Shane Lowry has surged into the outright lead in the second round of the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon.
Lowry, 37, overcame a disastrous double-bogey six on the 11th to card a solid 2-under 69.
The Irishman recovered his round with birdies at the 16th and 18th to set the 36-hole clubhouse target of 7-under par.
Lowry is bidding to land his second Open title, having won his first major one home soil at Portrush in 2019.
The Open will be heading there again in 2025.
Lowry has opened up a two-shot lead on overnight leader Dan Brown, who carded a 1-over 72 and fellow Englishman Justin Rose, who shot a remarkable 3-under 68.
Brown is looking to become the first player to win on their major debut since Keegan Bradley at the 2011 US PGA.
World No.1 Scottie Scheffler also remains in the mix following a consecutive round of 70.
Scheffler finds himself five shots off the pace heading into the weekend on 2-under par alongside Billy Horschel and Dean Burmester.
Xander Schauffele, Jason Day, Corey Conners and Patrick Cantlay are a further shot back on 1-under par.
Schauffele posted a 1-over 72, while Cantlay vaulted up the board with a 3-under 68.
Englishman Matthew Jordan sits at level par alongside Chilean LIV Golf star Joaquin Niemann.
Notable players who missed the cut include Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Aberg, Will Zalatoris, Viktor Hovland, Tony Finau, and Tiger Woods.
| SHANE LOWRY | -7 |
| DAN BROWN | -5 |
| JUSTIN ROSE | -5 |
| BILLY HORSCHEL | -2 |
| DEAN BURMESTER | -2 |
| SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER | -2 |
Here's a quick rundown of all the players who look set to miss the cut.
R. McIlroy
T. Woods
W. Clark
C. Smith
S. Theegala
M. Lee
V. Hovland
W. Zalatoris
L. Aberg
M. Homa
B. DeChambeau
Some of the scoring today has been wild.
If you had taken the worst score from every hole today, you would have shot an astonishing 55 over par 126.
Aguri Iwasaki has the unenviable award for today's highest score, which was a 20-over 91.
It's worth remembering these are the best golfers in the world.
Niemann +3 (10)
Joaquin Niemann has joined the ever-growing list of players to make a snowman at Troon this week.
The Chilean managed to go in three of the five greenside bunkers on the Postage Stamp 8th hole, eventually walking off with a quintuple bogey.
Truly one of us.
McIlroy +12 (5)
Stop the count. Rory is down and out.
McIlroy has just bogeyed the 5th, missing a five-footer for par.
He's now 5-over par thru 5 and down at 12-over par for the tournament.
No chance he makes the cut now.
MacIntyre +8 (7)
MacIntyre taps in for his first birdie of the day on the short par-4 7th.
He's still an unthinkable 7-over par for the round, however, and still outside the cut mark.
Thomas +4 (12)
Thomas may have just birdied two of the last three holes, the last of which was a chip-in at the 12th, but the two-time US PGA champion is enduring a shocker of a round.
He's 7-over par thru 12.
JT reeled off three straight bogeys from the 2nd before adding a double at the 5th.
Another bogey followed at the 6th and he then capped off the front nine with a triple-bogey seven to go out in a shocking 45 shots.
Thomas started the day just three shots off the pace in third, but he's now battling to just make the cut like so many others out there this afternoon.
Dustin Johnson has just confirmed why Paulina Gretzky is not with him at The Open.
Just in case you were wondering...
McIlroy +11 (4)
McIlroy is surely going to miss the cut now.
He's just made an absolute mess of the par-5 4th.
After hacking around in the rough down the left flank, McIlroy compounded the mistake by going even further left with his fourth shot into the green.
He then over shot his fifth shot into the bunker, and despite splashing out to a few feet, he missed the putt and it all added up to an eight.
McIlroy is now T135th and six shots outside the cut mark as it stands.
He might be joining Tiger Woods soon.
Woods shot a 77 earlier this afternoon to finish the week just inside the top 150 on 14-over par.
MacIntyre +9 (4)
Bob, what's going on?!
The home favourite is having an absolute shocker in the second round.
Perhaps the hangover is catching up with him after last week's epic celebrations following his Scottish Open triumph?!
MacIntyre has just made his second triple of the round already with an eight on the par-5 4th.
