Shane Lowry has surged into the outright lead in the second round of the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon.
Lowry, 37, overcame a disastrous double-bogey six on the 11th to card a solid 2-under 69.
The Irishman recovered his round with birdies at the 16th and 18th to set the 36-hole clubhouse target of 7-under par.
Lowry is bidding to land his second Open title, having won his first major one home soil at Portrush in 2019.
The Open will be heading there again in 2025.
Lowry has opened up a two-shot lead on overnight leader Dan Brown, who carded a 1-over 72 and fellow Englishman Justin Rose, who shot a remarkable 3-under 68.
Brown is looking to become the first player to win on their major debut since Keegan Bradley at the 2011 US PGA.
World No.1 Scottie Scheffler also remains in the mix following a consecutive round of 70.
Scheffler finds himself five shots off the pace heading into the weekend on 2-under par alongside Billy Horschel and Dean Burmester.
Xander Schauffele, Jason Day, Corey Conners and Patrick Cantlay are a further shot back on 1-under par.
Schauffele posted a 1-over 72, while Cantlay vaulted up the board with a 3-under 68.
Englishman Matthew Jordan sits at level par alongside Chilean LIV Golf star Joaquin Niemann.
Notable players who missed the cut include Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Aberg, Will Zalatoris, Viktor Hovland, Tony Finau, and Tiger Woods.
| SHANE LOWRY | -7 |
| DAN BROWN | -5 |
| JUSTIN ROSE | -5 |
| BILLY HORSCHEL | -2 |
| DEAN BURMESTER | -2 |
| SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER | -2 |
Ernie Els has WD from The Open.
The two-time Open champ has cited a back injury for his withdrawal.
The Big Easy would have missed the cut anyway having shot an opening 11-over 82.
Els will now try and get himself ready to compete in the Senior Open at Carnoustie next week.
Siem -3 (8)
Siem has drained a fifth birdie of the round to push to it 3-under for the tournament. The German is up into a tie for third.
Friday pin positions at The Open:
Friday hole locations for The 152nd Open. pic.twitter.com/VqsQHz6B7P
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 18, 2024
Here's a full list of second round tee times to help you mark your card on day two at The Open.
Although a tad cloudy right now, it's fairly warm out here at the moment.
But we are expecting gusts of up to 25mph at some stage in the second round.
Temperatures rising as the competition heats up. pic.twitter.com/kPYKYkAYEQ
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 19, 2024
We're off and away in the second round of The 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon.
While a cloudy, blustery day so far, there are birdies to be had.
Germany's Marcel Siem has proven that with three birdies on the first four holes.
Siem has now pushed it into the red for the tournament at 1-under par.
A fast Friday start.
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 19, 2024
Marcel Siem birdies 3 out of the first 4 holes.https://t.co/mgWze5eA37pic.twitter.com/WKlr6BpwaB
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