We’ve reached the halfway point of the British Open, and Shane Lowry has complete control of the leaderboard.
Lowry dropped to 7-under par after shooting a second-round 69 on Friday, giving him a two-stroke lead ahead of the move-in day at Royal Troon in Scotland. He also had some credit in the second round, as strong winds whipped up the afternoon swell and sent several big names home early.
Daniel Brown, who led the tournament after the first round, shot 72-over-par on Friday. Brown will start Saturday with a five-under-par finish for the week with Justin Rose, who tied the lowest round of the day with a 68-under-par on Friday. They are the first trio from the UK and Ireland to lead the British Open at the halfway stage since 1951.
Top seed Scotty Scheffler will start the day five strokes behind Lowry at 2-under par. Scheffler, who has already won six times this season on the PGA Tour, is coming off a playoff win at the Travelers Championship.
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What a stunning save from Billy Horschel to maintain his joint lead. He is now tied with Brown on 5 under par heading into the final round.
Daniel Brown double strike
Daniel Brown returned to the lead with a great shot on the 12th hole. Brown made a successful putt, while Shane Lowry missed a very successful putt to drop to 4 under par.
Leaderboard
1. Brown (-6)
2. Horschel (-5)
T3. Lori (-4)
T3. Justin Rose
T3. Xander Shovel
Lowry makes a mistake and backs out with Horschel and Brown.
That didn’t last long. After a big birdie on the 11th hole, Shane Lowry made a bogey to drop to 5 under par.
He is now tied with Billy Horschel and Daniel Brown again for the lead.
Lori returns to the lead solo
Shane Lowry is now alone in the lead again after both Daniel Brown and Billy Horschel made mistakes. We’ll see how long that lasts.
Dustin Johnson from DEEP
This strike should go down as the strike of the day. Unbelievable.
Billy the Back Hat Joins the Leaders
Backwards Hat Billy is now joint leader at the British Open. After taking his fourth stroke to finish nine strokes ahead, Horschel tied Lowry and Brown’s record at 6-under.
Daniel Brown, Co-Leader
Shane Lowry just hit a double on the par-3 eighth hole after hitting a big putt into a sand hole, which led to a huge putt. Daniel Brown hit a bogey, so the two are tied for the lead at 6-under.
Suddenly Xander Schoeffel and Billy Horschel were in the back. As for Laurie, well…
Since 2000, only three players have won a Grand Slam Open after hitting more than one double in that week, the last being Mickelson in 2013. It was Lowry’s second double.
With that, Shane Lowry’s lead was cut to just one stroke. Daniel Brown made two straight birdies even after a foul on the seventh hole to reach 7 under par.
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Thank you, @ArtButSports.
Daniel Brown, just like us.
Daniel Brown nearly beat Dean Burmeister in a game of Postage Stamp…from the wrong hole.
Xander throws arrows
We came this Xander Schoeffel came close to scoring one more point today at Royal Troon. Xander Schoeffel was able to score just one point to make it one at Postage Stamp to reach 4 under par.
After a difficult Friday weather, many golfers took advantage of the pleasant conditions for a short period at Royal Troon on Saturday morning.
Then the rain hit again.
Click on the image to read more about Saturday’s early wave at Royal Troon. (AP/Peter Morrison)
Lori extends lead to 3
Shane Lowry led by three at the start of the match after his first shot of the day on the par-5 fourth hole, as rain began to fall heavily at Royal Troon.
Brown steadies ship after early mistake
Daniel Brown made a mistake on hole No. 1 after a foul shot, but he managed to get back into the game, hitting a birdie on the third hole to move back to 5-under par in the tournament and into sole second place. Brown was unfazed by the moment more than two rounds into his major championship debut.
Russell Henley’s good run continues in round three
Henley hit 6-under par to 12 on the day, moved up to second place, and played excellently. Not everyone can hit an iron like that on their first shot… but what about the short putt? It’s a gift in regular weekend golf.
Justin Thomas heads to the tournament on Sunday.
Thomas shot 67 under par in the third round on Saturday. He started off strong with six birdies in the first 12 holes. After two birdies on the 13th and 15th holes, he managed to get his feet on the ground and win three straight birdies. He trails leader Shane Lowry by seven strokes heading into the final round.
Justin Thomas has returned to his normal Championship form after transfer day. (Warren Little/Getty Images)
Xander Schoeffel moves early Saturday
More red numbers on the hog as rain falls… 2 under today and 3 under for the tournament for Xander Schauffele.
Shane Lowry finds the bunker off the tee at No. 1.
With rain falling as heavily as it has all day, the leaders are at 7 under par, with Shane Lowry at the top of the standings and also second on the left sand hole of the first hole. Lowry will be looking to lift the Claret Cup for a second time.
Shane Lowry looks to lift the Claret Cup for the second time this week. (AP/Jon Super)
Russell Henley with sauce
Pass, pass, stop, go. That’s exactly how Russell Henley laid it out at the Postage Stamp. He went on to par and go out in 32. Henley is 2 under par for the tournament and 4 under par on the day at the turn. You’ll also notice that the rain has fully set in and changed the conditions for the players at Royal Troon.
Scotty Scheffler starts play in round three
The two-time Masters champion is playing in the British Open, and his tour has already begun. He enters the third round at 2-under par, five strokes behind Shane Lowry. Scheffler, who plays with Dean Burmeister of LIV Golf today, has six wins in 15 matches this season.
Scotty Scheffler seeks his seventh win of the year this week. (AP/Peter Morrison)
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