Portrush takeaways: Scottie the putter, Hatton's peak Guinness intake

Through two rounds of the Open Championship, the leaderboard represents how men's professional golf has looked the past few years - everybody's looking up at Scottie Scheffler.

The World No. 1 once again showed why he stands alone in the sport when he's on, blitzing Royal Portrush for a 7-under 64 on Friday to leapfrog Matt Fitzpatrick for the top spot.

While Scheffler's brilliance is the top takeaway through the opening two days, it's not the only one from the season's final major.

Scottie learned how to putt

Through two rounds at Royal Portrush, Scheffler leads the field ... in putting? The World No. 1 has turned what many would call his weakness into a massive strength this week. It'll make it a very boring weekend if he continues this form. Scheffler routinely leads the field in approach play - and this week is no different - but he often falls off the pace in putting. That includes last week's T-8 finish in Scotland despite beating only 15 players who made the cut on the greens.

His elite skill in the rest of his game allows him to thrive, but his putter is doing as much damage as anything else this week. Thanks to his prowess with the flatstick, Scheffler set a new personal record for lowest round in a major with his second-round 64. This one might already be over.

Bryson, the volatile scientist

Uncontrolled variables are a nightmare for a scientist in any field - just ask Bryson DeChambeau. Golf's foremost science junkie often looks befuddled by the unpredictable laboratory that is links golf, with just one under-par round in his last seven at The Open entering Friday. That stretch included a birdie-free 7-over 78 on Thursday that put him on track for a second straight major missed cut. However, with tame conditions for Round 2, the variables became quite controlled, and DeChambeau thrived. By the time the dust settled, he had improved by an outrageous 13 strokes, pouring in seven birdies en route to a 6-under 65. According to Justin Ray of the Twenty-First Group, DeChambeau is the first player since Camilo Villegas in 2008 to go without a birdie or better in Round 1 of the Open and then make seven or more on Day 2.

Hatton finds perfect amount of Guinness

Despite some impressive play the past few years, Tyrrell Hatton is likely the runaway winner for angriest on-course golfer. The Englishman is never shy to share his disdain for his play on the course, alternating seamlessly between verbal tirades and demonstrative hand gestures throughout his round.

So, how does a man so tightly wound on the course relax afterward? With a steady mix of more golf and the perfect amount of Guinness. Hatton admitted Friday that he played a local course with friends on Wednesday night to unwind, and got just the right amount of the Irish beverage in him.

"It was a beautiful evening. I went and had three pints of Guinness afterwards, so that kind of made the evening a bit better." Hatton told reporters. "I think three is the magic number."

Whatever he's doing, it's working for Hatton in the majors lately. He opened with rounds of 68 and 69 at Portrush to sit tied for fifth heading to the weekend.

The Butcher is back

Two years after he was deemed "The Butcher" during his runaway win at Hoylake, Brian Harman is back on an Open Championship leaderboard - and once again drawing questions about his hunting hobby. During his maiden major championship victory, reporters became heavily interested in Harman's passion for hunting and butchering his own game. As Harman hunted flagsticks all day Friday to score a 6-under 65, one had to wonder if the media would quiz him again on his hobby. The answer was a resounding yes.

Question: "You do know when someone says, 'What did you shoot today?' they mean your golf score?"

Harman: "Yeah, I'm aware of that. I'm a very compartmentalized guy. I'm not thinking about hunting when I'm golfing. I'm not thinking about golfing when I'm hunting."

Harman's 65 matched the low round of the day and has him firmly in the mix to claim a second Open Championship title this weekend. It also likely has headline writers in the United Kingdom and Ireland on edge, as they scramble to outdo their pun-filled performances from two years prior.

Old-man Leonard knows the links

Justin Leonard is 53 years old, has made one major start in the last eight years, and drives the ball an average of just 265 yards off the tee - 30 yards shorter than the field average. So, of course, he'll play this weekend after making the cut at Royal Portrush. Now a regular on the Champions Tour, Leonard remains exempt from qualifying for The Open until he's 60 due to his win at Royal Birkdale in 1997. He's also in the Senior Open next week in England, so he figured he would make the start in Northern Ireland on his way by.

"I think about Greg Norman back at - what was it - Birkdale (in 2008, at age 53)," Leonard told Sean Zak of Golf.com. "And obviously Tom (Watson) at Turnberry (at 59). Look, I'm not trying to compare myself to those guys, but it does kind of give you a little, OK! If I can have a really nice week with the putter, drive the ball well, do everything well - look, I'm not trying to win the golf tournament. But I can play well."

How exactly is Leonard doing this? Percisely how you think a wily veteran would - by flexing his experience around the diabolical greens we see at links courses on The Open rota. The Texan ranks fifth in the entire field in strokes gained: around the green, using his vast knowledge to navigate the areas around the putting surfaces at Portrush.

Bat in the booth!

Perhaps the most dramatic moment of the day didn't come on the golf course, but in the NBC tower on the 18th hole when a bat shocked broadcasters Dan Hicks and Kevin Kisner.