It’s cut down day at the fourth and final golf major of the year, and some Dallas-area stars playing in England have seen their runs at the British Open crown end early.
At the top of the leaderboard, Herbert and Sam Burns each matched the major championship scoring record Friday in the British Open with 62s, in extraordinary rounds at Royal Birkdale that were separated by 22 minutes and by vastly different reactions.
Herbert bent over with hands on his knees after missing a 5-foot par putt on the 18th hole at Royal Birkdale, knowing the 30-year-old Australian was an inch away from being the first man with a 61. Burns wasn’t even aware of the record when he holed a bunker shot to cap a birdie-birdie-birdie finish.
“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,” Herbert said. “It’s a pretty good problem to have, too, to be disappointed you shot 62.”
Most remarkable about Burns is that the 29-year-old American — the runner-up at the U.S. Open last month — wasn’t even planning to play in The Open. His wife was due this week, and when she gave birth to a daughter earlier than expected, Burns decided a week ago Friday to make the trip.
Defending champion Scheffler couldn’t buy a putt until a 12-footer for par on the final hole gave him a 68 and left him only four shots behind.
“All you can do is continue to give myself opportunities,” Scheffler said. “I was hitting some good putts as well, the balls just weren’t dropping. … If I continue to strike it like I did today and yesterday over the next couple days, I’ll be in a good spot.”
Jackson Suber (69) and Ryan Gerard (67), a pair of newcomers to links golf, were tied for second with Cameron Young, who has powerfully put together a pair of 67s as he looks more like the player who dominated the spring.
Among other area golfers, former Texas Tech star Ludvig Aberg and Plano’s Pierceson Coody head into the weekend at 3-under tied for 17th.
The Associated Press contributed to this post.