Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke and American Lucas Glover took the clubhouse lead at the British Open on Friday as overnight front-runners Tom Lewis and Thomas Bjorn dropped off the pace.
Clarke carded a two-under-par 68 for the second day running to move to four-under at the halfway stage while 2009 U.S. Open champion Glover shot a solid level par 70 for a 36-hole total of 136.
Bright sunshine and a gentle breeze made the demanding Royal St. George's links lay-out a far more attractive proposition on Friday, a day after powerful off-shore gusts had buffeted the course.
Clarke's round was a roller-coaster as an eagle and five birdies were offset by a double bogey and three bogeys, but the 42-year-old Ulsterman was bullish about his prospects heading into the weekend.
“It would mean an awful lot, but obviously this is only after two rounds,” he replied when asked what a win in his 20th Open would mean to him. “There's an awful long way to go yet, and I believe the forecast for the weekend is very, very poor. “But the course is going to play very, very tough. If that's the case, then the tournament is still wide open for an awful lot of players.”
Overnight leader Bjorn, meanwhile, followed up his first round 65 with a two-over-par 72 which left him one off the lead at three-under.
Tournament favourite Rory McIlroy was frustrated in his efforts to mount a sustained second day charge. The 22-year-old U.S. Open champion, who had started the day one-over, looked to be getting into an ominous groove after back-to-back birdies on the sixth and seventh took him to one-under.
Bogeys on the eighth and 10th checked his advance but the Northern Irishman sunk another birdie on 13 to drop to level par after 14 holes.
English amateur Lewis slipped down the pecking order after a four-over-par 74 which left him at one-under along with four other players.
Loudest cheer
Five-time winner Tom Watson, so popular with the British crowds, enjoyed a huge following as he played with Lewis who was named after him.
The 61-year-old American duly raised the loudest cheer of the day when he aced the 178-yard par-three sixth with a glorious tee shot that disappeared into the cup on the second bounce.
The hole-in-one, the second of the tournament after American Dustin Johnson's effort at the 16th on Thursday, helped Watson to a level-par 70 for a two-over total.
It was Watson's second hole-in-one in majors — he aced the fourth at Baltusrol in the 1980 U.S. Open — and his 15th in all.
Leading scores:
136: Darren Clarke (NIR), Lucas Glover (USA); 137: Chad Campbell (USA), Martin Kaymer (Ger), Thomas Bjorn (Den), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Esp); 138: Pablo Larrazabal (Esp), Charl Schwartzel (RSA), Davis Love (USA), Tom Lehman (USA), George Coetzee (RSA); 139: Adam Scott (AUS), Phil Mickelson (USA), Tom Lewis (Eng), Jeff Overton (USA), Ryan Palmer (USA); 140: Kyle Stanley (USA), Anthony Kim (USA), Yang Yong-Eun (Kor), Zach Johnson (USA), Steve Stricker (USA), Webb Simpson (USA), Robert Rock (Eng), Fredrik Jacobsen (Swe) and Simon Dyson (Eng).
