He took a triple-bogey seven to fall back to 4 under.
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A rainy day on the Scottish coast was a stark contrast to the conditions of round one. The gusts topped out at just over 30 miles per hour (48 kph). The rain came down heavy and stayed longer.
“I felt like I swung it really well all day”.
“It was quite playable the first five holes before the rain hit the first time, and I managed to pick up three birdies on 3, 4 and 5”.
Both players slipped to four over par as a result, but the cut was on the verge of moving out to three over as conditions remained testing.
“They’re not going to touch my little Srixon ball”.
For Spieth, it has been a struggle all day. Spieth was at 3 over. Not only was that 13 shots behind, he was in danger of missing the cut.
Stenson has had finishes of fourth or better in the U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship, but sealing the deal has proved elusive. He shot 82 on Thursday.
USA golfer Zach Johnson shelters from the rain under an umbrella during his second round on day two of the 2016 British Open Golf Championship at Royal Troon in Scotland on July 15, 2016.
The Swede spent an 18-month winless stretch from the end of 2014 before breaking through at last month’s BMW International Open.
Spieth is looking to improve his recent play in majors.
Montgomerie got back to level par with two birdies and narrowly missed a third.
All in all, the 2003 champion at Royal St. George’s had six shots in the sand, starting with taking three to get out of a fairway bunker after pushing his tee shot left. Montgomerie made a decent pitch onto the green and putted out to get up and down – but he walked off the first hole with a double bogey. The 39-year-old American wound up shooting 83 in his second round and was 18 over par.
Curtis was chuckling about his misfortune afterward, but said he wasn’t at the time, saying “I wanted to go jump in the ocean”.
Mickelson, who leads from compatriot Patrick Reed and Germany’s Martin Kaymer on five-under, was playing with Lee Westwood and Ernie Els on a glorious day at Troon. At least 84 people were killed. I saw that ball rolling right in the centre.
He says his girlfriend and her family are safe.
“I haven’t made a birdie in the first seven holes and it seems like the whole field has made about four each”.
Phil Mickelson began Friday with a three-stroke lead after shooting an 8-under 63 at Royal Troon, almost becoming the first play to shoot 62 in a major championship. The 23-year-old Sordet used a blue marker to write the words “Pray For Nice” on his cap.
“Anything around even-par this afternoon was a decent score”.
While Mickelson is still in the lead, his advantage is far from secure, as Henrik Stenson pulled to within one shot of the top spot with a six-under 65 Friday.
While Stenson finds himself in a fairly familiar position, the fact that his play is trending upward bodes well for his chances, especially if Mickelson’s performance drops off in even the slightest way during the third round.
“I would love to add it, but having already done that was big”.
Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke and two-times Open victor Padraig Harrington safely made the cut, both sitting on one over going into the weekend. Playing in a standout group with Rory McIlroy and Watson, the 17th-ranked Matsuyama had an 8-over total. Weather arrived the next day in the form of strong wind, and McIlroy shot 80.
Royal Troon doesn’t look anything like Phil Mickelson remembers from his near-historic opening round in the British Open.
Following up the record-tying 63 he carded in Thursday’s opening round, particularly in hard and changing weather conditions, was not going to be easy. The sun was nowhere to be found.
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And yes, rain was in the forecast.
