From Royal Troon: Lowry Leads, Rory/Bryson/Tiger Head Home, Scheffler Lurks On Brutal Day At The Open

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It's a major championship; it's supposed to be hard. But Royal Troon was downright brutal on Friday, ejecting world class player after world class player. A very firm golf course and a steady 20-ish mile per hour wind produced some truly eye-opening scores—especially on the front nine, which plays almost entirely into the wind. Justin Thomas, who shot 68 on Thursday, played the front in nine-over 45. Robert MacIntyre shot 43 and Rory McIlroy turned in 42. 

Which makes Justin Rose's front-nine 34 downright remarkable—especially given when he shot it. On a day when the average for the afternoon tee times was north of 76, Rose made just one bogey en route to a three-under 68 that has him tied for second with fellow Englishman Dan Brown. Rose, 43, has won a major and been world No. 1 and starred in Ryder Cups. Dan Brown has done none of those things. Such is the quirky magic of the Open Championship. 

Rose broke out at this tournament as a 17-year-old in 1997 when he finished in a tie for fourth. Fast forward 27 years and all those accomplishments later, Rose's world ranking had fallen so low that he had to qualify for this tournament the old fashioned way—through the R&A's Final Qualifying at Burnham & Berrow Golf Club, where he was co-medalist. Now he's in position to push for a second major championship which, in his own words, would elevate his career to a new level. 

"Yeah, that's still the dream. Obviously you're out there and, yeah, like I said at the time just a little quip, but you've got to be in it to win it, and the first big part of the journey was getting in the tournament."

They both trail Shane Lowry, who followed up his opening-round 66 with a very solid two-under 69 to sit at 7 under at the halfway point. When asked if he fancies himself a good frontrunner, Lowry responded with the line of the week so far: "I wouldn't say I'm a good runner." 

Then, a proper answer: "I put myself there in a few big tournaments, and I've managed to knock them off. So I've done it a few times. I don't know. It's hard to win tournaments. We'll see. I'll tell you Sunday evening."

He carries a two-shot the lead into the weekend—but, perhaps more pertinently, a five-shot lead over Scottie Scheffler. The world No. 1 who already has six wins this season, including in his last start at the Travelers Championship, took advantage of more manageable conditions in the morning to shoot a second consecutive 70. A win here would make this one of the best seasons in golf history: seven wins and two majors. 

"I would have liked to be leading (laughing), but it's just one of those deals. I've played two solid rounds and it put me five shots back, and I'll continue to try to execute and just continue to try to hit good shots and hit good putts out there."

The weekend will be bereft of many of the game's biggest stars. 

Bryson DeChambeau, who own the most recent major championship in dramatic fashion, is headed home. A five-over 76 on Thursday left him with serious work to do and he and the rest of the early/late wave were swimming upstream Friday afternoon. Rory McIlroy, the man he bested at Pinehurst, was also sent packing after two disastrous rounds and a +11 total. 

Tiger Woods once again suggested before this tournament that, despite only playing the majors this year, he believed he could win the tournament. It was clear after 9 holes that wouldn't be happening, and his Thursday 79 made Friday's round purely academic. He shot 77 and his two-day total of 156 matches his highest-ever in a major championship. After the round he said he wouldn't play again until December, opting instead to get stronger in the gym until then. He'll now fly to the Detroit area as his son, Charlie, prepares for next week's U.S. Junior Amateur.

"I've gotten better," Woods said after his third consecutive missed cut in a major. "Even though my results really haven't shown it, but physically I've gotten better, which is great. I just need to keep progressing like that and then eventually start playing more competitively and start getting into kind of the competitive flow again."

Also missing the cut: Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg, Will Zalatoris, Wyndham Clark, Tony Finau and Sahith Theegala. The proposition of going home after two days lingers hard, even for the best players in the world with all their millions. 

"Yeah, cuts are always a nasty thing," said 52-year-old Padraig Harrington, who's safely onto the weekend. "Definitely if there was no cut line, I would have been a couple of shots better. You do start thinking about -- and I shouldn't have."