The Open Projected Cut And Live Leaderboard: Day 2 At Royal Troon As Lowry Moves Into Joint Lead; Woods And Brown Out On Course

Welcome to day two at Royal Troon. It's set to be an exciting one at both ends of the leaderboard with high winds once again forecasted.

Who will hold the 36-hole lead at Royal Troon? Will the struggling big names of Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy make the cut? Follow along all day for live updates and scores.

The Open Leaderboard:

The Open Projected Cut: +3

The Open tee times: round 2 notable groups

BST (ET)

• 9:14am (4:14am) - Wyndham Clark, Hideki Matsuyama, Brooks Koepka
• 9:25am (4:25am) - Tiger Woods, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay
• 9:36am (4:36am) - Collin Morikawa, Sam Burns, Si Woo Kim
• 9:47am (4:47am) - Shane Lowry, Cameron Smith, Matt Fitzpatrick
• 9:58am (4:58am) - Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young
• 2:37pm (9:37am) - Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Robert MacIntyre
• 2:48pm (9:48am) - Ludvig Aberg, Bryson DeChambeau, Tom Kim
• 2:59pm (9:59am) - Brian Harman, Viktor Hovland, Sahith Theegala
• 3:10pm (10:10am) - Rory McIlroy, Max Homa, Tyrrell Hatton

Hello and welcome to day two at Royal Troon. It's set to be an exciting one at both ends of the leaderboard with high winds once again forecasted.

Friday's pin positions revealed

PLAY UNDERWAY SHORTLY

Scottish prospect Ewen Ferguson and recent DP World Tour winner Marcel Siem are first to tee off this morning at 6.35am in a two-ball. They are +3 and +2 respectively.

TOP STATS OF DAY ONE

The pros definitely found Royal Troon tough yesterday. Only three players completed bogey-free rounds in the first round: Shane Lowry, Justin Rose and Daniel Brown. The hardest hole of the day was the 12th with a stroke average of 4.397. There were 9 birdies, 92 pars, 44 bogeys, 7 doubles and 4 others, including an 8 for Ben Griffin. Robert MacIntyre averaged the longest drive in the first round with 319.5 yards. Drives are measured on the 6th and the 13th. MacIntyre and Altin van der Merwe hit the longest drives of the day on the 13th of 364 yards.

Yesterday's average score was 74.4 at par 71 Troon

It is fresh and overcast today with a stiffer wind predicted later in the day. The pros found the scoring very hard yesterday with the average score of +3.4 over par. Today isn't going to get any easier either.

FERGUSON AND SIEM TEE OFF

Ferguson, a three-time winner on the DP World Tour, has teed off and is in the right rough. Siem found the middle of the fairway en-route to an opening birdie as Ferguson made par. The first is playing straight into the wind, which is not the typical breeze here and will again test the pros.

SIEM'S OPENING BIRDIE A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME?

Marcel Siem opened up with a class approach and drained a 13-footer for an impressive birdie on the first. The weather looks a little brighter and stiller compared to this time yesterday so perhaps scoring will be better. Siem has also put his approach close at the second but has to settle for par like Ferguson.

THIRD GROUP UNDERWAY

Almost every player this morning so far has hit some form of a driving iron off the first and are looking to keep it short of the bunkers at 250 yards out.

MANSELL LOOKING TO REDISCOVER HIS FORM FROM SUNDAY

Richard Mansell earned a place in the Open with an outstanding final round of 61 at the Scottish Open to finish tied 10th. He is on the first green with a birdie look but has to settle for a par as he remains +4.

ANOTHER TRADEMARK FIST-PUMP FROM SIEM

What a start for popular German Marcel Siem who is -2 through three holes after a second birdie. That takes Siem back to level par for the tournament and gives an insight into the opening holes.

ERNIE ELS WITHDRAWS

Ernie Els has withdrawn due to a back injury. The 2002 and 2012 Open winner was due to tee off at 7:19am, but Gary Woodland and Altin van der Merwe will now play as a two-ball. Els shot 82 in round one - 11 over par.

