It’s the final Major of the year as the world’s best golfers bid for the Open Championship at Royal Troon.
You can follow all the action right here over the next few days.
Irish in action:
Shane Lowry -7 (69)
Pádraig Harrington +3 (73)
Tom McKibbin +2 (16)
Liam Nolan (A) +13 (77)
Darren Clarke +6 (71)
Rory McIlroy +11 (4)
He misses a three footer for the double as his week goes from bad to worse.
A catalogue of errors on that hole sees him drop back to +11, six shots outside of the projected cut mark. With the wind as high as it is, his chances of making the cut now are very slim.
His lie was terrible and his chip goes flying through the green, racing into a bunker at the front. That will be his sixth shot and the best he can hope for here realistically is a double as Troon chews him up. The projected cut-mark of +5 is looking further away by the second for him.
“I’m ready for anything that’s thrown at me,” says Lowry.
Meanwhile, Daniel Brown is in second place two shots behind Lowry after finishing with a 72.
He pulls his tee-shot into the thick stuff and takes two attempts to get out of there. He finds the fairway with his third shot but then has to yell fore-left as he pulls the socks off that one towards the crowd. It’s going from bad to worse for him. He needs to be gaining strokes if he wants to make the cut but instead he’s giving them back.
He drops back to +8, three shots above the projected cut-mark.
He reduces Shane Lowry’s lead to a single stroke with a birdie on the Par Five sixteenth. It’s not looking pretty for Rory McIlroy who, after over-shooting the green by a good twenty yards on three, will have a ten footer to save par.
The difficulties faced by Justin Thomas in his second round give a flavour of the challenge. Having started his day on -3, third in the leaderboard, the two-time major champ is now floundering on +5 for the tournament after ten holes of his second round, unlikely to make the cut.
His short game stood up to the test there with a solid up and down.
It’s not the fast start he’d been hoping for though more positively, the projected cut is now out to +5 giving him a chance.
It gets caught in the wind and comes up short of the flag.
Justin Thomas is one player who has really struggled in the conditions out there. Having began his day just two behind Lowry on -3, he’s fallen as far back as +3 after just eight holes of his round.
It’s going to be an uphill battle for McIlroy who is three shots behind the projected cut-mark on +7 but he’s began his second round with a big drive down the first, and will have a wedge from the semi-rough into the green.
“I felt like I was quite calm and collected throughout the whole process of the whole thing,” says Lowry on his rollercoaster on the 11th hole.
“Walking down on eighteen, I told Darren (caddie) that this is what it’s all about, getting that reception,” he told Sky Sports.
“This is what we play for. This is the reason we get up in the morning. This is what I live for, and I’m really excited for the weekend.”
The world number one found himself in a spot of trouble on the last and his putter doesn’t bail him out, missing the par putt to drop back to -2, five behind Lowry. That’s a round of 70 for the American.
Justin Rose is one of the players making a positive early move, up to -4 just three behind Lowry after seven holes of his round.
Take in that 18th hole birdie putt once more from Lowry.
He birdies the last for the second day in a row, punching the air as it drops in to great cheers from the crowd. Magic.
That rollercoaster on eleven was the one mis-step in an otherwise brilliant round where his ball-striking was once again imperious.
The putter was also hot, holing good ones on 1, 4 and 8 where he made birdies and of course on 18.
He’s two clear as things stand in a round where he showed character and quality.
The hunt for a second claret jug is well and truly on heading into the weekend.
He punches the air after rolling in the 20 footer on the last to go two clear as he lands into the house with a 69. Brilliant stuff from the Offaly man.
Another perfectly judged iron shot from the Offaly man who is pin high and about twenty foot away on the last. He’s getting a great reception as he makes his way up towards the green after another impressive round of golf. That stroke of misfortune on eleven could have broken a lesser player but he bounced back and remains at the top.