Bob's dressed for success, watch out for Frankie and Rory eyes record - Martin Dempster's Open diary

Bob’s dressed for success

Bob MacIntyre’s first-round outfit - he admitted his Nike top was a bit “louder” than he’s been wearing recently - attracted the attention of a golf fashion expert.

“Well, Robert MacIntyre is another reminder that merchandising and styling aren't the same thing,” wrote Skratch’s editor at large in a social media post.

Even going to the length of coming up with AI-generated images of how he felt the Oban man should look, he added: “Dress the athlete first. The product usually looks better because of it.”

The first reply to the post said it all, really. “Bob couldn’t give a f*** less,” wrote someone called Habibi. “He’s there to complain and play great golf!”

Watch out for Frankie

Remember who won the last time The Open was played on a course where the fairways were almost white?

It was Francesco Molinari at Carnoustie in 2018 and the Italian is in the hunt for a second Claret Jug after reaching the halfway stage on four under.

“Yeah, I think the game is in a good place at the moment,” he admitted. “A lot of it is just mentally accepting how hard it is and how precise you need to be to control the ball, and if you're not, just try to save pars. It's a good challenge, I'm sure, for everyone.”

Rory eyes another record

Rory McIlroy is edging towards adding another record to his glittering CV.

The world No 2’s 67 on day two at Royal Birkdale was the 45th time he’d signed for that score or better in the majors.

He’s now three ahead of both Jack Nicklaus and Phil Mickelson, with only Tiger Woods, who is on the 48 mark, left in his sights.

“I think the main objective today was to be here for the weekend, which I am,” he said of recovering from a perilous position after being three over playing the 18th in the first round.

“I’m still trying to figure out the greens a little bit and will hopefully do that as the week goes on.”

Open trains are still on track!

All aboard The Open Express! That was the welcome news for golf fans on Friday afternoon as it was announced that Merseyrail staff will not go on strike this weekend.

A walkout planned for Saturday and Sunday had threatened to cause travel chaos for the Claret Jug event - but not any more.

Thousands of fans - this correspondent, too - have been using Merseyrail to get from Liverpool Central to Hillside via various stops along the Lancashire coast.

Apart from the odd hiccup, it’s been a slick operation, with staff at Hillside in particular helping keep things - sorry - on track!