TROON, Scotland (Reuters) -Ireland’s Shane Lowry led the Open after a measured second round at Royal Troon but world number one Scottie Scheffler was moving ominously into contention on Friday.
Lowry, the 2019 champion, rolled in a superb 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th green to complete a two-under 69 to move to seven under, two shots clear of overnight leader Dan Brown.
Qualifier Brown, who made a late move on Thursday to grab the lead, had dropped one shot through 12 holes.
American Scheffler was warming to the task of lifting the Claret Jug for the first time although a bogey at the 18th rather jolted his serene progress on the Ayrshire coast.
England’s Justin Rose was also impressive as the former U.S. Open champion reached four under early in his second round having gone 25 holes without a single dropped shot.
Conditions were calmer for the early starters on Friday although winds were expected to increase throughout the day.
Lowry made birdies at the first and fourth and after dropping a shot at the fifth he made birdie on the treacherous par-three eighth known as the Postage Stamp.
His only moment of concern was a double-bogey on the 11th but he quickly shrugged that off and made birdie at the 16th before his majestic finish on the last hole.
“It was pretty good, it was tough out there,” Lowry said. “The wind wasn’t quite as strong as yesterday but it was still tricky. The 11th was a bit of a disaster but I handled that well and managed to finish nicely.”
Scheffler, who has six wins on the PGA Tour this season including The Masters, plotted his way around in impressive fashion with three birdies although he was left frustrated following a bogey five at the 18th after finding a fairway bunker.
Rose, who had to qualify this year, rolled back the years with some near-perfect golf to move into contention.
Once again he showed the value of staying out of trouble as he made two birdies and six pars in his first eight holes.
Several players made use of the relatively benign early conditions, including American Billy Horschel who moved to two under after a three-under 68.
Fellow American Patrick Cantlay also shot at 68 to move to one under, as did Australia’s Jason Day.
There was to be no miraculous recovery for Tiger Woods though as the American great bowed out with a disappointing round of 77 after carding 79 on Thursday.
The 48-year-old American recorded six bogeys and two double bogeys on Thursday and struggled again with just a single birdie despite plenty of support from the packed galleries.
“It wasn’t very good,” Woods said. “I was fighting it all day and was never close enough to make birdies.”
With the cut line projected to be plus five, the later starters included some big names hoping to at least keep themselves in the tournament for the weekend.
U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, who began the day five over, and world number two Rory McIlroy, seven over, will need big improvements to avoid being cut.
(Reporting by Ed Osmond and Martyn HermanEditing by Toby Davis)
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