Historic 62s at Birkdale & Bryson's Penalty Meltdown - July 18th, 2026

On Friday, July 17th, Royal Birkdale delivered a historic and chaotic second round as two players tied the major scoring record with 62s and Bryson DeChambeau threatened to walk out over a controversial rules penalty.THE RECORD BREAKERSLucas Herbert and Sam Burns etched their names in history, both firing 62s to tie the major scoring record. Herbert tied the Open 9-hole record with a 28, while Burns charged with a back-nine 30 and 18th-hole bunker hole-out.Herbert missed a 5-foot-3-inch putt for 61, noting it "jagged left" and he was "absolutely disappointed," while Burns said there was a "zero percent chance" he'd play after his daughter's July 3rd birth.Herbert’s caddie, Nick Pugh, uses a battery-less rangefinder because his "old eyes do not see it so well," and fans blasted the NBC/USA broadcast for showing Rory McIlroy instead of Burns' historic charge.RULES DRAMA & MELTDOWNSBryson DeChambeau was hit with a two-stroke penalty under Rule 8.1 for stepping on fescue on the 5th hole, leading to a tense cart ride with official Grant Moir where he mouthed, "I am not playing tomorrow."Brandel Chamblee called Bryson "childish," joking he should have used a "weed whacker," while Jon Rahm received a Rule 1.2b conduct warning (reported by Smylie Kaufman) for bouncing his 6-iron ten yards on the 15th tee.The internet immediately erupted with jokes about Donald Trump intervening to save Bryson from his penalty.LEADERBOARD LURKERS & WEEKEND PREVIEWJackson Suber sits at T2 alongside Cameron Young and Ryan Gerard, while Scottie Scheffler miraculously lurks at 4-under despite an abysmal day on the greens. Suber and Herbert will brave heavy winds in Saturday's final pairing.Scheffler is dead last in putting with his longest make being just 8 feet 3 inches, while Suber joked that Birkdale gives "bad shots that end up great."Tiger Woods used the Friday buzz to organically market his Sun Day Red gear by tweeting at Tommy Fleetwood.Quick HitsRory McIlroy made the cut highlighted by a massive 377-yard drive on the 9th, while Alex Fitzpatrick quietly moved to 4-under • Cameron Smith missed the +1 cut after a double bogey on 15 ("Just one bad swing"), joining Matt Fitzpatrick and Jordan Spieth, who made a quad-bogey 9 on 17 • Fans are bracing for a brutal Saturday as heavy winds are expected to batter the final pairings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.