Lucas Herbert tied the major championship single-round scoring record with a 62 Friday and will enter the weekend with a two-shot lead at the Open Championship in Southport, England.

Fellow LIV Golf member Bryson DeChambeau was poised to play with Herbert in Saturday’s final pairing, one off the lead, but a lengthy review after DeChambeau’s round resulted in a two-stroke penalty on his fifth hole, knocking him from 7 under to 5 under.

After Herbert set the pace at 8-under-par 132 in the morning, DeChambeau played in the afternoon wave and finished birdie-birdie to post a 66 at Royal Birkdale Golf Club. However, he met with R&A rules officials after his round and was determined to have improved his lie in the rough at No. 5 by stamping down on tall grass that could have been in his swing path.

His penalty was formalized more than an hour after his round ended, leaving him with a triple-bogey 7 on the hole and a 68 for the day.

Instead of a narrow lead over a two-time major champion, Herbert will enter the weekend two clear of Cameron Young (67), Ryan Gerard (67) and first-round leader Jackson Suber (69).

Herbert, 30, needed par at No. 18 to shoot the first 61 in major championship history or birdie to make an unprecedented 60, but his 5-foot par save missed centimeters to the left of the cup.

The Australian was soon joined by Sam Burns, who recorded the seventh 62 at a major to catapult to 5 under. Si Woo Kim of South Korea also shot 67 to join Burns and DeChambeau at 5 under.

Branden Grace of South Africa shot the first round of 62 at a major nine years ago, the last time The Open was held at Royal Birkdale. The list has since grown to seven 62s, counting Herbert’s and Burns’ on Friday.

Herbert was asked when he believed he could equal or better the record of 62.

“It’s not a great question because I’m too much of an optimist, and I thought it when I hit it to about 5 feet on the third hole,” Herbert admitted. “I’m a golf nerd anyway, so I know all the numbers, all the records, everything like that.”

Two groups behind him, Burns holed out for birdie from the greenside bunker at No. 18, capping off a birdie-birdie-birdie finish.

Burns’ 62 was a mirror image of Herbert’s. Whereas the Australian tied the major nine-hole scoring record with a 28 on the front nine, Burns went out in 2 under and made six birdies coming in — including a chip-in at No. 16 before the bunker holeout at No. 18.

“Yeah, it was in a good spot in the bunker (at No. 18), which you never know what you’re going to get in the pot bunkers here. So I was happy when I saw that when I walked up,” Burns said. “It was a tricky bunker shot because I had to land it in the fringe there and use the slope down to the hole. Definitely very lucky for it to go in.”

The group tied for eighth at 4 under includes some real threats to make a weekend move. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler shot a 68 with 16 pars and two birdies. He is joined by hometown favorite Tommy Fleetwood (67), Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre (69), England’s Alex Fitzpatrick (67) and Spanish star Jon Rahm (67).

Rahm was given an official code of conduct warning after throwing a club at the 15th hole. He could be subject to a two-stroke penalty if he has another outburst this weekend.

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland improved on his opening 72 by five strokes, but left opportunities on the table with eight pars and one birdie on his back nine. His 67 lifted him to 1 under for the week.

Xander Schauffele rebounded from a bogey at No. 17 with a straightforward birdie at No. 18 to shoot 69 and head to the clubhouse at even par. Schauffele extended his run of made cuts at major championships to 19, the longest active streak.

The cut line is expected to settle at 1 over par. Notables who won’t play the weekend include former Open champion Cameron Smith of Australia (2 over), PGA Championship winner Aaron Rai of England (2 over), U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark (3 over), Tom Kim of South Korea (3 over), Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick (4 over) and Australia’s Jason Day (4 over). Jordan Spieth faltered to a second-round 77 and finished 10 over, beating only four players who finished two rounds.

–Field Level Media

Major League Soccer is down to two finalists to succeed commissioner Don Garber, Sportico reported Friday.

The candidates are Los Angeles FC co-owner Larry Berg and David Nathanson, a former Fox executive, per the report, after 49ers Enterprises president Paraag Marathe removed himself from consideration.

“Major League Soccer’s Board of Governors has been engaged in a comprehensive succession planning process,” a representative for MLS said in a statement to Sportico. “As part of that effort, a number of highly qualified individuals have been considered. The MLS succession committee is working with the commissioner and the Board on this ongoing process.”

Garber, 68, is nearing the end of his third decade as commissioner, holding the job since August 1999. Only NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has served longer among the major U.S. leagues, assuming office in February 1993.

Garber is under contract through the end of the 2027 season, but the shift in the league calendar to follow the international calendar could alter the expiration date.

In 2025, the league formed a succession committee, led by LAFC co-owner Bennett Rosenthal and Columbus Crew owner Jimmy Haslam, to determine a plan to succeed Garber. Consultant Korn Ferry was brought in to lead the search for candidates.

Both of the reported finalists would bring a different skillset to the job.

Berg has held his ownership stake in LAFC since 2018, giving him inside knowledge of the MLS operations. He comes from the world of finance, holding an MBA from Harvard Business School and 30 years of experience at Apollo Global Management.

Nathanson’s experience in media would be beneficial in negotiating the next round of television and streaming rights. At Fox, he led the effort as the network gained the rights to the 2018, 2022 and 2026 World Cup. He is a minority owner of the Seattle Sounders and a director of the U.S. Soccer Foundation.

The commissioner-elect is expected to work with Garber, who has overseen the expansion of MLS from 12 to 30 teams, during the transition.

–Field Level Media

Reinforcements are near for the New York Yankees.

Manager Aaron Boone could have left-handed ace Max Fried back in the rotation by the trade deadline and Aaron Judge might not be far behind.

Fried was the starter Friday night for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, his first in-game action since he was placed on the injured list with a bone bruise after an outing May 13.

Fried was on a pitch count “in the low 50s” on Friday, Boone said. He’s already scheduled for at least one more start at Triple-A next week before the Yankees reassess his status.

There is less clarity around the return of Judge (rib) and another big bat, Giancarlo Stanton, who has resumed running but has no timetable for advancing to baseball workouts.

Judge was told to pause riding a stationary bike but has the green light to walk on a treadmill with a slight incline. He’s not ready to take batting practice or resume even stationary baseball activities.

He said Friday the latest imaging of his fractured rib on his right side showed “some improvement,” but he isn’t cleared for workouts due to the risk of re-injury.

“We’re not there yet. We’ll just continue to wait, let it heal,” Boone said. “I feel good about the fact that he’ll be back. It’s just a matter of when.

“Obviously we all want Aaron Judge back in the lineup. As I’ve said we have a lot of capable players. We finished the (first) half on a high note. We have to continue to play well and hopefully win ballgames knowing that at some point he’ll join us.”

Judge, a three-time American League MVP, has 17 homers and 38 RBIs in 59 games.

Sidelined since April 24 when Stanton hurt his calf against the Houston Astros, he’s not expected to be in the lineup this week. He has played only 24 games this season with three homers and 14 RBI. His current injured list stint is his seventh since joining the Yankees ahead of the 2018 season.

Boone said the Yankees are being patient with two other injured arms. Left-hander Carlos Rodon threw a 10-pitch bullpen session on Friday to provide the Yankees a live check of his progress recovering from inflammation in his left elbow.

Right-hander Clarke Schmidt is a potential discussion for August, Boone said. He’s recovering from his second Tommy John surgery. The Yankees scheduled Schmidt to throw against live hitting for the first time since the 2025 elbow surgery.

–Field Level Media