Scottie Scheffler explains why caddie was lying down mid-round at The Open

Everything was alright in the end for Scottie Scheffler on day two of The Open.

The world No.1 signed for a second one-under 70 to sit five back of front-runner Shane Lowry.

A dropped shot on the final hole was only the second blemish on his card after conditions ramped up the pressure in south Ayrshire.

But things were close to going wrong before they’d even begun.

That’s because Scheffler admitted he almost went off without his right-hand man, Ted Scott.

The American caddie, believed to be struggling with an illness, was first spotted lying down by the side of the second green early on Friday morning.

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He was checked upon by Shane Lowry and Matt Fitzpatrick, who passed by the fallen looper, as he took rests in between his player’s shots.

Following his second round, Scheffler issued a welcome update on Scott’s health.

“Yeah, he had a bit of food poisoning last night — well, could have been food poisoning, could be some sort of stomach bug.

“But he seemed to feel better as the day went on. The doc here took good care of him. But he did not sleep very much last night apparently.

“We didn’t know if he was going to be able to go this morning, but he fought it out. You saw him laying down probably quite a bit out there, which was pretty funny.”

Scheffler certainly saw the funny side, sharing how his bagsman was nowhere to be seen at one point during his round.

“You’re used to him being in one position, standing there by the bag, and then all of a sudden on No. 9 today he was literally sitting on the 10th tee for like ten minutes while we were putting out over there. I didn’t even see him, which was a bit unusual.

“He’s a fighter. He did a good job today and battled through it.”

Scheffler is joined by Billy Horschel and Dean Burmester on +2, with Xander Schauffele a further shot behind on -1.

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Of course, Scheffler would rather have been a few shots better off.

“Well, I would have liked to be leading,” he added.

“I’ve played two solid rounds and it put me five shots back, and I’ll continue to try to execute and just continue to try to hit good shots and hit good putts out there.

John Turnbull A graduate of the University of Stirling, John joined the bunkered team in 2023 as a Content Producer, with a responsibility for covering all breaking news, tour news, grassroots content and much more besides. A keen golfer, he plays the majority of his golf at Falkirk Tryst Golf Club. Top of his 'bucket list' is a round of Pebble Beach... ideally in the company of Gareth Bale.