The 2026 Open continues into Round 2 with 54 holes of golf remaining as the R&A seeks to crown a Champion Golfer of the Year at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England, for the first time in nine years. The best golfers in the world convene again on Friday, all seeking to move into position entering the weekend so they can raise the Claret Jug on Sunday.

While only one will be lucky enough to carry the hardware, a stacked field of 156 golfers should offer an incredible run from start to finish. The 2025 Open champion, Scottie Scheffler, entered as the favorite once again, and after 18 holes, he proved that he’s up for the challenge of defending his crown. Rory McIlroy began the tournament second on the odds board, but he struggled all afternoon with the tough test Birkdale presents, and now, he will begin the second round seeking to find his way inside the cut line.

Follow complete coverage of Round 2 at The Open with our live updates, leaderboard changes and highlights from Friday at Royal Birkdale.

The story of the week was the English golfers setting foot on the hallowed grounds of Birkdale in front of their adoring faithful. While the national team was unable to bring the World Cup back across the pond, the likes of Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose were just a few names who offered England a legitimate chance to see one of their countrymen crowned Champion Golfer of the Year for the first time since 1992. Unfortunately, few took advantage of the conditions with Daniel Brown and Jordan Smith closest to the top of the leaderboard. Matt Wallace, Tyrrell Hatton, Fleetwood and Alex Fitzpatrick all have an opportunity to make some headway in Round 2.

One of the most surprising stories from Thursday was the strong play of Bryson DeChambeau. After missing the cut at the first three major tournaments, DeChambeau fired a 3 under in Round 1 to position himself near the top of the leaderboard. He’ll need to do more of that on Friday to avoid an embarrassing distinction on his year that nobody could have seen coming.

There is so much to follow this week that it can be overwhelming at times. No worries: We have you covered. CBS Sports is offering live coverage of the 2026 Open from start to finish. Check out how you can watch the Open on Friday.

All times Eastern

Round 2 — Friday, July 17

Round 2 start time: 1:30 a.m.

Open live stream: 1:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Peacock

TV coverage: 4 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on USA Network

Texas A&M’s 2026 season is less than two months aways, while while third-year coach Mike Elko and his staff are enjoying the next few weeks before preseason begins, it’s more than fair for those of us in the media to begin predicting how the Aggies‘ season will play out, which is a mixed bag based on early prediction, ranging from 9-3 to 10-2.

It’s been a busy offseason, and before a record 10 players were selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, Texas A&M added 17 players from the transfer portal, who will all compete for starting and key reserve roles, while 65% of the 2025 roster returns, led by starting quarterback Marcel Reed and star wide receiver Mario Craver.

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On defense, the loss of unanimous All-American edge Cashius Howell, who led the SEC with 11.5 sacks, does hurt, but landing Northwestern transfer edge Anto Saka certainly helps, combined with former North Carolina nose tackle CJ Mims, who is slated to start alongside senior defensive tackle DJ Hicks and defensive end T.J. Searcy.

Nationally, the Aggies aren’t widely considered a national championship contender, but anything is possible in today’s college football landscape, especially after Indiana’s national championship run last season. This week, popular analyst CFBudge released his list of the 16 teams that can “actually win the National Title in 2026,” which included Texas A&M at No. 13.

Jude Bellingham has opened up on England’s heartbreaking World Cup exit by sharing an emotional poem written by the team’s bus driver.

England succumbed to a devastating semi-final exit on Wednesday, with Argentina producing a late comeback to beat Thomas Tuchel’s side 2-1 and deny them a first World Cup final since 1966.

Tuchel has come under heavy criticism for his tactical strategy in the game, going defensive far too early when England were 1-0 up, which allowed Argentina to ramp up pressure on their final third.

But in a bid to keep unity and restore some national hope, Bellingham took to Instagram to reveal a touching tribute to their campaign by England’s driver in Kansas City, their base for the tournament.

The poem was titled “The Lions Way” and reflected on the nation’s journey throughout the past five weeks.

Alongside it, Bellingham wrote: “Was really struggling to find the right words for yesterday and the last few weeks but this pretty much hits the nail on the head from our driver in Kansas.

“Thank you for the unbelievable support from back home and to those who spent their hard earned money to travel to America and get behind us.

“Don’t let the unity and love we’ve seen in our country end with this campaign. When we’re together we can achieve big things… And we will! Love yous!”

Bellingham was visibly distraught after England’s defeat in Miami, which saw Anthony Gordon’s 55th minute opener cancelled out by Enzo Fernandez’s strike from range before Lautaro Martinez snatched victory in stoppage time.

Tensions boiled over with Bellingham appearing to slap unused Argentina substitute Valentin Barco at full-time, something the Real Madrid midfielder could face disciplinary action for.

Bellingham was also involved in a heated confrontation with Lionel Messi during the match, but clarified that the pair were “just discussing a foul” after a full-time.

He said: “It was nothing bad. I’m sure everyone will do their thing and make it a big deal but it was nothing big really.

“I thought there was a foul earlier and he said ‘what about the one on me?’ and I said ‘you’re strong enough to take it’, you know what I mean.

“It was a privilege to play against him, it was nothing like that against him. I’m obviously on the losing side, which hurts a lot, but a privilege to line up against one of the best.”

A multiple-time world champion in WWE talked about their dream of lifting a 15th world title in the promotion. The popular star also had another surprising revelation for fans.

Charlotte Flair without a doubt is one of the most accomplished female wrestlers of all time. She signed a developmental contract with WWE in 2012 and went on to become one of the pioneers of the women’s revolution in the company. Flair also made history alongside Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey, when the trio became the first set of female wrestlers to main event WrestleMania in 2019.

The Queen has also won the RAW Women’s Title (now WWE Women’s Championship) six times and the SmackDown Women’s Title (now Women’s World Championship) on seven occasions. She was also the last person to hold the Divas Title, making her a 14-time world championin WWE. Flair recently appeared for an interfiew on WFAN Radio, where she spoke about a miriad of topics.

Upon being asked if there was something that The Queen was currently working on that she wanted to tell the audience about, she brought up her tag team with best friend Alexa Bliss. She also said she would love to get her hands on a 15th world title. Curiously Falir also noted that she had never been involved in a romantic storyline in the promotion and she would love to explore such an option as well.

“So I’m in a tag team with my best friend right now Alexa Bliss. Thats been awesome special. I think if I had to do-well-I want to win number 15, that’s definitely on the list. But I’ve never been involved in like a romantic storyline or have been opposite a male character so I think that would be cool. Or I never led a group, there’s been the Four Horsewomen but we were all individuals,” Flair said.

You can check out her comments in the video below:

Despite being one of the Four Horsewomen of wrestling, The Queen also said she had never led a stable or worked opposite a male character. These were the things The Queen still wants to try in her wrestling career.

WWE Icon Charlotte Flair Sends Warning To Jade Cargill

Charlotte Flair accompanied Alexa Bliss for the latter’s singles match against Jade Cargill on last week’s edition of WWE SmackDown.

The Storm had her allies Michin and B-Fab alongside her and the trio needlessly attacked Bliss after Cargill had already won the match. Jade attacked Lil Miss Bliss with a steel chair and appeared to seriously hurt her opponent’s arm.

This made things very personal for Flair, who now seems hell bent on going after Cargill. When a fan praised The Queen for going after Ronda Rousey with a kendo stick once, Flair said that was just a last minute match but Cargill on the other hand had made things really personal.

It remains to be seen what The Queen does next on WWE SmackDown, after Cargill injured her best friend and tag team partner.