Summary

  • Leader: -5 Cole (14); 4 DeChambeau (66)

  • Selected scores: -3 D Johnson (67), Scheffler (67), Conners (67); -2 Scott (68), Hovland (68)

  • +1 McIlroy (71); +2 Thomas (72); +6 Rahm (76), Fitzpatrick (76)

  • Darkness halts play after frost delayed start

  1. McIlroy magic to save parpublished at 18:35 British Summer Time 18 May 2023

    McIlroy +3, Morikawa E, Thomas -1 (11)*

    Rory McIlroyImage source, Getty Images

    Speaking of Seve (see 18:20), he'd be happy with that.

    Rory McIlroy, who pretty much traipsed all over the second, elects to putt up the slope off the back of the green and gets it so right.

    The ball just about creeps over the ridge up to the green and then begins to slowly trickle down to the cup before toppling in to save his par.

    The crowd are more excited than the Northern Irishman mind, who trudges up to collect his ball and shrugs his shoulders.

  2. Postpublished at 18:28 British Summer Time 18 May 2023

    Scheffler -1, Koepka E, Woodland +5 (12*)

    Scottie Scheffler & Brooks KoepkaImage source, Getty Images

    Just as I was praising their consistency, Scheffler and Koepka go wayward.

    World number two Scheffler is way left with a booming tee shot on the par-five fourth and will find himself in the midst of spectators.

    Koepka watches his playing partner skew one way and overcooks his shot the other side, careering his drive off to the right.

    Both will need their ingenuity to get this 615-yard monster of a hole back on track.

  3. Rahm and Fitz bogey againpublished at 18:25 British Summer Time 18 May 2023

    Fitzpatrick +3, Rahm +2, Smith E (9*)

    Three on the spin for Jon Rahm. And not in a good way. His third into the par-four 18th pulls up 15 feet from the pin and he's not holing the saver from there.

    After a sensational birdie to open the round, bogey-bogey-bogey suddenly sees him struggling.

    Matt Fitzpatrick also dropping after more trouble in the rough.

    But Cam Smith is scrapping hard. He wedges into three feet from 100 yards and nails the putt.

    Three hours for nine holes.

  4. Nerveless Scheffler & Koepka trundle onpublished at 18:21 British Summer Time 18 May 2023

    Scheffler -1, Koepka E, Woodland +5 (12*)

    The par-three third is laced with danger with a steep back-to-front green and four grinning bunkers laid out in front.

    Scheffler, who is suddenly within one shot of the lead, is measured with his tee shot and hits the green plumb. From 34 feet, his pace is excellent but it's just to the right of the hole and he'll come away with another par.

    Impressive consistency from the world number three.

    Staying on his coattails, Koepka is coolness personified, rolling in from 13 feet to save par.

  5. Postpublished at 18:20 British Summer Time 18 May 2023

    McIlroy +3, Morikawa E, Thomas -1 (10)*

    Collin MorikawaImage source, Getty Images

    Collin Morikawa can't be happy with that.

    He nails his tee shot to the centre of the fairway and then looks set to clip an iron shot into the second, until somebody (presumably working for one of the broadcasters) drifts just right of him carrying a boom mic as he's going through his swing routine.

    To compound matters the 2021 Open champion comes up short with his approach.

    Shades of the Seve Ballesteros 'fruitcake' incident with Nick Price at the 1991 World Matchplay at Wentworth.

  6. Postpublished at 18:20 British Summer Time 18 May 2023

    Fitzpatrick +2, Rahm +1, Smith E (8*)

    Matt FitzpatrickImage source, Getty Images

    There's trouble at t'mill for all three players on the 18th. All three drive to the right.

    Jon Rahm is worst off after finding sand. He flops out to the middle of the fairway. Cam Smith can't reach the green and also lays up.

    Matt Fitzpatrick fancies this though. But his second is through the back of the green.

  7. Morikawa drops a shotpublished at 18:13 British Summer Time 18 May 2023

    McIlroy +3, Morikawa E, Thomas -1 (10)*

    Is this where the Rory McIlroy comeback begins? Not quite. He can't unsurprisingly drop a 35-odd feet putt in across the first green but does save his par.

    Instead it's Collin Morikawa's turn to drop a shot, as he fails to sink a 12 footer.

  8. Lowry sinks huge birdiepublished at 18:13 British Summer Time 18 May 2023

    Hovland -1, Lowry +1, Spieth E (9*)

    Wow, take a bow Shane Lowry.

    The Irishman was needing something to happen after a pretty ordinary front nine.

    And he sinks a putt from well off the green, 40 feet maybe, for an unexpected but hugely welcome birdie.

  9. Double for Higapublished at 18:13 British Summer Time 18 May 2023

    Higa -1 (15*)

    The leaders are just flapping a bit now with Kazuki Higa following Keegan Bradley in dropping out of the lead following a double bogey.

    Higa's issues here come off the tee as he pulls it left into no-man's land, and had to just gouge it out of trouble, before laying up short of the creek and hitting four onto the green.

    If you don't concentrate on every shot around here, Oak Hill will get you!

  10. Spieth struggling to save parpublished at 18:09 British Summer Time 18 May 2023

    Hovland -1, Lowry +2, Spieth E (9*)

    Jordan Spieth faces a battle to stay out of the red on the par-four first hole.

