“The wind is making these players look like amateurs. It’s really that difficult out there.” – Luke Donald on weather conditions
“I know Shane Lowry very well and I’ll tell you he’s absolutely chuffed with how he’s played those first two rounds. Every part of his game is in shape.” – Paul McGinley on Shane Lowry (-7, Leader)
“The evidence and the scores are very indicative that his game is not sharp enough to be competitive right now.” – Notah Begay III on Tiger Woods (+14, T-146th)
STAMFORD, Conn. – July 19, 2024 – NBC Sports presented exclusive second-round coverage of the 152nd Open Championship from Royal Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotland, across USA Network and Peacock, capped by Live From the Open studio coverage on GOLF Channel and Peacock.
Exclusive third-round coverage begins tomorrow at 5 a.m. ET on USA Network and continues at 7 a.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
152nd Open Championship – Second Round Leaderboard
| Player | Total |
| Shane Lowry | -7 |
| Justin Rose | -5 |
| Daniel Brown | -5 |
| Scottie Scheffler | -2 |
| Billy Horschel | -2 |
| Dean Burmester | -2 |
Saturday-Sunday Coverage Schedule
| Date | USA Network | NBC/Peacock |
| Saturday, July 20 | 5-7 a.m. | 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. |
| Sunday, July 21 | 4-7 a.m. | 7 a.m. – 2 p.m. |
*coverage will begin shortly before the first scheduled tee time at 1:30 a.m. ET
ON ROYAL TROON AND THE WEATHER CONDITIONS
Luke Donald on the conditions: “The wind is making these players look like amateurs. It’s really that difficult out there.”
Brad Faxon: “It’s not only physically exhausting, it’s mentally exhausting, with so much focus on every shot.”
Mike Tirico: “You are seeing some of the big names make bigger numbers than we’re used to.”
ON SHANE LOWRY (-7, Leader)
Paul McGinley: “He’s looked brilliant. He’s controlled the ball beautifully in these crosswinds. I know Shane Lowry very well and I’ll tell you he’s absolutely chuffed with how he’s played those first two rounds. Every part of his game is in shape.”
Notah Begay III: “I love his disposition and his demeanor. He really enjoys these conditions. He enjoys being out here, shaping shots, controlling trajectories and has the ability to execute the shots required to be so good at links golf.”
Steve Sands on Lowry: “One of the great bad weather players on the planet.”
Donald on Lowry: “What I’m impressed about…he did it with his putter yesterday, today he’s been doing it with his approach play and his driving. He’s putting all of his game together and nobody likes these conditions when there this tough as much as Shane does.”
Smylie Kaufman: “It has been really impressive to watch Shane Lowry settle his nerves after what took place on the 11th hole.”
McGinley on Lowry: “It’s only about a half-hour flight here from Dublin. When he was here a couple of weeks ago preparing, he had this same direction wind in the two days that he played.”
Chamblee on Lowry’s hands: “He’s got phenomenal hands. Doesn’t turn out of it, keeps his back on it, and can flick those hands down at the bottom of it.”
ON JUSTIN ROSE (-5. T-2nd)
Donald on Justin Rose’s strength: “His experience. At his age, he’s been there before, he’s been in these situations in these tough conditions…I see him going to be around for the weekend and up there having a chance.”
Chamblee on Rose’s strong performance amidst a tough season: “The things that make these guys great is they just don’t quit…He goes to work, shores it up, keeps a great attitude, and he’s pretty much done everything beautifully through the first two rounds.”
ON SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER (-2, T-4th)
McGinley: “He’s like a racehorse. He just paces himself. They’re never too far off the lead, they get birdies when they can and minimize the mistakes.”
ON DANIEL BROWN (-5, T-2nd)
Hicks on Daniel Brown: “One of the great stories at each and every major, it seems like you have a guy like this that kind of announces himself, so to speak…He’s the unexpected story of the moment at the 152nd Open, surrounded by all those guys with so much more experience.”
Donald on Brown: “This is a guy who would have played a lot of links growing up and familiar with some of these conditions. Really impressive what he’s done today sticking in there.”
Lerner on Brown and Lowry: “Brown and Lowry, two of the best beards in golf.”
ON TIGER WOODS (+14, T-146th)
Begay III: “The evidence and the scores are very indicative that his game is not sharp enough to be competitive right now...I do think he’s doing enough good things to warrant strong consideration for playing, and now it’s just a matter of trying to figure out the balance between the mechanical nature and the demands of the game and the physical demands that it requires that he obviously has a difficult time with.”
ON ROBERT MACINTYRE (+5, T-51st)
Hicks on Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre’s bounce-back day: “Can’t emphasize enough what a great comeback it was for that guy. The emotional win last week, the first four holes today +8, the last 14 four-under, turned what could’ve been a dismal day into a round of 75.”
ON RORY MCILROY (+11, T-126th)
Karen Stupples on McIlroy’s first tournament after his second-place finish at the U.S. Open: “Every player that’s had close misses like that at majors, it stays with them a lot longer than most people realize. Even just the short misses of short putts of a tournament, it still hangs with you. There’s still baggage…There are still putts that I’m bitter about, and none of them were as consequential as Rory’s.”
Tirico on McIlroy’s day: “He had to be aggressive coming out, [it] backfired, but ending with some good shots.”
--NBC SPORTS--