THE OPENING SIX HOLES ARE GET-ABLE THIS MORNING

With minimal breeze, the opening six holes here are there for the taking this morning. The first three par fours are all under 400 yards and Marcel Siem has shown there are birdies out there. The German has wedged in close at the par 5 fourth too where he makes his third birdie to get to -1 in total having started at +2.

FORMER TROON OPEN CHAMPION HENRIK STENSON UNDERWAY

Swedish former Open champion Stenson has teed off and found the left side of the fairway at the first. Stenson is +6 after round one and needs a decent score to make the cut.

SIEM MAKES PAR AT THE PAR 3 FIFTH

Siem remains -1 for the tournament and -3 for the day after a par on the fifth. He has shown how the pros can attack this opening run with minimal wind. Gary Woodland is another thriving after successive birdies to move from +5 to +3.

SIEM SPINS IN A CLOSE APPROACH ON THE SIXTH

Siem has another birdie look on the par 5 sixth after spinning in a wedge to about 16 feet. He holes it making him -4 for six holes and -2 in total which shows what is possible out there this morning in conditions which look set to make it the best side of the draw.

SIEM SPLITS FAIRWAY ON THE SEVENTH

He probably woke up this morning with the aim of making the cut as he was +2 but now at -2 after a stunning start, Siem is bang in the mix. He has followed up his fourth birdie on the sixth with a 256-yard tee shot into the fairway at the seventh, leaving 148 to the flag as he finds the green but is 34 feet away as he makes a par.

HORSCHEL ALSO MAKES A PERFECT START

Billy Horschel has also found the conditions to his liking with the American one-under-par now after opening with successive birdies but he is set to drop a shot after going in a bunker on the third.

SENSATIONAL SHOT FROM SIEM AT THE POSTAGE STAMP

Siem is dialled in. That much is clear. He is -4 for seven holes and has just put his tee shot at the tricky Postage Stamp to eight feet from 120 yards. Playing partner Even Ferguson's ball pitched nearby and span back into a bunker showing the fine margins out there.

SIEM NOW JUST THREE SHOTS OFF THE LEAD IN TIED THIRD

Siem has just rolled in a short birdie putt on the Postage Stamp eighth to get to -3 in total and -5 for the day. Superb stuff from the German whose trademark fist-pump has been out in force. He has climbed 39 places in just eight holes. However he now turns into what are considered Troon's hardest holes with the wind picking up. Siem is only in a two-ball though and first out so he can push on and look to get in the clubhouse before the weather deteriorates a lot.

SIEM'S FIRST ERROR ON HIS APPROACH TO NINTH

Siem's faultless round has hit its first stumble with his approach to the par 4 ninth. The German has missed the green left with a shot from 178 yards into the wind, which has picked up. He had a lot of green to work with but his chip runs eight feet past and he drops a shot.

PHIL MICKELSON UNDERWAY WITH DUSTIN JOHNSON

Phil Mickelson, who was runner-up here in 2016 to Stenson, has just teed off alongside Dustin Johnson. They are only +2 and +3 respectively and could make the cut and be competitive with decent rounds today. Johnson is one of the few pros to take a fairway metal off the first as opposed to a driving iron.

SIEM ON THE 10TH GREEN WITH A BIRDIE PUTT

Siem hit a superb drive on the par 4 10th which is a blind shot. It actually rolled just through the end of the fairway but the German has wedged on to the green and is 36 feet away before curling a putt just past the hole for a tap in par.

A one-tee start is pleasing

I understand the reasons for having two tee starts in that it gets a field round in a shorter time span – and I know yesterday’s play ended not far short of 10 p.m., but I do like that The Open Championship does not use this system. It may be a nerdy thing, but golf courses are meant to be played for the first to the 18th hole in order - that is how they were designed to be played. It might not seem important, but on certain courses there is a distinct flow to the holes and that is broken when you start halfway through the round and finish halfway throughout. The 18th hole is designed to be the climax to a round, not so much the 9th.

