Louis Oosthuizen continued to shine on the major stage, this time with a 65 to secure a two-shot lead at halftime of The 149th Open.
The South African, the overnight leader, got off to a terrific start on Friday with birdies on the first and then the par-5 seventh to turn on 33. He then lit up the scoreboard with back-to-back birdies on 12 and 13 followed by an eagle on the par-5 14th en route to a 5-under 65.
“Yeah, on 12 I hit 3-wood off the tee and I had just a perfect distance for a spinny little lob wedge for that pin, and I got it really good on that one,” said Oosthuizen.
“13, a good drive. It looked like it didn’t want to come off those traps and ended up just missing the traps on the left. Good 8-iron to about 12, 15 feet, I think. Made the putt.
“On 14, hit 3-wood off the tee and was just a good solid 4-iron. I didn’t think I was going to get to the green.
“We just wanted to play it to somewhere short there, and it took a nice hop getting on to the green and rolled a really nice putt.”
One back was Collin Morikawa, who carded a low-round 64, featuring seven birdies and one bogey, to reach 9-under par.
“Just sticking to what I’ve been doing,” said Morikawa. “Yesterday I thought I played really well. Just wasn’t hitting as many fairways. Was able to hit a few more fairways early on in the round today.
“When I’m in the fairway with a 9-iron or 8-iron I feel very comfortable.
“Not necessarily going straight at the pins but being aggressive with the lines I need to take and slopes you need to play.
“Yeah, sometimes you have those days where you’re very fortunate to have good numbers, and today was one of those days.”
Jordan Spieth was one further back on 8-under par following a Friday round of 67.
“I had a really — those last six holes were kind of frustrating. I felt — I don’t know, I think I need to bring more food on the golf course tomorrow,” said Spieth.
“I got really just in a weird head space, like fatigued there on like the 13th green as we were waiting and hitting putts.
“I just didn’t stay focused like I was early in the round. Wasn’t very sharp. It’s an easy solution for tomorrow.
“But the finish on 18 probably securing a second to last group on a Sunday is a good position to be in, but today was an afternoon where I was looking — I was eyeing a number lower than what I finished at, as Louis is showing.”
Dylan Frittelli (67), Dustin Johnson (65) and Scottie Scheffler (66) were tied for fourth on 7-under par, one clear of a fivesome which included Andy Sullivan (67) and Emiliano Grillo, who carded the day’s co-low score with a 64.
Reigning U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm also shot a day-low 64 to join Brooks Koepka (66), Paul Casey (67), Justin Harding (67), Mackenzie Hughes (69) and Cameron Tringale (66) at 5-under par, tied for 12th-place.
The 2021 Open Championship
Second-Round Leaderboard: Top-10
Pos-Player-To Par (Rd 2)
1. Louis Oosthuizen -11 (-5)
2. Collin Morikawa -9 (-6)
3. Jordan Spieth -8 (-3)
4. Dustin Johnson -7 (-5)
4. Scottie Scheffler -7 (-4)
4. Dylan Frittelli -7 (-3)
7. Emiliano Grillo -6 (-6)
7. Daniel Van Tonder -6 (-4)
7. Marcel Siemo -6 (-3)
7. Andy Sullivan -6 (-3)
7. Justin Harding -6 (-3)
Notables
Pos-Player-To Par (Rd 2)
12. Jon Rahm -5 (-6)
12. Brooks Koepka -5 (-4)
12. Paul Casey -5 (-3)
17. Shane Lowry -4 (-5)
17. Tony Finau -4 (-4)
17. Cam Smith -4 (-3)
25. Sergio Garcia -3 (-1)
25. Justin Rose -3 (E)
31. Ian Poulter -2 (-4)
31. Lee Westwood -2 (-3)
31. Matt Wallace -2 (-2)
31. Tommy Fleetwood -2 (+1)
40. Adam Scott -1 (-4)
40. Justin Thomas -1 (-3)
40. Billy Horschel -1 (-1)
40. Joaquin Niemann -1 (E)
40. Viktor Hovland -1 (+1)
53. Padraig Harrington E (-2)
53. Matt Fitzpatrick E (-1)
53. Rory McIlroy E (E)
53. Richard Bland E (E)
65. Bryson DeChambeau +1 (E)
53. Xander Schauffele E (+1)
65. Rickie Fowler +1 (+2)
Missed-Cut
78. Marc Leishman +2 (-3)
78. Martin Kaymer +2 (-2)
78. Tyrrell Hatton +2 (E)
78. Francesco Molinari +2 (+4)
98. Patrick Cantlay +3 (-1)
98. Gary Woodland +3 (E)
98. Branden Grace +3 (+1)
98. Patrick Reed +3 (+1)
98. Stewart Cink +3 (+7)
108. Ernie Els +4 (+2)
118. Jason Day +5 (E)
123. Matt Kuchar +6 (+2)
123. Darren Clarke +6 (+5)
135. Garrick Higgo +8 (+5)
143. Phil Mickelson +12 (+2)
Withdrawal
WD. Will Zalatoris -1 (69)
Material from the R&A Communications was used to compile this report.