    He finds a fairway bunker off the tee, has to just dig it out and lay up. A decent third shot follows but it's just on the fringe of the green which will make it a very difficult par putt.

  11. Postpublished at 18:09 British Summer Time 18 May 2023

    Scheffler -1, Koepka E, Woodland +5 (11*)

    Scheffler is not fazed by the rough and digs it out to seven feet. It's a troublesome putt but he's confident and hits the middle of the cup.

    Koepka's long-distance effort is not troubling the hole but he knocks it in with his second effort.

    Oak Hill has got Woodland in its jaws at the moment - the American drops back another shot.

  12. Slow start after Day skipped practicepublished at 18:08 British Summer Time 18 May 2023

    Day +2 (6*)

    Jason DayImage source, Getty Images

    He's two over after six holes so maybe Jason Day should have practiced a bit more for this.

    The 35-year-old Australian claimed his first PGA Tour title in five years by winning the Byron Nelson in Texas last week after spending a number of years struggling with injuries and more recently vertigo.

    Day, who won his only major title at the 2015 PGA Championship, hasn't had a practice round just to ensure he gets to the first tee (or the 10th in his case) feeling capable.

    "I’m just not fighting anything, I just want to make sure that I’m mentally prepared and mentally ready," he said.

    "No matter how well I prepare, even if I go out and play a practice round, if I come in tired and exhausted, it won’t do me any favours, so I’m just going to try and take it easy.

    “I won't be able to see how the greens are bouncing coming in to approach play, and I won't really see how the greens are rolling typically out there. I know we have practice facilities here, but it won't give you the best preparation unless you've seen the golf course.”

  13. Double bogey for Bradleypublished at 18:05 British Summer Time 18 May 2023

    Bradley -1 (6*)

    Oak Hill just shows Keegan Bradley that you can be cruising along just fine, but if you get too greedy it can bite you.

    The former champion finds the bunker on the par-three 15th, flies it into the rough, tries to go flag hunting with his chip but you can't get cute from this rough and his effort whizzes off the green back on the other side.

    The result is two shots gone in a heartbeat.

  14. Postpublished at 18:04 British Summer Time 18 May 2023

    Scheffler -1, Koepka E, Woodland +4 (10*)

    Koepka is in the heart of the green on hole two - but such is the size of these greens that he has a 47-footer for birdie.

    How Scheffler would prefer that position.

    He's the same distance from the pin as Koepka but has gone long over the back and will have to chip out of some rough behind the green.

  15. Rahm drops againpublished at 18:01 British Summer Time 18 May 2023

    Fitzpatrick +2, Rahm +1, Smith E (8*)

    Cameron Smith and Jon RahmImage source, Getty Images

    Jon Rahm is six feet below the putting surface on the 17th as he tries to wedge his ball in close. He ends up gesticulating after his ball comes up 18 feet short of the hole. Par putt missed. Successive bogeys for the Masters champ.

    Cam Smith is short of the green in two and hits a 7/10 effort into eight feet. No par save this time for the Aussie though and he too is dropping - his first of the day.

    There's a glimmer of hope for Matt Fitzpatrick though, a 20-footer for birdie... not this time. Par.

    I'm already thinking level par or even one over will be a good score round this track.

  16. Postpublished at 17:56 British Summer Time 18 May 2023

    McIlroy +3, Morikawa -1, Thomas -1 (9)*

    What a shot and stance that is. Justin Thomas plays his second from almost a front from the native area on the right, while it looks like he's stretching his groin.

    Surrounded by trees he punches his ball towards the light and skips it on to the green.

    Rory, who went left with his tee shot, clips a wedge onto the front edge. He'll have a birdie putt from another zip code.

  17. Postpublished at 17:54 British Summer Time 18 May 2023

    Rahm E (7*)

    Jon RahmImage source, Getty Images

    Repeat after me... fairways and greens, fairways and greens.

    It's a simple game. Jon Rahm doesn't think so right now. He's a fraction off line with his tee shot on the 17th. But the rough is thick and penal.

    Rahm's pristine white shoes are almost buried in the deep green. He thrashes his ball to the front of the green but he's got zero control over it and it skids through the back and down a slope and miles from the hole.

  18. No fringe benefit for Hovlandpublished at 17:54 British Summer Time 18 May 2023

    Hovland -1, Lowry +2, Spieth E (8*)

    What looked a nice shot into the green from the 18th fairway by Viktor Hovland turns a bit ugly as it just catches a slope and rolls, rolls, rolls back on to the fringe.

    Turns what could have been a birdie opportunity into a par-saving exercise.

  19. Hit it Keegan!published at 17:52 British Summer Time 18 May 2023

    Bradley -3 (5*)

    Bradley has 12 feet for a birdie on the 14th after splashing out of the sand, but he just doesn't give it enough juice up the hill and he misses the chance to take the solo lead.

  20. McIlroy bogeys the 18thpublished at 17:51 British Summer Time 18 May 2023

    McIlroy +3, Morikawa -1, Thomas -1 (9)*

    Can Rory McIlroy can't salvage a par on the 18th coming down the slope and leaving himself three feet for a bogey.

    That's three in four holes for the Northern Irishman, who needs to arrest this mid-round slump sharpish.