The Open Championship 2015: Friday Round 2 Highlights
On Friday’s second round at the 144th Open Championship, torrential rains, blustering winds, and a three-hour weather delay challenged the world’s best golfers at St. Andrews. Play was suspended as evening descended upon the Old Course in Scotland, and players will look to finish up their second rounds at the Open early Saturday morning.
Friday saw Dustin Johnson take the lead once again just a short month after his crushing defeat at the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay. He took advantage of his length off the tee and shot a solid three-under par on the front nine, often hitting mere wedges into some of the longest and most difficult holes. Johnson is currently at 10-under and leads the Open by a single stroke over Englishman Danny Willett. Johnson will resume his second round on the 14th hole, looking to win his first British Open as he heads into the weekend.
Second round action also saw solid play from Australians Jason Day and Adam Scott who find themselves at eight and seven under par respectively. Day is still looking for his first major championship victory after a few second place finishes at the Masters and the U.S. Open throughout the years. Scott, the 2013 Masters champion, is still looking to redeem himself after victory slipped through his fingertips after a final round collapse at the 2012 Open Championship, and is very much in the hunt to raise the Claret Jug on Sunday. Scott fired a solid second round 67.
Jordan Spieth is still looking to continue his quest for an unprecedented calendar year Grand Slam, and with a win this week he will have captured three of the four major championships this season. Spieth, playing alongside Dustin Johnson, is currently at five-under, playing solid golf given the blustery, cold weather conditions. He will look to continue his second round Saturday morning and position himself close atop the leader board once again as Spieth heads into the Open weekend looking to hoist the Claret Jug.
Of course, then there is Tiger Woods, who looks like he’ll miss yet another cut this season and his second consecutive cut at a major after he made an early departure at the U.S. Open. Woods, who headed into this week’s Open Championship confident after showing signs of significant progress with his swing at the Greebrier Classic just two weeks ago, was derailed by a first round 76. Through 29 holes, the former world number one has only made two birdies so far and played the front nine at a horrendous six-over par. It seems as though the progress he made at the Greenbrier has all but vanished at the Open this week, and it will be another disappointing tourney to add to a disappointing season.
Perhaps the most memorable moment that captured the golfing world on Friday was Tom Watson bidding farewell to the Open Championship as he walked over Swilcan Bridge on the final hole with the sunset in the distance. This year’s tourney is the last British Open Watson will play in his career. Fans gathered around the 18th hole to watch the golfing legend and five-time Open champion complete his final round at St. Andrews. And when that final putt dropped, the crowd erupted into applause, honoring the great champion, and Watson himself tipped his cap and gave the audience a bow as he departed one of golf’s greatest stages.
[Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images]
