The Open Championship is the oldest tournament in golf and the picture of tradition and decorum. Those who broadcast the event try to carry themselves with dignity and discipline. That includes the American broadcasters who often try to show the same respect for the tournament as their British cohorts, who have a particular reverence for the event that few other golf tournaments come close to matching.
There’s a bat in the booth! pic.twitter.com/IljrVpH5OA
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterNS) July 18, 2025
But the dignity of the Open Championship disappeared during Friday afternoon's broadcast on the USA Network. Host Dan Hicks and analyst Kevin Kisner were in the booth at 1:15 p.m. ET when a bat flew in their tower and all dignity was suddenly lost. Hicks waved his arms as if he were a crazed airport runway marshal signaling a pilot that his plane was in trouble.
Hicks may have looked bizarre, but he looked heroic compared to Kisner. The analyst slunk down in his chair and pulled his suit jacket over his head. NBC's Mike Tirico added a commentary to the video, and the long-time network anchor was clearly amused by what he saw.
There was no protecting Hicks or Kisner, who were both clearly afraid of having some kind of dangerous interaction with the flying mammal.
Scheffler takes command of Open Championship while announcers go into protection mode
While the broadcasters were in survival mode, Scottie Scheffler was on top of his game.
Scheffler is usually the favorite of any event he enters based on the roll he has been on since the 2023 season. He has already won the PGA Championship this year, and he is in a good position at the halfway point at the Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland.
Scheffler followed his opening round of 3 under par 68 with a spectacular 7-under 64 in Friday's second round. He leads the tournament with a score of 10-under.
Scheffler was at his best during the front nine as he fired a 4-under 32. He birdied the 5th, 6th and 7th holes in succession, and that superb streak allowed him to serve notice to the field that he was going to seize control of the tournament.
Scheffler has a one-stroke lead over England's Matthew Fitzpatrick and a two-stroke advantage over American Brian Harman and China's Haotong Li.
Rory McIlroy is playing on his home course in Northern Ireland. He is seven strokes behind Scheffler with a two-round total of three under par.
