Nicolás Echavarría said goodbye to the British Open, where world number one Scottie Scheffler took the lead in the tournament.

Colombian Nicolás Echavarría ended his participation in the last major of the year, the British Open, early this Friday by missing the cut.

Nico didn't have a good round this Friday at the Royal Portrush Country Club in Northern Ireland. He shot a 74, three over par, and was three shots shy of the weekend limit, with a cumulative score of 146 (+4).

A double bogey on the 4th hole ended the 30-year-old Antioquian's hopes, as he only managed a birdie this Friday, on the 11th. He also had two bogeys, on the 7th and 13th.

In his first season playing all four Grand Slam tournaments, Nico made the cut at two: the Masters, where he was in contention for the Top 10 until the third day, and the PGA Championship. He had already missed the cut at the US Open.

Meanwhile, American Scottie Scheffler, world number 1 in golf, took the lead in the tournament, on a day that passed between rain and clear skies.

Scheffler shot a very creditable 7-under-par 64, thanks largely to eight birdies. A missed putt on the 18th hole prevented him from breaking the course record.

At 10 under par after two of the four-day tournament, Scheffler, a three-time Grand Slam winner, leads England's 2022 US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, who finished Friday at -5, by one stroke.

Scheffler had started the day one stroke behind the five men, including Fitzpatrick, who had finished in the lead after the first round on Thursday.

American Brian Harman, who won the Open in 2023, and China's Li Haotong are two shots behind the leader. Defending champion Xander Schauffele, also from the United States, is in 17th place, eight shots behind the leader.

On home soil, Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy was able to recover from his poor Thursday performance and climbed to 12th place, seven strokes behind the leader.

Three months after his Masters title at Augusta, the only major he was missing from his trophy cabinet, the 36-year-old golfer is aiming this week to win a second British Open, following the one he achieved in 2014.

"I feel like I could have gotten a little closer to the lead, but overall I'm in a good position heading into the weekend," McIlroy said.

Spaniard Jon Rahm is in a modest 34th place, ten strokes behind the leader, just like the top South American in the standings, Venezuelan Jhonattan Vegas.