Saturday’s Third Round Coverage Begins at 5 a.m. ET on USA Network; Continues at 7 a.m. ET on NBC and Peacock
“What we’ve seen the last two days is absolute, true mastery. It would not surprise me at all if he leaves everyone in the rearview mirror.” – Brandel Chamblee on Scottie Scheffler (-10, Leader)
“His play in the biggest events continues to be great. He’s clearly the best player in the game.” – Mike Tirico on Scheffler
“He’s a little undersized so people always underestimate him like they did at [the 2023 Open] and he just slammed the door on them. I wouldn’t count Brian out just yet.” – Johnson Wagner on Brian Harman (-8, T-3rd)
STAMFORD, Conn. – July 18, 2025 – NBC Sports presented exclusive second-round coverage of the 153rd Open Championship from Royal Portrush Golf Club in Portrush, Northern Ireland, across USA Network and Peacock, capped by Golf Central Live From the Open studio coverage on GOLF Channel and Peacock.
Saturday’s 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.
153rd Open Championship – Second Round Leaderboard
| Player | Total | |
| 1. | Scottie Scheffler | -10 |
| 2. | Matt Fitzpatrick | -9 |
| T3. | Brian Harman | -8 |
| T3. | Haotong Li | -8 |
| T5. | Rasmus Hojgaard | -5 |
| T5. | Tyrrell Hatton | -5 |
| T5. | Robert MacIntyre | -5 |
| T5. | Harris English | -5 |
| T5. | Chris Gotterup | -5 |
Saturday-Sunday Coverage Schedule
| Date | USA Network | NBC/Peacock |
| Saturday, July 19 | 5-7 a.m. | 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. |
| Sunday, July 20 | 4-7 a.m. | 7 a.m. – 2 p.m. |
ON SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER (-10, Leader)
Mike Tirico on Scottie Scheffler: “His play in the biggest events continues to be great. You can just tell from the others inside the ropes with Scheffler the respect for what he’s doing right now. He’s clearly the best player in the game.”
Brandel Chamblee on Scheffler: “Tiger Woods did this, Jack Nicklaus did this, and I think it’s a testament to the truest mastery, the absolute height of the game, and it’s so rare that you see someone take this game to a level where there is no past, there is no future, they’re just completely in the moment. What we’ve seen the last two days is absolute, true mastery.”
Chamblee on his prediction for the rest of the weekend for Scheffler: “It would not surprise me at all if he leaves everyone in the rearview mirror.”
Dan Hicks on Scheffler’s consistency: “When he says [he feels comfortable], you know he’s in the groove. And that’s where he’s lived – in the groove. Just virtually every single week, every single leaderboard, at major championships, wherever he goes, wherever he plays, Scheffler is a force. And he’s showing the rest of this field that he’s in the mix for another major.”
Brad Faxon on Scheffler’s mentality: “You almost think the strongest part of his game is between his ears. He thrives to be in this position. He’s comfortable in this position.”
Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay on Scheffler’s birdie on 16: “This was his worst drive today that we’ve seen and he comes back with birdie. No big deal, just leading a major.”
ON MATT FITZPATRICK (-9, 2nd)
Chamblee: “It’s an absolute transformation in his game. In 2022, when he broke out and won the U.S. Open, his clubhead speed had changed drastically. He can play the power game, and from [2022] to now, he’s added even more clubhead speed.”
Hicks on Fitzpatrick’s final shot of the day to finish -9: “You straighten things out and it trickles down to the rest of your game. Just brilliant play.”
ON BRIAN HARMAN (-8, T-3rd)
Johnson Wagner on Harman’s chances to win the Open: “One of my favorite traits about Brian is when people count him out and don’t believe he can do something, it almost motivates him more to be that bulldog. He’s a gritty guy, he’s a little undersized so people always underestimate him like they did at [the 2023 Open] and he just slammed the door on them. I wouldn’t count Brian out just yet.”
Harman to Cara Banks on his experience being an Open champion helping as he contends heading into the weekend: “It certainly helps. I’ll rely on some fond memories this weekend…I just have to keep executing and not get too far ahead of myself then see what happens. You can’t control what other guys are doing, you can’t control the weather. That’s the hardest part about this championship, you just have to take your hands off of the steering wheel.”
Kevin Kisner on Harman: “He just loves the links-style golf. He loves having to battle the elements and talking to him earlier in the week he said, ‘It’s a ball-strikers’ paradise.’”
ON HAOTONG LI (-8, T-3rd)
John Wood: “This guy’s got so much energy – he could go out and play another 18 right now.”
ON JON RAHM (E, T-34th)
Hicks on Rahm’s struggles: “When you’ve got that intense desire like Jon Rahm does, it’s tough to take it. Everybody at the top of the game wants to win so badly, but oftentimes, it doesn’t work out.”
ON ROYAL PORTRUSH
Terry Gannon on the conditions: “You hear a lot about the afternoon wave players watching and learning from the morning wave, but with the weather completely changing on a dime, you can throw all of that out the window.”
Faxon on the conditions: “With the heavy rain and wind changes coming in, the afternoon group will be playing a completely different course than the morning wave.”
Kisner: “When it’s raining like this, as soon as you finish your round, you get inside the clubhouse and say, ‘Please start raining even harder.’”
ON THE BAT IN THE BOOTH
Hicks on a bat flying into the broadcast booth: “Just when you think you’ve seen it all. This bat did 20 laps around this tower. Fax was so focused he never blinked…The great outdoorsman, Kevin Kisner, hiding under the set.”
Kisner: “I saw his feet looking to land. I was ducking out.”
--NBC SPORTS--
