LAST UPDATE | 19 Jul
SHANE LOWRY SET the early clubhouse lead at The Open Championship at seven-under par after his second round at Royal Troon on Friday.
The Clara native had been usurped at the top of the leaderboard late on Thursday by unheralded Englishman Daniel Brown, who posted a six-under 65.
However, Lowry, who won his sole major at The Open in 2019, recovered from a dramatic double bogey on the 11th that threatened to derail his charge to post a two-under par round of 69.
He leads by two shots from Brown, who showed little sign of nerves under the spotlight in his first major, with a steady first 15 holes to sit at five-under, and Justin Rose, who came through qualifying to book his place in Troon.
Rory McIlroy’s 10-year wait to win a major will stretch into 2025 after missing the cut.
The world number two ended a torrid two days at Royal Troon on 11 over par with the projected cut set to be at six over in blustery conditions on Scotland’s west coast.
It is only the second time in 15 majors that McIlroy has failed to make the cut.
A birdie at the Postage Stamp for our solo leader, Shane Lowry.
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 19, 2024
Watch Shane's full round live on our Featured Groups:https://t.co/2VcoN8yyof pic.twitter.com/F4PxdlFY9r
McIlroy had been hoping to bounce back from his heartbreak at narrowly missing out at the US Open last month by one shot to Bryson DeChambeau.
He has repeatedly come close to adding to his four majors and had finished in the top 10 at five of the previous seven British Opens.
However, a seven over par opening round left him with work to do and he was never in contention to reach the weekend after a disastrous start.
McIlroy dropped six shots in four holes between the third and the sixth, including a triple bogey eight at the fourth.
He steadied the ship with seven consecutive pars before holing a chip from the green-side bunker at 14 for his first birdie of the day.
The 35-year-old picked up another shot at the 16th but still fell five short of the projected cut.
His attention now turns to trying to win Olympic gold for Ireland at Le Golf National in Paris from 1 August.
Elsewhere, Tom McKibbin is three over after shooting a one-over-par 72 on Friday. Padraig Harrington shot 73 and is also three over at the halfway point. Darren Clarke was even-par for the day and is six over. Liam Nolan followed his opening round 78 with a six-over 77 which saw him miss the cut.
Lowry was on the charge as he hit the turn in 34 thanks to birdies on the first, fifth and eighth.
The world number 33, though, was rocked as after a wayward tee shot at the 11th, he veered way left into thick bushes.
Remarkably Lowry’s ball was found, but deemed unplayable forcing him to play a drop and lose two shots.
He bounced back impressively picking up two shots in the final three holes, including this magnificent closing 20-foot putt at the last.
A birdie on the 18th to record a 69 and become the leader in the clubhouse. pic.twitter.com/6BqhWAmpEr
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 19, 2024
World number one Scottie Scheffler has Lowry in his sights as the American moved into a share of fourth at two-under despite dropping a shot at 18.
Scheffler has already won six times this year, including his second Masters title in April.
The American was not blown off track as the winds strengthened through Friday afternoon with 11 pars in his opening 13 holes before a monster putt at the 14th and a birdie on the par-five 16th took him within striking range.
However, a costly bogey on the last left him still four adrift of Lowry.
USPGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele is also in the mix after a one over par round was enough to keep him in the top 10 at one under.
Meanwhile, a tame Tiger Woods limped to 14 over to miss the cut, as his tournament came to a sorry end after two rounds that will do little to quell doubts over whether he should continue to put a battered body through the strain of looking to add to his 15 major titles.
The 48-year-old hit back at suggestions earlier in the week from former European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie that he should retire to preserve his status as one of the sport’s all-time legends.
Woods has stressed he feels physically better of late as he continues to fight back from the severe leg injuries he suffered in a car crash in 2021.
But the three-time British Open champion cut a sorry figure as he trudged around the Troon links with his two-round score a tie for 149th out of the 154 players still active in the tournament.
His score of 156 over two rounds matches his worst ever at a major with the 2015 US Open and is his poorest at a British Open by three shots.
Strong winds ensured low scoring remained difficult with the sixth, which had been the longest hole in British Open history on Thursday at 623 yards, reduced by 20 yards due to the conditions.
US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Aberg, Wyndham Clark and Viktor Hovland were the other top-10 players to miss the cut. They were joined by 2022 champion Cam Smith, Tommy Fleetwood and Sahith Theegala.
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