The solidity in the putt led the Australian Cameron Smith to relieve his namesake Cameron Young in the leadership of the British Open, who remains two shots away after a second day in which the reigning champion, the American Collin Morikawa, and his compatriot Tiger Woods did not make the cut, moved on the 18th hole by the standing ovation he received.
The rain accompanied the first games and the field was defended on the second day with the positions of the flags to increase its complexity, which increased with the changes of wind in the afternoon shift.
(Also: Nairo Quintana, complaint or claim on stage 13 of the Tour de France?)
Smith, who had signed a card of 67 shots on Thursday, began his second performance with three consecutive birdies, a statement of intent. He rounded off his first round with another two holes under par for a card that then totaled 31 strokes, and extended his brilliant numbers with one more birdie at the start of the second part of the course and with an eagle at 14, a par 5. His card was 64, 8 under par, the best of the day, which gave him the lead.
That position was held by the American Cameron Young, who also participated in the evening shift and signed a -3, five shots worse than on the opening day. He recovered from two bogeys, one per lap, and his card stayed at 69, with -11 overall, 2 behind Smith.
Rory McIlroy is still in contention for the title
One of the last to take the field, the British Rory McIlroy, well supported by the fans, completed a -4 that made him drop a rung in the standings to third with -10.
With the same score, the Norwegian Viktor Hovland was placed, thanks, in part, to an eagle in the 15th with a second blow, at medium distance, sensational.
The American Dustin Johnson, who appeared with -4 on Thursday, started with a bogey, but corrected with birdies in the third, ninth, tenth and three others in the second round, the last in the 18th, for a card of 67 that came to put him first (-9), although he was later overcome.
The leader of the world ranking, the American Scottie Scheffler, began with a bogey and several birdie options that did not prosper until he achieved it in the seventh. He then linked another three as he started the second round and one more on 18th to match his numbers from day one and drop to -8.
In those blows is the British Tyrrell Hatton, who after -2 on the first day, closed the second with a cardboard of 66. With -7, they are followed by the Australian Adam Scott, who had finished on par on Thursday, and the Americans Talor Gooch, Patrick Cantlay and Sahith Theegala.
Sebastián Muñoz will be the weekend
For his part, the Colombian Juan Sebastián Muñoz managed to make the cut for the first time in the British Open, right on the edge to play on the weekend.
After having played the first day above par, the Bogota native finished Friday with 71 shots, one under par, to accumulate 144 (par from the field) and ensure his presence in the last two rounds.
The irregularity took away Irishman Padraig Harrington, winner of the Open in 2007 and 2008: he started with two birdies (-5), but then everything went wrong with two consecutive bogeys and a double bogey between 4 and 6, and He finished with 78 hits and a +3 overall.
Tiger Woods, winner of the Open three times, two of them in St. Andrews, faced the day with a +6 that began to clarify with par in the first two holes and birdie in the third, but ended with +9, very far of the cut to continue in action.
(In other news: María Sharapova stirs up the networks: emotional photo of her newborn son)
Unfortunately, the Californian received the support of the fans throughout the tournament and the decibels rose on the last hole, in which he could not contain his emotion at the affection that the public gave him.
Nor is defending champion Collin Morikawa going forward, who ended the day, and his Open contest, with a shot over par.
SPORTS
with Eph
#Cameron #Smith #leader #British #Open #Munoz #court