(BBC) – Ireland’s Shane Lowry leads The Open by two at the halfway stage after a blustery second round at Royal Troon that blew Rory McIlroy out of the tournament.
Lowry, the 2019 champion, rolled in a 20-footer for birdie on the last as he followed his opening 66 with a two-under 69 to improve to seven under.
“To shoot in the 60s is very good any day on this course, even when the conditions aren’t this bad. I’m very happy,” he told BBC Sport NI, referring to the 30mph winds that were buffeting the links during his round.
No Englishman has won the Claret Jug since Sir Nick Faldo in 1992 but two are leading the chasing pack on five under.

Former US Open and Olympic champion Justin Rose holed a 40-foot birdie putt on the 18th to join Dan Brown, the world number 272 who was the surprise round one leader on six under and backed that up with a 72.
“That was a hard round of golf, a great round of golf,” Rose told BBC Sport.

When he teed off at 12:42 BST the 366-yard first hole was playing around 100 yards longer because of the strength of the wind and despite playing through the worst of the conditions, had only one bogey in a phenomenal 68.
“It was the type of day where the course was relentless. There was no let-up and it was nice to finish with a smile on my face,” said the 43-year-old, who still “dreams” of winning an Open title 26 years after finishing fourth as a 17-year-old amateur at Royal Birkdale.

‘That was carnage’
World number one Scottie Scheffler is three further back. The American, who has already won six times this year, including the Masters in April, hit a 70 to join compatriot Billy Horschel (68) and South African Dean Burmester (69) on two under.
Australia’s Jason Day had a bogey-free 68 and sits alongside Canada’s Corey Conners (70) on one under.

Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele are also on that mark although Cantlay’s 68 was four shots better than his good friend could manage to leave only 10 players under par.
The halfway cut mark, which sees the top 70 players and ties play the final two rounds, came at six over par.
Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre is in on five over, while Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy is heading home on 11 over.

Both posted 75s on Friday. MacIntyre fought back with four birdies after dropping a scarcely believable eight shots in his opening four holes.

“That was carnage,” said the newly crowned Scottish Open champion. “When I made that eight on four, my head was completely gone. I didn’t think I was going to make the weekend, it was just about fighting and the fans helped me a long way.”
Like MacIntyre, McIlroy had a triple-bogey eight at the fourth and he was 13 over after the sixth as he failed to cope with the wind. Two late birdies in calmer conditions brought a rueful smile but his chase for a fifth major now extends beyond a decade.
“I didn’t adapt well, and the wind got the better of me,” he simply said.