The Masters champion ensured he made the cut with a second-round 67 on Friday.

The Australian carded nine birdies – eight coming in his first 12 holes.

Conditions were favourable for Friday’s early starters.

The Masters champion was seven shots off the pace after the first round at Royal Birkdale.

Jackson Suber was the unlikely name at the top of the Royal Birkdale leaderboard but the limelight belonged to DeChambeau.

The Masters champion missed numerous opportunities at Royal Birkdale and ran up six bogeys.

The American circuit is moving towards a two-tier model which will introduce more 20million US dollar (£15m), restricted fields for the top golfers.

McIlroy returns to action at the Genesis Scottish Open in North Berwick before heading to Royal Birkdale.

The 15-time major winner is not exempt for next month’s US Open.

The 50-year-old is in the line-up for his Jupiter Links team.

The American is three quarters of the way to emulating McIlroy’s career grand slam.

Scheffler scored an eagle and birdie in back-to-back holes to open up a gap.

The Northern Irishman has moved within four shots of leader Scottie Scheffler.

The 38-year-old’s tee shot at the 199-yard 13th took three bounces before disappearing into the hole.

The Masters champion missed the cut last time the Open was staged on the Northern Irish links in 2019.

The 48-year-old has played five tournaments in 2024 and made the cut only once.

Ministers have agreed to explore a bid to stage The Open and the AIG Women’s Open in future.

The 2019 champion is a shot behind surprise leader Daniel Brown following the opening day.

The Northern Irishman was 10 shots behind clubhouse leader Justin Thomas.

McIlroy briefly held a two-shot lead with five holes to play at Pinehurst, but bogeyed three of the last four to miss out.