It also makes it easier to follow who is doing well in comparison with others is the are al playing the course the same way round, especially when the nines are of differing difficulty, which can apply particularly on out-and-in links layouts when the wind can aid playing one nine and hinder the other.

LIV Golf have made much of how their events are played with shotgun starts. Up to a point, Lord Copper. In the final round the competitors are grouped in leaderboard order and the top six play the course from the first hole. Not all the competitors start at the same time, as the top 3 on the leaderboard start after all the rest, so as to allow two groups of three to start on the 1st hole.

Will it be Day's day?

Australian Jason Day has begun well. The 2015 PGA Champion drained a 30ft birdie putt on 2 and has added another birdie on the 3rd to go to level par. He was one of the runners up in last year's Open.

Tiger on the tee

He he gets a huge round of applause. How many more times we will see Tiger on the 1st tee in The Open? Indeed, could this even be the last time?

Group 16 all find the fairway off the 1st tee

This is the Woods-Cantlay-Schauffele combo.

Brooks Koepka drops a shot on the 1st

His second shot was plugged in a bunker pin high. He got out first time but this left him with a 28ft 9in par putt.

Siem's charge stalled

Having made bogey on the 9th, to spoil an otherwise faultless front nine, which included five birdies, on the back nine he's gone par-bogey-par.

Woods opens with a par

His third shot is a putt from off the green which ends level with the hole but 10 inches left of it. He finds the rough on the lefthand side with his shot off the 2nd tee however.

The weather should be more to Tiger's liking today. It is warmer and dryer and he is less bundled up against the elements than he was yesterday.

Lowry tees off

He looked as a he would be overnight leader until Daniel Brown over took him in the gathering gloom last night. Lowry's tee tea shot has found light rough.

Another dropped shot for Siem

That is three in the last five holes. He found off the rough the 13th tee and his approach went through the green a down into more rough. He chipped on and two putted.

Birdie chance for Lowry on 1

Lowry's shot from 112 yards out from the light rough leaves him with a nine-foot birdie putt.

Lowry makes that birdie

We have joint leaders, as he goes level with Daniel Brown on -6.

How the cut works here compared with the other Majors

The low 70 scorers and ties advance to the weekend of The Open. This the same policy as in the PGA Championship, which has the same field size. But the US Open, which also has the same field size - 156 - implements the cut after top 60. At The Masters, which has a much smaller field, it's the top 50.

Birdie chance for Lowry on 3

His approach from 147 yards leaves him with an 8ft putt. Hole that and he will go into the solo lead.

Lowry takes that birdie putt...

...and pushes it wide. He remains in the joint lead with Daniel Brown, who tees off at  11:04 a.m BST.

LIV qualifiers

With 18 representatives playing in the Open, it is the highest number of LIV players to tee it up in a Major this season. Two players, Abraham Ancer and Sam Horsfield, came through Final Qualifying and three through The Open Qualifying Series, which awards places based on performances in certain overseas events. At the Joburg Open, Dean Burmester took one of the three qualifying spots on offer there, and Joaquin Niemann earned one of the three places available at the Australian Open and John Catlin did so at the Malaysian Open.

Brooks Koepka and Dean Burmester are the highest LIV players on the leaderboard at present, in T11.

Having just typed that...

Burmester holes a birdie putt on the Postage Stamp for his third birdie in his past six holes and goes T4.

Quiz question

Who is it who played in The Open Championship 18 times and missed the cut on all but five of these occasions, but on one of these five occasions he went to win The Open?

Answer

Todd Hamilton. He first played The Open in 1992 and last played it in 2018. In his fourth Open appearance, in 2004, he won. His next best result was T32 in 2008.

He is off at 11.26, and will be playing alongside another former Open champion, in Justin Leonard, and Jack McDonald. McDonald is a Challenge Tour player who came into this Open through Final Qualifying at Dundonald Links, where Sam Hutsby also qualified. McDonald is 31 years old and ranked 971st in the world.