He's now T117 and pretty much out of the weekend now you would have to think.
McIlroy +8 (3)
This is getting real ugly for Rory. He's just made his first bogey of the round at the 3rd and it drops him back to 8-over par for the tournament. That's a mammoth 15 shots behind Shane Lowry.
McIlroy has also just found huge trouble down the 4th. He went left with his tee shot and hacked it around in the rough, and he's just gone even further left with his fourth shot. Looks like a potential double incoming here.
He is currently T111 and in severe danger of missing the halfway cut.
The cut is looking likely to be around the 5 or 6-over par mark, but let's see how this afternoon plays out as the wind is picking up a fair bit right now.
Not that any of us needed any more reminding, but it's now a full 10 years since McIlroy last won his fourth major title at the 2014 US PGA.
MacIntyre +6 (3)
It's a triple, bogey, bogey start for last week's Scottish Open champion MacIntyre.
From looking to push forwards and enter the mix for The Open, it looks like the home favourite will be struggling to even be around for the weekend.
He's just found the deep stuff on the 4th, too. It could be a long round for Bob Mac.
| SHANE LOWRY | -7 (F) |
| DAN BROWN | -5 (15) |
| JUSTIN ROSE | -4 (9) |
| BILLY HORSCHEL | -2 (F) |
| DEAN BURMESTER | -2 (F) |
| SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER | -2 (F) |
Rory McIlroy has opened his second round with a par at the par-4 1st.
He found the semi rough with his tee shot and then found the heart of the green.
A low round is required to get back into the tournament as he currently lies 14 shots behind his Irish compatriot Shane Lowry.
McIlroy will need to shoot a couple under par to give himself a chance of making the cut.
MacIntyre +4 (1)
It's an opening triple-bogey seven for home favourite Bob MacIntyre.
The Scot had a nightmare in the right greenside bunker.
Bob Mac could be against it just to make the cut now.
Lowry -7 (69)
A great finish for Lowry as he holes out for a birdie on the 18th.
He's managed to navigate the conditions incredibly well today, and he should be delighted with his day's work.
The Irishman won't want to get ahead of himself today, but deep down he will know he's got a great look at getting his hands on the Claret Jug for a second time on Sunday.
Thomas +2 (5)
Things are going from bad to worse for Thomas as he compounds three bogeys in a row with a double on the 5th.
He's now dropped 28 places down the leaderboard from where he started day two.
The wind has really picked up now, and Thomas is certainly struggling to get to grip with the conditions.
Woods +14 (77)
Woods closed out his Open week with a par on the 18th hole, and he was met with rapturous applause as he took a solo walk up the fairway.
The fans still love him, but missing the cut by ten shots will undoubtedly have him questioning if he's still up to the task of competing at the highest level.
Lowry -6 (16)
It was nearly an eagle, but a birdie will suffice for Lowry at the 16th as he reclaims a one-shot lead at the top.
Thomas E (4)
JT has already undone all of his hard work from yesterday, with three bogeys in a row to move back to level par for the tournament.
He will be absolutely fuming with how his round has gone so far. \
Morikawa +1 (16)
Morikawa just holed a putt from downtown on the 16th to pick up his second birdie in a row.
Bar any disasters, Morikawa is well within the cut line, and if he can continue this birdie streak, he'll be well placed to compete at the weekend.
Brown -5 (10)
A much-needed birdie lands for Brown on the 10th hole, and he's regained a share of the lead with Lowry at 5-under.
Rose -3 (4)
Justin Rose has made an excellent start to his second round, making his first birdie of the day at the par-5 4th hole.
It was a bold approach backed up by an excellent putt that looked like it might slide by the right edge.
Thankfully, the ball crept in the right side to get Rose's engine purring.
The Open Leaderboard | |
S Lowry | -5 |
D. Brown | -4 |
B. Horschel | -2 |
D. Burmester | -2 |
N. Hojgaard | -2 |
J. Rose | -2 |
Woods +13 (15)
Tiger goes for the low cutter up 16, and he's a touch unlucky. The ball rolled for miles, eventually dropping into the burn that cuts across the fairway.
Troon isn't finished with Woods quite yet.
Noren -1 (6)
Noren has dropped two shots in his last three holes, both coming on par-5s.
The Swede's approach play is to blame, with two missed greens costing him two shots.
