Shane Lowry has taken the lead at The Open at Royal Troon, two shots ahead of his closest rivals as Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland was eliminated from the tournament in blustery conditions. Lowry, who won the title in 2019, shot a two-under 69 to go seven under overall, thanks to a 20-foot birdie on the last hole. Justin Rose and Dan Brown are both five under after Rose sank a 40-foot birdie putt to join Brown, who led after the first round and maintained his form with a 72 in the second.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is three further shots back with a score of two under, along with Billy Horschel and Dean Burmester. The halfway cut mark was six over par, with Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre on five over and McIlroy heading home on 11 over, having made 75 on Friday, thanks to the wind.
Lowry birdied on the first, fourth and eighth holes to reach seven under at the turn. Things threatened to unravel on the 11th hole, known as “The Railway,” when he found trouble after an “inexplicable hook” straight across the fairway and deep into a gorse bush. This led to him stalking off the green with a double-bogey six and back where he started the day. But he steadied himself with four straight pars, closing with birdies on the 16th and 18th holes.
Brown continued to be the surprise package of the tournament after dropping two shots in the front nine. Brown refused to fade away, however, managing to come back to make birdies on the 10th and 16th to go six under, before making a third bogey of the day on the 17th hole. Brown, a former English amateur champion, is playing in his first Open and had won his first Tour event last year in Northern Ireland.
In other news, Tiger Woods has expressed that he will participate in next year’s Championship in Portrush despite performing badly on Friday with a six-over 77, which left him at 14 over. It was uncertain if the 48-year-old would continue after missing the cut at the past three majors and finishing last at the Masters, as he continues to recover from injuries sustained in a 2021 car crash
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