British Open: Louis Oosthuizen Surges In To Lead At St. Andrews

ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND -- As Rory McIlroy arrived at the 11th tee box at the Old Course, St. Andrews Bay manifest over the infirm heather, he was scarcely 5 hours in to his round, and the organisation forward was still station there, waiting. Up on the green, the pin focussed over, flexed similar to a bow but the arrow, the dwindle unbending as plywood. An additional confusing shot sat ahead, and McIlroy's mood was right there with the field, which collectively slumped its shoulders and threw its hands to the sky.

"I was starting to get unequivocally frustrated," McIlroy said.

Fire a bogey-free 63 one day, follow it up with a birdie-free 80 the next, and pulling out each final curly close of hair seems a in accord with response.

The British Open became a horrible multi-car mutilate Friday afternoon, one great estimable of rubbernecking should difficulty be your thing. In an agonizing second round, one which was halted for 65 mins given 40-mph winds wouldn't concede balls to sit still on the greens, four-foot putts became adventures, hats were ripped off heads, and the usually survivors were the early commuters who longed for the mutilate altogether.

"I usually let it get divided from me a small bit," McIlroy said.

He wasn't alone. The personality boards, unvaried all afternoon, showed South African Louis Oosthuizen -- a efficient golfer who has been all but amateurish in vital championships -- hold a autocratic value but a loyal authority performance. His 5-under-par 67, which began in the relations still at 6:41 a.m., not usually got him to 12-under 132 for the tournament, but it authorised him to conduct for cover in St. Andrews's unequivocally old buildings, cuddling up with the joy of a five-shot lead.

"It's substantially the on all sides everybody wants to be in," Oosthuizen said.

Rub it in. Oosthuizen's value is over Mark Calcavecchia, the 50-year-old jokester who won this eventuality in 1989 -- and was in the usually organisation which played prior to Oosthuizen, streamer out at 6:30 a.m.

"I'm an early riser anyway," Calcavecchia said, so he was doubly befitting for Friday. The stats were stark. Of the initial 51 players to proceed play, scarcely half -- 24 -- pennyless par. Englishmen Paul Casey (69) and Lee Westwood (71) were between them, and both mount at 6-under 138. At 9:31 a.m., Martin Kaymer of Sweden teed off, and managed a 1-under 71. After that, 75 players took to the Old March and finished their rounds prior to fool around was called due to dark at 9:45 p.m. None of them managed a sub-par round.

"It was positively one of the tougher days I've ever played," pronounced Tiger Woods, who pronounced his 73 -- which left him at 4-under 140 for the contest -- was "absolutely" one of his many appropriate rounds of the year, given the circumstances.

In a way, the complete incident held the margin off guard. After teeing off at 1:31 p.m. and opening with 3 loyal pars, McIlroy had usually burned a expostulate to the center of the fourth fairway. As he and his personification partners, Lucas Glover and Tim Clark, sized up their proceed shots, a manners central approached. Shortly thereafter, at 2:40 p.m., a horn blew 3 times, and the players headed for cover, the initial breeze check in the British Open given 1998. The pierce was done utterly given of the 11th green, which is unprotected to the wind, where golf balls would not sit still.

"I do not consider they should have called us off the golf course," McIlroy said. "When we got behind out there, the conditions hadn't changed. The breeze had substantially got a small bit worse. Substantially wasn't a intelligent move."

The 21-year-old from Northern Ireland, though, conceded which he did not conduct the incident well. When he began fool around Friday, he was magnificently confident, and why not? He had played 9 rival rounds on the Old Course, and never unsuccessful to mangle 70. Now, after six bogeys and one double, he can still overtly say he has never shot in the 70s around here. None of the 22 players who posted 63 in a vital championship formerly had ever followed with such a miserable score.

"It's usually very, unequivocally formidable out there," McIlroy said. "I consider all the guys are anticipating it formidable this afternoon."

That enclosed a little of the folks who went low Thursday. John Daly and Andrew Coltart both non-stop with 66s but followed with 76 and 77, respectively. Lucas Glover went from 67 to 76, Paul Lawrie from 69 to 82. Players all the time addressed their round in the fairway, stepped away, deliberate an additional club, addressed the round again, stepped behind -- and shrugged.

"That was one of the toughest days out on the golf march I can ever remember," Lawrie said.

"Four- or five-foot putts were roughly impossible," Coltart added.

"It was ridiculous," pronounced Sean O'Hair, who shot 72.

"You were usually perplexing to cling to on," former Masters champ Trevor Immelman said.

And, somehow, keep Oosthuizen in sight. His jot down in vital championships is frequency one to season -- 7 longed for cuts in 8 events, and his usually four-round opening was final at the 2008 PGA Championship. But he won a European Tour eventuality progressing this year, and gained a bit of swagger.

"I'm unequivocally assured the way I'm playing," he said. "I'm attack it unequivocally well."

That had to be true, given he done 7 birdies Friday, inconceivable for many of the field. But the men who route him know two things: Oosthuizen was advantageous with his time, and what lies forward will be difficult.

"We didn't get what Louis got," Woods said. "He got it 16 holes downwind. We didn't utterly get which out there. That's the way it goes. If you get a great break, you have to gain on it. He positively did. For everybody else, we had to grub it out, gut it out."

That, then, would report the report for the subsequent few days. Overnight, the mutilate will be privileged from the course. And whoever can equivocate the subsequent mutilate competence be station Sunday night.

"It's starting to be a formidable 36 holes," Woods said.

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