Siem round in 71

It's a level par second round for the German. Having gone out in 32 he will be disappointed by that. He made five birdies in his first eight holes. But from then on in it was a story of five bogeys and five pars.

Daniel Brown tees off

He uses driver on the 1st hie, which few have done. He finds the fairway.

Brown was the surprise leader after the first round, and he starts his second round in the joint lead. If you wish to know about him our colleague Matt Cradock has written a Things you didn't know about Daniel Brown . The thing this Leeds United supporter noticed was that Brown is a Yorkshireman yet supports Manchester United (as does Sir Geoffrey Boycott). Still, I won't hold that against him. Well, not too much anyway.

Why Woods and some high handicappers now have something in common

Watching Tiger Woods yesterday reminded me of a certain type of high handicap golfer, the one some unthinking people often shout 'bandit' at after a good shot. This high handicapper has a certain amount of ability at golf – and if they didn't, they probably still wouldn't be playing – so can play occasional very good shots and holes, and are often an excellent partner in a better ball competition as they tend to pop a few 3pts or a 4pts on their Stableford scorecard alongside several blobs.

Obviously the ability levels are incomparable between this player and Tiger Woods, but the pattern of scoring is similar. Tiger still remains retains the ability to play holes very well, but he just no longer has the ability to do so consistently. His round yesterday had two birdies on par 4s, but he was eight over par for his round. Tiger finished the day tied in 134th but none of the other golfers in this position had two birdies in their round; indeed, the majority had none at all.

Tiger has just made his first birdie of his second round, at the par-5 6th.

Darren Clarke out on 34

It could have been better for the 2011 Open Champion as he dropped a shot on the 9th. He is T76 and has an outside bet of making the cut now. But he will need a few more birdies. He made three in his first six holes.

Another former Open Champion, John Daly, has withdrawn so will not play today. Daly shot 82 yesterday.

Daniel Brown pars the 1st

He found a greenside bunker but chipped out to within three feet.

Woods saved by a sprinkler head

His tee shot at the Postage Stamp landed on the green and looked to be rolling towards the Coffin Bunker, but instead it falls into the hole created by a sprinkler head. He gets a free drop and a putt from off the green for birdie.

Forced tactics – aim for the rough

Matt Fitzpatrick has to chip out from a fairway bunker on the left of the 7th fairway away from the hole into the rough. This was caused by his ball's position in the bunker right up against the face.

Dean Burmester birdies 12

Having made bogey on the opening hole, he has added four birdies to go with seven pars to join Justin Thomas, who has yet to start his second round, in a tie for third place.

Hendry about to start his second round

A lot of people will be rooting for Michael Hendry who is about to start his second round. By finishing as runner up at the World City Championship on the Asian tour in March 2023, he had qualified for that year's Open Championship. But in May that year he had to take leave from golf while he was being treated for leukemia, so was unable to take up his place in the Open Championship. He spent six weeks in hospital undergoing chemotherapy during which he lost two-and-a-half stone. But he remained positive: “At no point did I think I wouldn’t play golf again. I’d made my mind up that, even if I was sick, I was going to try and play."

He has now been able to return to golf and indeed won the DVS Clearwater Open on the Charles Tour. The R&A gave him a special exemption invitation to this year's tournament based on his qualification for the 2023 Open which he was unable to take up.

The 44 year-old New Zealander has only played in The Open twice before, in 2017 and 2018, and both times he missed the cut. Can it be third time lucky?

“It was incredible,” said Hendry speaking after his first-round 74. “Words can’t really describe how grateful I am, not only to the R&A, but to all of the doctors and nurses who have helped me over the last 12 months. It was extremely special. This is one thing that really got me through my recovery. To finally be here and teeing it up was extremely special.”

But he also added: “I feel like this week hopefully will draw a line through that part of my life and I can move on."