Phil Mickelson maintained his two-shot lead and set the clubhouse target at ten under on a wet and windy second day of The 145th Open Championship.
Tougher conditions had been predicted than on day one and so it proved as heavy rain and an increased wind tested the field at Royal Troon.
Mickelson carded a 69 after yesterday's course record 63 but it was wet weather specialist Søren Kjeldsen who shone to sit just three shots off the lead.
The Dane won the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation in similar conditions last season and showed all his gritty qualities in a bogey-free 68 to get to seven under.
Henrik Stenson was a shot ahead of Kjeldsen and still out on course with defending champion Zach Johnson at six under on his back nine.
Mickelson's last win was his Open triumph at Muirfield in 2013 but he has found some fine form and took his bogey-free run on links to 57 holes after last week's Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open.
He took advantage of the par five fourth and then put his approach on the seventh to four feet before nearly spinning the ball back into the hole on the Postage Stamp for an ace.
At that point he had a five-shot lead but he blemished his card for the first time this week at the 12th before hitting back with a 20-foot putt on the 14th.
Another shot was dropped on the next and while he looked in big trouble in the bunker on the 17th, Mickelson produced an exquisite save and parred the last for a 69.
Stenson was putting together one of the rounds of the day and caught fire early, making three straight birdies from the third and adding another on the seventh. A shot went on the ninth but further birdies on the tenth and 13th meant he had cut the gap to two with three to play.
Kjeldsen has been a picture of consistency this season, missing just one cut and he achieved a seventh-placed finish at the Masters Tournament in April.
That consistency shone through in his bogey-free 68 with birdies on the par five fourth and sixth, two excellent par saves on the seventh and 11th and a huge birdie putt on 17th.
Charl Schwartzel produced the low round of the day so far with a 66 to sit at four under alongside Andrew Johnston, who had seven birdies, two bogeys and a triple in a rollercoaster second consecutive 69.
