By Mathieu Wood
If the public at home watching their televisions thought Royal Troon was a challenge in the opening round, the players had it tough again on day two at The 152nd Open.
While conditions were drier and warmer on Friday, the absence of any significant rain couldn’t make up for the carnage caused by gusts around 25mph, in particular for the afternoon wave of starters.
Of the 53 games that teed it up for the second round, totalling 154 players, there were just 18 scores under par. Only ten players are under par heading into the weekend.
In an incredible statistic, if you took the worst score on each hole on Friday, it would have added up to a round of 128.
Not for the first time, the elements were eliminating many from contention for the Claret Jug. The statistics said the morning-late side of the draw were at the wrong end of it.
Shane Lowry, who posted a two-under-par 69 to hold the halfway lead at seven under, and for that matter first-round leader Dan Brown were among the fortunate ones.
"I have felt quite calm and composed the last couple of days," said 2019 Open champion Lowry. "I've felt really in my comfort zone. I know I can deal with conditions like this. There's an art."
The best score in the second round was a three-under-par 68, achieved by six players: Billy Horschel, Jason Day, Patrick Cantlay, Gary Woodland, Jorge Campillo - who was 12 shots better off than his opening-day effort - and most significantly Justin Rose.
Of those, England's Rose was the only player from the second half of the draw on Friday. Incredible to think he only secured his spot in the field earlier this month through Final Qualifying.
In an honest assessment of the difficulty, Rose said: "I think today it tipped over the edge where the elements were in control, meaning that you were aiming right of a pin and slicing the ball and seeing the ball hook.
"So the wind had all the control on the ball. The player couldn't have control over the wind. I think that's the tipping point today.
"Yesterday I felt like it was playable. I felt like it was a fair fight yesterday. Today just kind of was a bit more survival."
Rose, who will go into the third round two shots adrift of Ryder Cup team-mate Lowry, was one of just three players to complete bogey-free rounds in the first round. The others were Lowry and Major Championship debutant Brown.
I felt like it was a fair fight yesterday. Today just kind of was a bit more survival
By comparison, there were just two on Friday. Those rounds were by Australian Major champion Jason Day and Danish amateur Jacob Skov Olesen on his first taste of golf's oldest Major. In doing so, the latter climbed 42 places on the leaderboard.
Heading into the second round in Ayrshire, the projected cut was three over but by the time the final putt was made it finished at six under.
The source of much of the difficulty for the field was the way the wind direction changed ahead of Thursday's opening round.
After gusting mainly from the northwest and west during the practice days, the wind came from the south and even briefly from the southeast. As a result, the usually easier front nine played tougher and the same was the case on Friday.
"It was certainly three or four shots harder (today), I would have said," reflected Brown after his 72. "Even the front nine played a lot stronger, and then the back, you would think going back downwind, it would make it easier, but it was so firm that it was a proper struggle to try and hold onto some of the greens really."
A week on from victory at the Genesis Scottish Open, Robert MacIntyre once again showed his grit as he recovered from dropping eight shots in his opening four holes to make four birdies from the seventh and ensure progress through to the weekend.
"After four holes, I was staring 90 in the face. If that wind had stayed up and it actually did stay the same," said MacIntyre after his 75.
"It was just I've got a lot of pride in myself, Mike (Burrow, his caddie) has got a lot of pride in his work.
"Once he straightened my head a little bit and we kind of regained focus, it was right back to work."
Skill, patience and a degree of fortune were all a necessity to perform well in these conditions.
But for many, the challenge was too much.
Wyndham Clark, who last year won the U.S. Open - widely viewed as the toughest Major assignment - carded an 80. World Number Two Rory McIlroy missed just his second cut at a Major in his last 16 starts as he shot a 75 to finish at 11 over, five shots adrift of the cut mark.
Aguri Iwasaki propped up the leaderboard after a torrid 91, twenty strokes over par. The Japanese had back-to-back nines on his back nine.
Meanwhile, there were a plethora of other high scores including a quintuple-bogey eight by Joaquin Niemann at the par-three eighth.
Those who like to see the best in the business struggle were having their way.
Notable names to miss the cut
- Wyndham Clark +16
- Tiger Woods +14
- Cameron Smith +12
- Rory McIlroy +11
- Viktor Hovland +10
- Tony Finau +10
- Bryson DeChambeau +9
- Ludvig Åberg +9
- Tommy Fleetwood +9
- Min Woo Lee +9
- Francesco Molinari +9
