HE’S NOT HALF BAD
Louis Oosthuizen chips from a bunker in the second round of the British Open. He set a 36-hole record with an 11-under 129 for a two-shot lead.
Louis Oosthuizen set a 36-hole record at the British Open and is halfway to ending that run of near misses at the majors.
Now all he has to do is hold off a cast of major champions on the weekend at Royal St. George’s in Sandwich, England.
On a day of pleasant summer weather that took the fear out of the links off Sandwich Bay, Oosthuizen broke away from a three-way tie with a birdie-birdie-eagle run from the 12th hole. He shrugged off his first bogey of the week for a five-underpar 65 and a two-stroke lead Friday.
Former PGA champion Collin Morikawa had a 64 in the morning and was two strokes behind. Another shot back was Jordan Spieth (67), going after his fourth major.
Lurking was two-time major champion Dustin Johnson, the No. 1 player in the world who shot a 65 and was tied for fourth, four strokes behind Oosthuizen.
“The game is good, but I know it’s a really good leaderboard,” Oosthuizen said. “I’ll have to play good golf this weekend if I want to come out first.”
Oosthuizen, looking as calm as the conditions, was at 11-under 129, breaking the 36-hole Open record first set by Nick Faldo in 1992 at Muirfield and matched by Brandt Snedeker in 2012 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.
This will be the fifth time in the last nine rounds at a major that Oosthuizen, the 2010 Open champion at St. Andrews, has had at least a share of the lead. He was runner-up at the last two majors — to Phil Mickelson at the PGA Championship in May and to Jon Rahm at the U.S. Open last month.
“I’m not really going to think about the second spots,” said Oosthuizen, when asked what he will do differently this time. “I know my game is in a good place.”
He also will be aware of the quality of player behind him, though. Morikawa, a former La Cañada High star making quite a debut in links golf, made seven birdies in his first 14 holes as part of a clinic in iron play. He missed a five-foot par putt on No. 15 — ending a 27-hole stretch without a bogey — and had a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole catch the lip.
Spieth, four strokes behind Morikawa when he teed off, was tied for the lead after 12 holes and then played the last six holes in one over, a stretch he described as “frustrating.” He had plenty of looks at birdie, but the putts didn’t drop like they did Thursday.
“I don’t know, I think I need to bring more food on the golf course tomorrow,” said Spieth, who has already lifted the Claret Jug before at Royal Birkdale in 2017. “I got really just in a weird headspace, like fatigued there on like the 13th green as we were waiting and hitting putts.”
Then there was Johnson, a runner-up at Royal St. George’s in 2011, who stuck his approach at the last to three feet for a birdie and a round of 65, which left him at seven under with Dylan Frittelli of South Africa (67) and Scottie Scheffler (66).
The weather is expected to stay benign over the weekend, potentially favoring Johnson if the fairways firm up and the ball runs longer and faster.
One shot behind an eclectic mix of players at six under — including two more South Africans in Justin Harding and Daniel Van Tonder as well as Germany’s Marcel Siem, who qualified from a second-tier Challenge Tour event last week — were Rahm (64) and Brooks Koepka.
No. 7 Patrick Cantlay, a former UCLA standout; No. 9 Patrick Reed; and former Open champions Francesco Molinari and Henrik Stenson were among those headed home.
PGA
J.T. Poston shot a bogeyfree six-under 66 to take the second-round lead in the Barbasol Championship in Nicholasville, Ky.
Poston had a 13-under 131 total at rain-soaked Keene Trace in the tournament that was delayed twice Thursday because of rain and lightning. Because of the wet conditions, players were allowed to use preferred lies in the fairways.
“It’s been really good,” Poston said. “Just ball-striking’s been a lot better than I’d say it has been the last few months. Just nice to give myself a lot of looks. They’re bent greens, it’s soft. Hit the ball close to the hole and you can make a few putts, too.”
Poston had late birdies on the par-four seventh and par-five eighth in the round that began on No. 10.
Ryan Armour and Joseph Bramlett were a stroke back, each shooting 67.
LPGA
Defending champions Cydney Clanton and Jasmine Suwannapura shot a bogey-free five-under 65 in alternate-shot play to take a share of the lead into the final round of the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational.
Pajaree Anannarukarn and Aditi Ashok had a bogey-free 67 to match Clanton and Suwannapura at 15under 195 at windy Midland (Mich.) Country Club. The teams will close Saturday with a best-ball round.
“Because today was just so windy, it wasn’t easy at all for today,” said Suwannapura. “I’m glad that me and Cyd [are] very patient.”