At Royal Troon on Friday, after his second round, Shane Lowry took the lead in the 152nd British Open at seven under par. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy were among the notable players who missed the cut.D
Dueto the windy conditions on Scotland’s west coast, only 10 of the 154 players still competing are below par; five players in the world’s top 10 did not make it to the weekend.Daniel Brown, an unknown Englishman making his major debut, and Justin Rose, who qualified through qualifying to secure his spot in Troon, trail Lowry by two goals.
A dramatic double bogey on the eleventh hole threatened to sink the Irishman, who won his only major at the British Open in 2019.
Despite missing a shot at 18, Lowry moved into a share of fourth place at two under, putting world number one Scottie Scheffler in his sights.
Six times already this year, Scheffler won his second Masters championship in April.
The American got within striking distance of Lowry after making a huge putt at the 14th and a birdie on the par-five 16th, but a costly bogey on the final hole left him five strokes behind.
Xander Schauffele, the winner of the USPGA Championship, is also very much in the running at one under.
After a disastrous two days to finish on 11 over, McIlroy’s ten-year wait for a major will continue until 2025 at the veryLowry stated, “You come here to be leading this tournament after two days.”
“The job tomorrow as well is to try to put myself in a position to win this tournament on Sunday.”
With birdies on the first, fifth, and eighth holes, Lowry lead the charge and reached the turn in 34.
On the eleventh hole, however, the world number 33 was stunned when, following a mishandled tee shot, he veered way left into dense brush.
Lowry was forced to play a drop and forfeit two shots when his ball was miraculously found, but it was determined to be unplayable.
With two more strokes in the last three holes, he recovered magnificently.
Despite missing a shot at 18, Lowry moved into a share of fourth place at two under, putting world number one Scottie Scheffler in his sights.
Six times already this year, Scheffler won his second Masters championship in April.
The American got within striking distance of Lowry after making a huge putt at the 14th and a birdie on the par-five 16th, but a costly bogey on the final hole left him five strokes behind.
Xander Schauffele, the winner of the USPGA Championship, is also very much in the running at one under.
After a disastrous two days to finish on 11 over, McIlroy’s ten-year wait for a major will continue until 2025 at the very least.
After shooting 78 on Thursday, the world number two needed an under par round, but he missed six consecutive putts in four holes, starting with a triple bogey eight at the fourth.
The Northern Irishman said, “That four-hole stretch to start off is what cost me.” “Twenty-two holes into the event and I’m thinking about where I’m going to go on vacation next week.”
One of the few players to finish lower than McIlroy after two rounds that won’t do much to allay concerns about whether Woods should keep straining his injured body in an attempt to add to his already impressive 15 major championships is Woods. He finished at 14 over.
The 48-year-old responded angrily to remarks made by former European Ryder earlier this week.
Woods has stated that he has been feeling better physically lately as he works to recover from serious leg injuries he sustained in an automobile accident in 2021.
“I just need to keep progressing like that and then eventually start playing more competitively and start getting into kind of the competitive flow again,” he stated.
The three-time British Open champion shot 156 over two rounds, which was three shots worse than his lowest major scoring total ever, the 2015 US Open.
The other top-10 players who failed to make the cut were Viktor Hovland, Wyndham Clark, Ludvig Aberg, and US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau.
Sahith Theegala, Tommy Fleetwood, and 2022 champion Cam Smith joined them.
Winner of the Scottish Open Bob MacIntyre recovered from losing eight shots in his opening four holes to finish at five over. AAFP