Live leaderboard: WGC-HSBC second round

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ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – No matter what happens in his promising career, Barclay Brown will be able to say he held the clubhouse lead at The 150th Open Championship at the Old Course in St. Andrews. The 21-year-old amateur from Sheffield, England, took advantage of playing in the second group of the morning in relatively calm conditions to post a very tidy 4-under 68. Here are five things to know about the surprise standout at the Home of Golf. 1. The Fitzpatrick connection Brown is a member of Hallamshire Golf Club, where he is joined by recent U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, and Fitzpatrick’s brother Alex with whom he partnered on the 2021 Walker Cup team. He gained his place in the field with a dominant performance at Final Qualifying at Hollinwell, gaining medalist honors by three strokes, before saying it was Fitzpatrick’s success at Brookline that helped inspire his performance. “Matt was unbelievable (at the U.S. Open) and it was incredible to watch him. He’s texted me to say congratulations, which is really nice of him, and hopefully I can play with him early in the week at St. Andrews,” Brown said at the time. 2. Amateur records Brown is currently ranked 46th in the world amateur golf ranking. He had a 1-2-1 record in the 2021 Walker Cup, partnering with Fitzpatrick in team play. He advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2020 Amateur Championship at Royal Birkdale in England and shot 70-65 to be the co-medalist in stroke-play at the 2022 Amateur at Royal Lytham but was knocked out in the first round of match play by Gustav Frimodt (4 and 3). He was the 2018 Carris Trophy winner (English Boys’ Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship). 3. Cardinal at college He plays college golf at Stanford in California where he studies economics and has two years remaining to finish his degree. Recently posted runner up efforts at the Pac-12 Championships and the NCAA Stockton Regional. He won the 2021 Cowboy Classic, finishing at 14-under, one of eight top 10s in his time at Stanford where his scoring average is 71.71. Honors so far include All-Pac-12 Second Team (2022), PING All-Region Team (2021), All-Pac-12 First Team (2021), All-Pac-12 Newcomer Team (2021), Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar (2021), Two-time Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll (2021, 2022). He is also teammates with Michael Thorbjornsen, who recently made a splash as an amateur by finishing 4th at Travelers. 4. Sporting all-rounder Attended the Birkdale School (high school) where he not only played golf, but also was an accomplished badminton, soccer and tennis player. Brown enjoys music, finding good food and working out as his hobbies. 5. New experience at Old Course His only previous experience at the Old Course was a round with his parents when he was a wee lad. “I played when I was probably 9 or 10, but other than that is was my first time,” Brown said. “They used to do a thing in like January or February where you could play the Old Course so we came up as a family and played. I don’t really remember playing it at all … I probably shot in the millions. (Today) I was unbelievably nervous at the start and once I got through the first couple of holes it was nice to calm down a little bit and just get into it. I want to play the best I can and I want to win the Silver Medal (low amateur).”

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MEXICO CITY — Rickie Fowler was penalized one shot Friday in the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship for dropping from the wrong height, a new rule he expects to be changed. Fowler hit a shank on his second shot of the round from the 10th fairway. He got a ball from his caddie and instinctively held out his arm at shoulder-height, then played his next shot to the green. The modernized Rules of Golf that began this year require drops to be knee-height. It’s not unusual for players to use a method that had been in place since 1984 — before Fowler was even born — but in all but one occasion on the PGA TOUR, someone noticed and the player was able to re-drop. In this case, neither Jon Rahm nor Patrick Reed watched him go through the drop, and his caddie was looking at the yardage book. Fowler said someone mentioned to Reed that the drop was shoulder-height, and that’s when Fowler realized what he had done. “It’s on me. I took the shot. It was no big deal,” Fowler said. “But I think with the new rules that have been put in place, it’s not doing any favors for our sport.” With the shank out-of-bounds and the penalty for the incorrect drop, he made triple bogey and shot 73. He called the knee-length drop a “terrible” change, adding, “I definitely think it will get changed.” Rules officials from tours around the world, led by the USGA and R&A, spent five years overhauling the rules to make them simpler and easier to understand for pros and recreational players alike. The change in the drop received most of the attention, mainly for the optics, as some players couldn’t figure out a smooth motion to get their hands at knee-length. This is Fowler’s third tournament of the year, and he said he had no problem the first time he had to take a drop because of all the attention. “We have been making fun of the knee drop for so long that it was ingrained that my first drop was going to be from the knee, like this iconic moment,” he said. “I get to drop from my knee and look stupid.” Fowler said he also didn’t like the rule that a ball dropped from the knee could not roll more than two club lengths away, which was a previous rule for some drops. Because the ball is only falling from the knee, the new rule says it must stay in a relief area one club length in a semi-circle. MUST READS: Round 2, WGC-Mexico Championship Tiger climbs leaderboard after second-round 66 That was the idea behind the change. When balls were dropped from the shoulder area, there were nine things that would have led to dropping again. Rules makers thought that by dropping from knee level, players would be able to get the ball in play quicker. “Maybe there’s a minimum at the knee — you can drop from the shoulder, whatever,” he said. “I mean, it’s not like we’re trying to gain some sort of advantage.” That’s been a common theme among PGA TOUR players, that the drop should be allowed from the knee to the shoulder without penalty. Fowler sees no reason why a shoulder-length drop that stays in the relief area shouldn’t count. The new rule (14.3b) says it must be knee high. “I haven’t heard many of the guys say that the drop from the knee has been a good thing, or that it looks good,” Fowler said. It was the second time this year Fowler has had a tough ruling. The other was on the 11th hole of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, when after two drops on a slope next to the green, he was able to place the ball. After it was in play, and as Fowler was studying his shot by the green, the ball rolled into the water hazard. That rule has been part of golf for years and was not part of the overhaul. “I know that they’re going to bring up that rule, as well, when you’re getting assessed penalties for nothing, really,” he said.

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