalla, 2024).
DeChambeau's Rules Drama and the Contender Grid
While the top of the leaderboard featured pyrotechnics, the afternoon brought institutional friction. Bryson DeChambeau finished his day navigating strategic mastery around Royal Birkdale, capped by a 12-foot birdie putt on 18 to initially post 7 under. However, R&A rules officials subsequently summoned DeChambeau back regarding an incident on the fifth hole. Following a review under Rule 1.2b concerning player conduct and serious misconduct, officials handed down a two-stroke penalty, dropping DeChambeau from solo second at 7 under down to 5 under par, tied for fifth place heading into the weekend.
At the very summit, Herbert held the solo lead at 8 under, followed closely by Jackson Suber, Cameron Young, and Ryan Gerard at 6 under. Alongside DeChambeau at 5 under sat Sam Burns and Si Woo Kim. A congested chasing pack at 4 under featured world number one Scottie Scheffler—who quietly strung together a bogey-free 68 despite ongoing frustrations with the flatstick—alongside Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, and Robert MacIntyre, whose eagle on the par-5 17th electrified the Scottish contingent.
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