Rory out in the Open and on the move
Rory McIlroy is coming but American Matt Kuchar defied buffeting winds to retain the clubhouse lead after a sturdy second round at the British Open at Royal Birkdale.
After holding a share of the first-round lead with countrymen Jordan Spieth and US Open champion Brooks Koepka, Kuchar posted a one-over-par 71 in brutal conditions on Friday (Saturday NZ Time) to hold firm.
At five-over, Spieth and Koepka were expected to confront the worst of deteriorating weather later in the afternoon, leaving Kuchar well placed to be the halfway leader.
McIlroy remains in hot pursuit after continuing his spectacular fightback with a superb two-under 68.
The 2014 champion and fourtime major winner surged to within three shots of the lead with a front nine three-under 31, having slipped 10 behind through six holes of his first round.
After rallying with four backnine birdies in an opening 71, the Northern Irishman immediately picked up from where he left off to storm into red numbers.
Birdies on the first, third and sixth – the toughest hole on the course where he knocked his approach to little more than a metre – had McIlroy at two-under for the championship.
With the wind strengthening by the minute, McIlroy, in a tie for 11th when he finished his round, remains very much a factor heading into the weekend.
Kuchar mixed four bogeys with three birdies to keep the morning challengers at bay.
‘‘There’s a whole lot of trouble to be had,’’ he said before kicking back in his hotel room to watch the expected afternoon carnage unfold.
‘‘That’s one of the cool things over here, whether it’s Thursday or Friday, whatever your morning round is, getting to go back to the room, put on the TV and watch the guys play in the afternoon, and particularly in tough conditions.
‘‘That’s kind of what we know about The Open and I think that’s what people enjoy about the British Open; is watching the hard wind, the rain, the guys just trying to survive out there.’’
Richie Ramsay’s even-par 70 left the Scot in a tie for seventh at two-under, no doubt hoping the leaders would falter further.
Young Canadian Austin Connelly was one stroke further back after a 72.
Playing with Australian Jason Day, American Zach Johnson returned a brilliant 66 to soar to one over in his quest for a third major title after winning the 2015 Open at St Andrews and the 2007 Masters.
Adam Scott looks Australia’s best weekend hope after being satisfied with a 74 that left the former world No 1 seven behind Kuchar.
Kiwi golfers Ryan Fox and Michael Hendry fell further back in the second round and could miss the weekend cut.
Fox, who opened with a fourover 74, improved with a two-over 72 at Royal Birkdale in northwest England but sits in a tie for 83rd, a stroke from the projected cut-line at five-over.
With half the field still on the course, if enough golfers ahead of Fox - a minimum of 17 - drop back in the deteriorating conditions, the cut-line for the top-70 plus ties could move down.
That’s still unlikely to help Hendry, who posted a seven-over 77 - following his three-over opening round - to be in a tie for 128th at 10-over par, a distant five strokes from surviving the cut.
Fox made a spirited back-nine fightback, with birdies at the 10th, 15th and 16th holes, combined with bogeys at the 13th and 17th.
His front nine included six pars and three bogeys as he fell back to seven-over at the turn.
The 30-year-old Aucklander hit 43 per cent of fairways and 56 per cent of greens in regulation in an improved round.
Hendry, who hit just 21 per cent of fairways and 50 per cent of greens in regulation, managed two birdies, seven bogeys and a doublebogey in a up-and-down round.
He put up bogeys on the second, third, sixth and eighth holes while the solitary highlight on the front nine came with a birdie at the seventh.
The 37-year-old looked to have steadied his round with four straight pars but it came undone with a double-bogey at the par-four 13th, followed by bogeys at the 14th, 16th and 18th holes. — AAP