Kevin Kisner and Zach Johnson ended the first two days of play atop the leaderboard, tied at six under par after placid conditions had allowed unusually low scoring at Carnoustie, renowned as the toughest of the Open venues.
Hot weather has left the fairways baked hard, effectively shortening many of the holes and allowing players to favour accuracy off the tee.
But the wind off the North Sea coast continued to cause problems and plenty of big names missed the cut, made at three over par, to ensure they would not take part in the weekend’s activities: Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm all failed to make the grade while Justin Rose nailed a birdie putt at the 18th to sneak into Saturday’s listings.
However, scoring should be improved by the fact that light rain on Friday will have left the greens more receptive to backspin, making it possible to fly the ball and stop it dead, which was close to impossible on Thursday.
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Second-round report
Housemates Zach Johnson and Kevin Kisner set the pace in the 147th Open Championship as Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy headed the European bid to end American dominance of golf’s majors.
Johnson, who is looking to become the first player in history to win major titles at Augusta, St Andrews and Carnoustie, added a 67 to his opening 69 to set the clubhouse target on six under par.
First-round leader Kisner looked set to surpass that with ease when he birdied the 13th and 14th to reach eight under, only to hit his second shot to the 18th into the Barry Burn and run up a double-bogey six.
That meant Fleetwood was just a shot off the lead after earlier defying miserable conditions to card the only bogey-free round of the day, his flawless 65 just two shots outside the course record he set in last year’s Dunhill Links Championship.
First-round report
American Kevin Kisner held the first-round lead as Rory McIlroy made an encouraging start to the 147th Open Championship at Carnoustie.
Kisner, who led by a shot after 54 holes of last year’s US PGA before finishing seventh, carded a five-under-par 66 to secure a one-shot lead over compatriot Tony Finau and the South African pair of Erik van Rooyen and Zander Lombard.
McIlroy, who is seeking a first major title since 2014, was part of a large group on two under par which also included Spain’s Jon Rahm, world number two Justin Thomas, 2015 winner Zach Johnson and the English pair of Danny Willett and Matthew Southgate.