When the dust settled on a breathtaking Friday at Royal Birkdale, one name stood above all others: Lucas Herbert. The Open Championship 2026 Round 2 produced the kind of golf that makes the major season truly special — a record-tying 62 from the Australian that has set up one of the most compelling moving days in recent memory. Herbert leads The 154th Open at nine under par, and the chase is on.
Herbert Fires Record-Tying 62 to Seize the Halfway Lead
Nine years after Branden Grace posted his unforgettable 62 at this very venue — a score that stood as the lowest in major championship history for nearly a decade — Lucas Herbert stood up on Friday afternoon and matched it. Every single shot. The parallels were not lost on the packed gallery that followed him around Royal Birkdale’s demanding links, gasping at birdies and roaring at the putts that dropped with metronomic regularity.
Herbert made an extraordinary front nine of 28, equalling the lowest nine-hole total in Open history, before adding further birdies at the 11th, 12th and 16th to reach nine under for his round and for the championship overall. He walked off the 18th green to a thunderous ovation, clearly moved by the scale of what he had achieved. For the 30-year-old from Melbourne, who has long promised excellence without quite seizing a major moment, this feels different. This feels like his time.
DeChambeau Controversy and a Packed Chasing Pack
The day’s biggest drama did not come from a birdie putt, however — it came from the rough on the par-4 fifth hole. Bryson DeChambeau, threatening to upstage the entire leaderboard with a barnstorming display, found himself at the centre of an animated dispute with R&A officials after they deemed he had improved his lie while playing his second shot from tall grass. The two-shot penalty that followed dropped him from a share of the lead to one back, and the frustration was written all over his face.
Even with the penalty, DeChambeau enters Moving Day at seven under par — just two strokes behind Herbert and very much in the hunt. The big-hitting American is a threat to anyone in links conditions when he is in this kind of form, and the Royal Birkdale layout’s wide fairways suit his aggressive, bomb-and-gouge philosophy.
Remarkably, Sam Burns also carded a 62 on Friday. The American — who entered the week as a 40/1 outsider — produced a round of stunning precision to finish three shots behind Herbert at five under, a reminder that in major golf, reputations mean nothing when the flat stick is hot and the wind is right.
Moving Day Awaits: Can Anyone Catch Herbert?
As Saturday’s third round — Moving Day — gets under way, the leaderboard is deliciously poised. Cameron Young and first-round leader Jackson Suber are both two back at six under, with the world’s best players lurking just behind. Scottie Scheffler, the world number one who was expected to challenge at a major venue he has previously conquered, has work to do if he is to put himself in Sunday contention.
Royal Birkdale does not forgive mistakes. Its punishing rough, its undulating fairways and its unpredictable coastal breeze have already consumed several big names over the first two rounds. For Herbert, the task on Saturday is simple in concept and brutal in execution: protect the lead without retreating into caution. His 62 was built on fearless golf. He will need that same courage again.
For anyone watching in Singapore and the region, this is a major that deserves your full attention. A first-time champion is emerging at one of the world’s greatest golf venues, and the final 36 holes could produce something unforgettable.
Keep up with Round 1 coverage from Royal Birkdale, catch up on the 154th Open Championship full preview, and stay with the Sports section for Round 3 updates as they come.
