Pinned
Today was more like it. 5 birdies on the front 9 and @TheOpen roars are just so unique. Let’s have a great weekend guys 🙏🏼 #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/JLDQGR0sUr
— Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) July 16, 2021
The top of the leaderboard through 36 holes at the 149th Open Championship features plenty of star power as a pair of past champions pushed themselves into contention Friday and some of the sport's best talents are in the hunt entering the weekend at Royal St. George's. Louis Oosthuizen is the solo leader atop the field at 11 under after he played nearly another bogey-free round for a second consecutive day, turning in a 65 that fell one stroke shy of the low round of the week after his 64 on Thursday.
The 2010 Open Championship winner's combined 129 strokes through 36 holes set a new Open Championship record, falling one shot lower than the prior record mark of 130 previously held by Brandt Snedeker (2012) and Nick Faldo (1992).
Jordan Spieth, the 2017 Open Championship winner, is hot on Oosthuizen's heels after a second-round 3-under 67 that moved him to 8 under for the championship. Collin Morikawa is sandwiched between the two and second on the leaderboard at 9 under after he posted the low round of the early wave Friday with a 6-under 64.
That's just a sampling of some of the stars who will carry contention hopes to Round 3 Saturday as Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm all had big days moving up the leaderboard. Check out a breakdown of the action below and catch up on highlights from the first round in the updates section.
1. Louis Oosthuizen (-11): It was nearly a perfect round for Oosthuizen on Friday as he came within a stroke of tying his own low round of the week. Oosthuizen did not have a bogey at Royal St. George's until No. 16 in Round 2, yet he still came in with a 3-under 32 on the back after playing holes 12-14 at 4 under.
2. Collin Morikawa (-9): No player in men's golf history has won in his debut in two separate major championships, but Morikawa is potentially on the cusp of doing exactly that after a strong showing Friday. He came one stroke short of tying the course record at Royal St. George's with his second-round 64, becoming just the sixth golfer at the venue to post a 64 or lower in an Open Championship.
3. Jordan Spieth (-8): A 3-under 67 round for Spieth on Friday gives him his second-best 36-hole start at a major championship in his young career. The previous best and third-best starts for him -- the 2015 Masters and 2017 Open Championship -- account for two of his three major championships.
T4. Dustin Johnson, Dylan Frittelli, Scottie Scheffler (-6): After a slow start to Round 1 on Thursday, D.J. closed with a flourish on the back and carried that momentum into Round 2 with a front nine 33. He came home in 32 and played the last seven at 3 under. It's his ninth career round of 65 or better in a major championship, the most among all golfers, according to Justin Ray. This is the debut Open Championship showing for Scheffler, 25, and the second time Frittelli has made the cut at The Open in four tries. Both are seeking their first career win at a major after career-best finishes at the U.S. Open last month.
T12. Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm and two others (-5): Koepka after his second-round 66 had a little extra pep in his step when he took a a subtle shot at Bryson DeChambeau, declaring, "I love my driver." He closed his round with four birdies over his final five holes. Rahm's 64 tied for low-round of the week and he enters Saturday having completed his last 27 holes without a score over par.
