Irishman Shane Lowry survived a misadventure at No. 11 and birdied two of his ultimate three holes to enter the clubhouse with the lead halfway by means of the second spherical of the 152nd Open Championship on Friday at Royal Troon.
Lowry’s two-putt birdie on the par-5 sixteenth gap and his 20 1/2-foot putt on the 18th gave him a 2-under-par 69, placing the 2019 Open champion at 7-under 135 heading into the weekend in Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland.
He has a two-shot edge over 18-hole chief Daniel Brown of England, who posted a 1-over 72 to drop to five beneath.
“I do know (Saturday) goes to be a protracted day, however I’ve achieved it earlier than,” Lowry mentioned. “Going on the market main the match, who is aware of if I’ll be main by the tip of the day? With these situations, most likely can be, however we’ll have to attend and see.”
On the par-4 eleventh, Lowry’s second shot received misplaced within the tough, and he hit a provisional ball onto the inexperienced. Then his authentic ball was discovered, and by rule he was required to play it. It took 20 minutes between pictures for Lowry to make the choice to take a penalty stroke and a drop. He hit a blind shot over some shrubbery onto the inexperienced and double bogeyed again to five beneath.
“The referee requested me happening, did I wish to discover my first one, and I mentioned no. So I assumed that was OK,” Lowry mentioned. “Then we get down there, and any person had discovered it. So apparently we have now to seek out it then, or you need to go and determine it, which I assumed, in case you declared it misplaced earlier than it was discovered, that you just did not, you did not have to go and determine it.
“… To be sincere, I used to be pleased sufficient leaving there with a 6. It was not like — it wasn’t a catastrophe. I used to be nonetheless main the match.”
Englishman Justin Rose was in third place at 3 beneath after 12 holes of his second spherical. He made his first bogey of the match on the twelfth.
World No. 1 Scheffler carded a 70 to affix a tie at 2 beneath with Billy Horschel (68) and South Africa’s Dean Burmester (69). Scheffler holed a 35-foot birdie putt on the par-3 14th and added a birdie at No. 16 to get to three beneath, however he discovered a pot bunker off the 18th tee and completed up with a bogey.
Within the clubhouse at 1 beneath by means of two rounds are Xander Schauffele (72), Patrick Cantlay (68), Australia’s Jason Day (68) and Canada’s Corey Conners (70).
Notable gamers who teed off within the afternoon wave embrace Northern Eire’s Rory McIlroy, Spaniard Jon Rahm and U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau. Justin Thomas started the day in third place at 3 beneath however shot a disastrous 9-over 45 on his entrance 9, capped by a triple bogey at No. 9, to plummet out of rivalry.
Tiger Woods adopted a gap 79 with a 6-over 77 Friday to complete the 2 rounds at 14 over, lacking the lower at his third straight main.
–Area Stage Media
