Forget the talk that Scottie Scheffler still needs to learn how to play links. On Friday, the world's No. 1 golfer could have taught a Master Class.

Matt Fitzpatrick poured it in and avoided one final setback to show the contrasting nature of what an Open Championship test requires. Yet barely a few minutes later, the scale of the task for Fitzpatrick and the rest of the field became ominously clear.

If Scottie Scheffler is still wrestling with just why he wants to win the Open Championship, he’s doing a remarkable job of hiding it.

Scheffler posted a 64 on Friday in the second round of the British Open, which had him just a shot off the course record in Northern Ireland. He left a birdie putt painfully short at the final hole, too. That moved the top-ranked golfer in the world into the solo lead at the midway point of the final major championship of the season.

Two days after the eye-opening deep riff on the meaning of life that world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler delivered in his pre-tournament press conference, he posted a 3-under-par 68 in the first round of the British Open Thursday at Portrush.

Scottie Scheffler produced a masterful display in torrential rain to seize control of The Open Championship at Royal Portrush, carding a brilliant 64 to reach 10-under-par at the halfway stage. The world No1's sensational round featured eight birdies and just one bogey,

The early wave has the advantage. Rain has arrived at Royal Portrush, just as World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler hits the course. It's spotty around the course — it's pouring at 18, where Rory McIlroy is trying to finish — but clearly those already in the clubhouse — including leader Brian Harman — are the beneficiaries.

For proof of this dynamic, look no further than the varied reactions to Scottie Scheffler's comments on Tuesday at Royal Portrush. His words revealed not a man searching for purpose, but one who had already found it—words that could help his fellow superstar return from an existential rut.

Golf expert Sia Nejad has revealed his Open Championship 2025 picks and PGA best bets for Royal Portrush, beginning Thursday, July 17