It was almost as if the clouds summoned the stars. The impetus for this Open Championship arrived in the most unlikely of circumstances as squally second-round conditions formed a backdrop to a much-needed cavalry charge. The R&A, about as receptive to criticism as Muirfield’s membership might be to a lunch request from the Quakers, could breathe a sigh of relief. The third major of the year, hitherto a slow burner, has a beating heart.
Tommy Fleetwood, Rory McIlroy and Zach Johnson warmed the mood of Carnoustie galleries who had been reacquainted with a cold, wet Scottish summer’s morning. Johnson and Kevin Kisner share the 36-hole lead at six under par. Fleetwood, Pat Perez and Xander Schauffele are one behind. A leaderboard stacked with golf’s modern-day royalty equates to a wide open championship.
Whoever claims the Claret Jug on Sunday evening will not be accused of a lack of versatility. Day two had seen the return of Carnasty until the afternoon wave was afforded respite.
By close of play Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar could be added to a delicious mix. Spieth – who had a 67 – and Fowler are in the group at three under with Kuchar a stroke better off thanks to a converted birdie putt from 30ft at the 18th. Tiger Woods, over whom a series of question marks still hover, cannot be discounted at six back.
Kisner was perfectly happy for attention to be diverted elsewhere. He was perfectly happy, full stop, until the 18th hole. Playing in the more benign of Friday’s conditions – after Fleetwood, McIlroy, Johnson and Woods had finished – Kisner reached eight under par before launching his final approach shot of the day into the Barry Burn. His careless error meant a double bogey and a 70.
Fleetwood’s 65, six under par for a five-under total, was free from scorecard blemish. An inward half of 32 laughed in the face of those who are at pains to assert just how treacherous Carnoustie’s closing stretch is. When describing this as a “spirited effort” Fleetwood was guilty only of gross understatement. This was the round of the day by far.
Fleetwood’s prominence is hardly a shock, even if his opening round of 72 was. There seems an inevitability attached to the Southport man breaking his major wait, a sense only enhanced by Fleetwood’s rocket-fuelled Sunday at last month’s US Open. Carnoustie holds particular significance in Fleetwood’s context, given his course record 63 here produced in the Dunhill Links Championship of 2017.
McIlroy is a four-time major champion. Johnson has two to his name. Both have won the Open and Spieth is defending the Claret Jug; all three will be perfectly aware of Fleetwood’s threat level over the final 36 holes of the 147th championship. The man himself has had to adapt to self-made circumstances.
“You always have expectation on yourself,” Fleetwood said. “That’s just a given really. But the rest is something that you get used to and something that you have to learn about. At the same time it’s much nicer than having no eyes on you at all.”
Fleetwood has no problem putting the end game to one side. “Thirty-six holes is a long time,” he added. The Englishman will hope that spell sees him retain his touch on the greens, having used the putter only 26 times on Friday.
9.15am BST Gavin Green (Mal)
9.25am Rhys Enoch (Wal), Patrick Reed (US)
9.35am Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha), Justin Rose (Eng)
9.45am Yusaku Miyazato (Jpn), Tyrrell Hatton (Eng)
9.55am Ross Fisher (Eng), Keegan Bradley (US)
10.05am Ryan Fox (NZ), Jason Dufner (US)
10.15am Bryson DeChambeau (US), Henrik Stenson (Swe)
10.25am Tom Lewis (Eng), Sam Locke [a] (Sco)
10.35am Paul Casey (Eng), Chris Wood (Eng)
10.45am Bernhard Langer (Ger), Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Sp)
11am Paul Dunne (Ire), Brett Rumford (Aus)
11.10am Masahiro Kawamura (Jpn), Shubhankar Sharma (Ind)
11.20am Cameron Smith (Aus), Brendan Steele (USA)
11.30am Marc Leishman (Aus), Lee Westwood (Eng)
11.40am An Byeong-hun (Kor), Kevin Na (US)
11.50am Julian Suri (US), Adam Hadwin (Can)
Midday Gary Woodland (US), Kim Si-woo (Kor)
12.10pm Yuta Ikeda (Jpn), Satoshi Kodaira (Jpn)
12.20pm Marcus Kinhult (Swe), Thomas Pieters (Bel)
12.30pm Beau Hossler (US), Li Haotong (Chn)
12.45pm Cameron Davis (Aus), Sean Crocker (US)
12.55pm Louis Oosthuizen (SA), Stewart Cink (US)
1.05pm Phil Mickelson (US), Austin Cook (US)
1.15pm Shaun Norris (SA), Tiger Woods (US)
1.25pm Lucas Herbert (Aus), Michael Kim (US)
1.35pm Jason Day (Aus), Francesco Molinari (It)
1.45pm Kang Sung-hoon (Kor), Webb Simpson (US)
1.55pm Patrick Cantlay (US), Eddie Pepperell (Eng)
2.05pm Matthew Southgate (Eng), Brooks Koepka (US)
2.15pm Kyle Stanley (US), Adam Scott (Aus)
2.30pm Charley Hoffman (US), Alex Norén (Swe)
2.40pm Ryan Moore (US), Brandon Stone (SA)
2.50pm Luke List (US), Danny Willett (Eng)
3pm Thorbjørn Olesen (Den), Rickie Fowler (US)
3.10pm Jordan Spieth (US), Kevin Chappell (US)
3.20pm Zander Lombard (SA), Tony Finau (US)
3.30pm Matt Kuchar (US), Erik Van Rooyen (SA)
3.40pm Rory McIlroy (NI), Xander Schauffele (US)
3.50pm Pat Perez (US), Tommy Fleetwood (Eng)
4pm Kevin Kisner (US), Zach Johnson (US)
Johnson probably does not get the respect he deserves for being not just a Masters champion but an Open winner at St Andrews. What the 42-year-old lacks in panache he more than makes up for in fortitude.
Typically his 67 was overshadowed by the exploits of Fleetwood. Yet Johnson’s total is the better of the pair; he has now made 11 Open cuts in a row, with eyes once more on a bigger prize. “The reverence I have for this championship and specifically that trophy, that Claret Jug,” Johnson said. “I’m not suggesting that someone doesn’t have a higher reverence for it but I’d argue with them.”
There was a time when McIlroy would not have properly handled what nastiness the elements had to fling at him. The question of whether he now relishes grim weather didn’t quite elicit agreement. “I wouldn’t say I like it,” McIlroy said. The Northern Irishman had signed for a 69, meaning four under for the tournament. McIlroy, who seems to have garnered new-found confidence on the greens, had reached five under par when making birdies at the 13th and 14th. The handing of a shot back to the course, on 15, was far from disastrous. The last time McIlroy started the Open with successive sub-70 rounds was in 2014; he duly won at Hoylake.
Ian Poulter’s Open last just two days after his second round of 81 meant an aggregate of plus 12. Padraig Harrington, who won here in 2007, was afforded the same fate after his Friday 74 contributed to an eight over total. Sergio Garcia’s 71 for plus four continued an unwanted run for the Spaniard, meaning he has now missed four cuts in his last four majors. Justin Rose’s only birdie of the day, at the 18th, edged him into the weekend by a shot. Carnoustie has no regard for reputation; something those who remain as part of the equation will know only too well.
