BBC Radio 5 Live

We've got full coverage on BBC Radio 5 Live coming up very shortly. If you ever wanted confirmation that we're there in force, here is two-time European Tour winner and rules guru Graeme Storm on the course helping work out whether Nicolai Hojgaard should get relief.

Fifteen minutes till they're on air.

You'd have been able to get whatever odds you like on this group having both of the joint Open leaders in it mid-morning of round two - but that's exactly what we've got as Shaun Norris rolls in a birdie at the 12th to get to five under.

He joins Jackson Suber who gets a bit giddy with his birdie try and races it past t he hole, but makes the one coming back for par.

Image source, Getty Images

Shane Lowry thuds his putter into his shoulder and rolls back his head after a 27-foot putt on the third just misses and he has to settle for par.

Aaron Rai calmly rolls in for par from four feet. The Wolverhampton man has made a steady start today with three consecutive pars.

Rory McIlroy doesn't love his drive on the second but I'm not really sure why. It bounds on down the baked-out fairway and skips past the spectator crosswalk.

Sixty yards out, if anything he's too close to the green, but he nips the ball expertly with his wedge and spins one into seven feet.

In it goes! That's a much-needed birdie and he gets moving in the right direction.

Matt Fitzpatrick rolls in a lovely birdie putt, too, so the huge crowd trailing this group have plenty to shout about!

Sepp Straka hasn't had a great year but the Austrian is going along very nicely out there. After a bogey on three, he birdied five and has just picked up another shot on the par-three 12th.

The two-time Ryder Cupper is just two shots off the lead.

Fine show of character from Jackson Suber who responds to that slump he had with back-to-back birdies to get out into the solo lead of The Open.

And Shaun Norris is staying hot on his heels as he also birdies the 11th to get to four under and stays just one off the lead.

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist at Royal Birkdale

Image source, Getty Images

Matt Fitzpatrick was picked out as one of the favourites ahead of this week after winning three times on the PGA Tour this season.

It didn't quite go to plan yesterday with an opening round of 72 but the former US Open champion has generally bounced back well this year.

Every time he's shot over par this season, he's improved by at least four shots in the subsequent round.

His biggest swing between rounds one and two was at the Masters in April when he followed an opening 74 with a 69 on day two, which is three under at Augusta.

He'd surely bite your hand off for a repeat today.

Image source, Reuters

Shane Lowry is shaping up well here.

The Irishman, who claimed the Claret Jug in 2019, finds the rough with his tee shot at the second but recovers well with a brilliant iron.

Lowry is left with a 10-foot putt from the edge of the green but misses the birdie by a whisker.

Woah, Jesper Svensson nearly holes his tee shot at the short par-four fifth!

Taking dead aim, his ball lands just short and scuttles up the green, running past the pin and resting four feet from the cup.

The Swede duly rolls in his eagle putt - the first of the week at this hole - and moves two under for the round. Lovely stuff.

The hottest player on the course right now? That'd be Australia's Lucas Herbert, who has zoomed through his opening five holes in four under par - shooting three on every hole.

Given he started the day at level par, that means he is now sharing the lead!

Oooh, Matt Fitzpatrick burns the left edge with a bold birdie putt but taps in for an opening four.

Rory McIlroy must settle for that score too after leaving his 18-footer high on the right side of the cup.

Can Xander Schauffele cash in on a fine approach? No! The ball runs agonisingly over the lip on the left.

Three pars and no early roars from the crowd.

Cameron Young starts off with a bad bogey at the first, where US Open champion Wyndham Clark manages to pick up a birdie as he looks to try and play his way into the tournament.

Ludvig Aberg splits the difference and makes his par.

Sir Nick Faldo claimed Bryson DeChambeau had "zero strategy" for links golf ahead of The Open this year.

DeChambeau shot 67 yesterday, declined to speak to any media, but did talk to the R&A and said this below....

Thoughts on Bryson v Faldo?

All three players are in decent shape down the first and they follow their drives with some quality approach play.

Three good looks at birdie. We had to wait over two hours for a birdie from this group yesterday.

Fair chance we'll see one in the next few minutes today!

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Collin Morikawa moves to within a shot of the lead with a birdie at the second.

The 29-year-old American's overhits an iron on to the green but he drains in a 49-footer to move to three under.

No such luck for Nicolai Hojgaard, who pays the price for a wayward tee shot with a bogey.

Would you look at that, the commentator's curse works in reverse! We've just been talking about Jackson Suber's dodgy putting today and he goes and drains a 20-footer for a birde on the 10th!

That puts him back into the lead.

And anyone want their favourite golfers to get a helping hand again let us know, we're here to help...

South African Shaun Norris has crept up another spot on the leaderboard too so he's just one off the lead as it stands. A yellow golf ball almost leading The Open - crazy times.

The 14th should be a great chance for birdie but Matt Wallace has to scramble for par having found the rough with his approach.

He plays a nice escape so even has a chance of his four from about 15 feet but he has to settle for par - whether that's a good result depends on if you're a glass half full type of guy.

Knowing Wallace, he'll be quietly fuming...

Image source, Getty Images

Each of the past 26 Open champions have been within five shots of the lead after the first round. The last winner to come from further back was Mark O'Meara in 1998, which happened to be at Royal Birkdale.

With that in mind, Rory McIlroy didn't quite shoot himself out of this thing yesterday, but he probably needs a 65 or 66 today to enter the conversation.

The same can be said for Matt Fitzpatrick, who only managed one birdie in his 72 yesterday.

And Xander Schauffele will be keen to get a move on early after a closing double bogey wrecked what had been a fine display from the 2024 champion.