Phil Mickelson maintains Open lead amid nightmare conditions
ByReuters
Updated 15/07/2016 at 20:52 GMT
Five-times major winner Phil Mickelson shrugged off the worst weather of the week to maintain his lead in The Open second round on Friday.
Phil Mickelson of the U.S. watches his tee shot on the 12th hole during the second round - Royal Troon, Scotland
Image credit: Reuters
The 46-year-old American, bidding to become the oldest winner of the championship in the modern era, compiled a two-under-par 69 to finish with an overall 10-under tally of 132.
Conditions were perfectly acceptable on the front nine and Mickelson took advantage with early birdies at the fourth and seventh.
The veteran left-hander then delivered a pinpoint tee shot at Royal Troon's signature eighth hole, the par-three Postage Stamp, that landed several feet beyond the flag before spinning back to stop within inches of the cup.
As driving rain began to fall on the inward half and winds started to gust up to 15mph, Mickelson mixed two bogeys with a solitary birdie to make sure he claimed the clubhouse lead.
Swede Henrik Stenson finished on nine-under, good enough for second, while Dane Soren Kjeldsen battled his way to a 68 to finish on seven-under, a tally Keegan Bradley shares.
'Big Four' struggle
The so-called 'Big Four' of world golf were left trailing in the wake of the leaders for the second day running.
World number two Dustin Johnson (69) and fourth-ranked Rory McIlroy (71) were the best-placed of the quartet on two-under, eight adrift of pacesetter Mickelson.
Top-ranked Jason Day (70) was 11 shots behind American Mickelson while number three Jordan Spieth (75) just made the cut on four-over.
"I just tried to smile, tried to enjoy the fact that you don't play in this often," Spieth told reporters.
You wish your score didn't matter when you play in this. You wish this was just a round with your buddies where you go into the clubhouse and have one or seven pints afterwards.
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Jordan Spieth of the U.S. reacts after a wayward tee shot on the second hole during the second round
Image credit: Reuters
Sombre mood
There was a sombre mood at the start of the day with the French tricolour flying at half-mast by the 18th green as the Open paid tribute to the victims of the Bastille Day attack in Nice.
An attacker at the wheel of a heavy truck ploughed into crowds celebrating Bastille Day in the French city late on Thursday, killing at least 84 people and injuring scores more in what President Francois Hollande called a terrorist act.
French golfer Clement Sordet, who teed off in the first three-ball of the day, had the words 'pray for Nice' emblazoned on his cap which also carried a black ribbon.
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Clement Sordet of France has 'Pray for Nice' written on his cap as he walks along the first hole at The Open, Royal Troon
Image credit: Reuters
'I live in Nice'
"I tried not to think about it but that's why I had this on my hat," Sordet told reporters after carding a 75 for an eight-over-par tally of 150 that is highly unlikely to make the cut.
"I was just trying to enjoy my last day at the Open. I live in Nice. It happened maybe 500 metres from where I live.
"I'm really proud to be French and I think we all need to support each other. I just say my prayers," added Sordet.
Former world number one Lee Westwood, four-times major winner Ernie Els and world number six Stenson were among several other players wearing black ribbons on their headgear.
DAY 2 LEADERBOARD
(Par 71 - holes played, rounds)
-10 Phil Mickelson (US) 18 63 69
-9 Henrik Stenson (Sweden) 18 68 65
-7 Soren Kjeldsen (Denmark) 18 67 68
Keegan Bradley (US) 18 67 68
-5 Zach Johnson (US) 18 67 70
-4 Tony Finau (US) 18 67 71
Bill Haas (US) 18 68 70
Charl Schwartzel (South Africa) 18 72 66
Andrew Johnston (Britain) 18 69 69
Sergio Garcia (Spain) 18 68 70
-3 Kevin Na (US) 18 70 69
Matt Kuchar (US) 18 71 68
Martin Kaymer (Germany) 18 66 73
Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Spain) 18 68 71
-2 Patrick Reed (US) 18 66 74
An Byeong-Hun (Korea) 18 70 70
Rory McIlroy (Britain) 18 69 71
Francesco Molinari (Italy) 18 69 71
Dustin Johnson (US) 18 71 69
J.B. Holmes (US) 18 70 70
Jim Herman (US) 18 70 70
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