Tommy Fleetwood fired himself into Open contention at Royal Birkdale, but the day belonged to Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns, who both equaled the record for the lowest score in a major championship within minutes of each other.
Fleetwood's Strong Finish
Fleetwood goes into the weekend on four-under-par after a second round that included three birdies in his final five holes. The 35-year-old is hoping the 'unbelievable' home crowd can help him claim his first Claret Jug. 'If I play well, I know I'm going to be closing in. Things are still in the leader's control, of course they are, but if I can just play my game I'll not be that far away,' he said.
He added on the crowd: 'They're unbelievable, they really are. They've been an absolute pleasure to play in front of for these two days. I love that I played some good golf there and gave them something to cheer about. They make a big difference to me.'
Herbert's Near-History
Herbert had a five-foot putt on Birkdale's 18th green to shoot a 61, which would have been the lowest-ever round in a men's major. But the Australian's effort slid wide, and he had to be content with a 62, matching the record number originally set by Branden Grace at Birkdale in 2017. 'I just saw the list before of guys who have shot 62, and it sounds like we just added another one to it out there with Sam as well,' Herbert said. 'That's a really cool list to be a part of. Even that whole back nine today, it was not lost on me the amount of history in major championships and the opportunity I had to obviously break the record, but then to tie it as well is still something I'm really proud of.'
Herbert admitted mixed emotions: 'I'm absolutely disappointed, and at the same time, so proud of today. Very, very proud to put my name on that list of guys that have shot 62 in a major championship. So it's kind of holding two emotions there at the same time. It's a tricky one, and I'm sure once the dust settles, I'll be able to sort of decompress it a little bit. Right now I've sort of got both going on, and it's a pretty good problem to have too, to be disappointed you shot 62.'
When asked how early he knew something special could happen, he revealed: 'I think I said just before, pretty early in the round. I felt good coming into the week. I felt good on the range warming up the first couple of holes. I felt pretty confident. And getting off to that kind of hot start on a golf course that's a par 70 with pretty benign conditions this morning as well, I thought I had a really good opportunity.'
Burns' Remarkable Round
Burns holed out from a greenside bunker on 18 for his sixth birdie on the back nine to also post a 62, having covered the front nine in two under. 'I caught myself by surprise. Yeah, I honestly feel like I played a pretty solid round of golf yesterday and just a terrible finish there on 16, 17, 18. I thought coming into the day if I could get it to red numbers for the golf tournament, that would be a pretty good spot. I think the finish there the last three holes was just a bonus,' Burns reflected.
What made Burns' story even more remarkable was that he had been expected to withdraw from the Championship after the recent birth of his baby daughter Belle, who had been due on July 14 but arrived early. 'I thought there was zero percent chance of playing. But then we ended up having her on the third. Even then, I still wasn't expecting to play by any means. I had a bunch of conversations with my wife, and she encouraged me to come over here and play, and here we are,' the 29-year-old revealed.
