Lowry finishes strong, holds lead at Open Championship
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Ireland's Shane Lowry leads at 7-under after birdies on 16 and 18 to close out his second round with England's Daniel Brown and Justin Rose close behind at the Open Championship at 5-under.
Lowry and Brown jostled for position atop the leaderboard throughout the second round at Royal Troon, with Rose making a late push to join them. Lowry reclaimed the sole lead with a birdie on a par-5 16th to get back to 1-under for the day.
A double-bogey on the par-4 11th hole was the only major mistake for Lowry, who had been pulling away at 7-under. Brown, who was the first-round leader, finished 1-over today to sit at 5-under for the tournament.
Two late birdies push Justin Rose to a tie for second at 5-under, while the current projected cut line is 5-over.
Masters winner Scottie Scheffler, whose best finish at The Open was tied for eighth in 2021, bogeyed his par-4 18 after a strong back nine, and finished 2-under on the day to rank tied for fourth with Billy Horschel and Dean Burmester.
Justin Thomas, who entered the day sitting at 3-under after a strong start on Thursday, had a disastrous start to his second round. His front nine included a double bogey on a par-3 fifth hole, and a triple bogey on the par-4 nine.
He hit bogeys on six of the first nine holes to drop well below the cut line at +6, but rallied with three birdies on the back nine to finish his second day at 4-over, which will make the cut.
Canada's Mackenzie Hughes and Corey Conners have each wrapped up their second rounds of action. Conners, who had an early tee time, finished his day at 1-under to sit 1-under for the tournament, the best of the Canadians. Hughes struggled late in his front nine, as three straight bogeys dug a deep hole, but he finished the day 3-over to sit at 1-over on the tournament.
Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin had the later tee times of the Canadians, and both struggled in the second round. Taylor had a dreadful start, with bogeys in four straight holes from two to five, and another on seven. He finished his day with a four-over 75, and will miss the tournament cut after hitting eight-over through the first two rounds.
Hadwin stayed steady through his first five holes on day two after finishing the first round four-over. His first hiccup came on the par-5 sixth, when he bogeyed, but he followed with a birdie on eight to stay even for the day.
The 36-year-old ran into a ton of trouble on the back nine though, with double bogeys on par-4 11 and par-4 18 to finish the day. He shot a six-over 77 and will miss the cut at 10-over after two days.
Tiger Woods has continued to struggle and will not make the cut, as he finished his round 6-over to sit at 14-over for the tournament.
This story will be updated throughout the day. Follow the latest scores here.