A fond farewell and some of the most ridiculous shots you’ll ever see: It’s day two’s big talking points at The Open
Well, what a leaderboard we have at The Open! If you haven’t caught up, you can see that here. But before you do, here are some bits and pieces you may have missed…
- RELATED: Leaderboard
- RELATED: Tee times
Tiger has everyone welling up
It really was the ultimate “I was there” moment as Tiger Woods fought back the tears to make the walk down the 18th at St Andrews on Friday – a walk which looks to be his last at the Old Course in an Open Championship.
No one at the Home of Golf dare miss such an iconic moment, especially as talk of Woods’ retirement grew throughout the day – fuelled by a difficult-to-watch 75 in benign conditions.
And while the 15-time major champion didn’t break stride as he headed over the Swilcan Bridge, it was an incredible moment that sent shivers down the spine of the thousands that had gathered…
Fans were doing all they could to get that ultimate memento, including clambering on fences, and walls, and, well, other humans…
- RELATED: Fighting back the tears, Woods declares he’ll be back – just don’t expect it to be at St Andrews
Cam the man
Having been outshone by his namesake Young on day one, Cameron Smith produced the low round of the day to be the first players into double figures with a statement-making 64. The Aussie played a near-perfect round, carding six birdies and a ridiculous eagle putt on the par-5 14th, moving him to 13-under-par at the top of the tree.
Li gets burned
After Tiger Woods’ woes on the 1st yesterday, the Swilcan Burn seemed set to claim an early victim when Haotong Li’s approach headed towards for danger.
Then the most ridiculous thing happened…
Even more ridiculously, in what felt like a golf version of Final Destination, the burn got its victim after all, as Li dumped not one but TWO into the water before posting a disastrous triple-bogey. Ouch.
LIV Golf’s band of brothers?
Unlike at the US Open, it’s been a notably strong showing from the LIV rebels competing at The Open. Dustin Johnson, Talor Gooch, Patrick Reed, Abraham Ancer, Sergio Garcia and Bryson DeChambeau have all reminded everyone of their qualities as they entered contention – causing an ever-entertaining Gooch to claim they’ve been “banded together” by the ongoing controversy…
“It feels like everybody is against us and that’s OK,” Gooch said. “It’s kind of banded us together, I think.”
Yes, Talor, like your very own Rebel Alliance. Give over.
Speaking of LIV, one man who clearly didn’t get the low scoring memo was Phil Mickelson, who heads home early once again after a second round 75. Still, Lefty did make amends with his playing partner after a 11-year vendetta…
St Andrews next in…
Are the players inadvertently revealing when The Open will next visit St Andrews? It certainly looks like it and you can read about that here.
Theegala seizes opportunity
Last week, Sahith Theegala wasn’t even in the field to play at St Andrews, but withdrawals meant the PGA Tour rookie bagged a late spot in the year’s final major – and boy is he is seizing his chance.
After opening with a fearless 68, Theegala pushed himself further into the mix with a second-round 67 at his maiden Open – which included this cracking eagle on the par-4 9th.
We couldn’t have back-to-back first-time winners, could we?
Niemann’s nightmare
It wouldn’t be the Open Championship without the undulating greens bringing a bunch of players to their knees – and Joaquin Niemann learned all about the brutality of links golf on the par-4 2nd when his birdie putt went on an adventure…
Somehow ending up further away, Niemann then needed two more putts to produce a double-bogey.
Links golf. It’s not for everyone.
And finally, missing the weekend…
While star names soared up the leaderboard on day two, as always, the cut-rule produced some noticeable absentees heading into the weekend. Joining an emotional Woods heading home are defending champion Collin Morikawa and the last two St Andrews Open champions, Louis Oosthuizen and Zach Johnson, as well as Ryder Cup captain Henrik Stenson, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka and Max Homa.
But while they won’t be at the Old Course, we will be! Buckle up, this weekend is going to be incredible…
Visit our dedicated Open website for more from golf’s oldest major
The R&A has announced details of how you can get tickets for the historic 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool in 2023. Click here to find out more.
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George Cooper
A golf fanatic his entire life, George Cooper is NCG's man for all goings-on at the top level of the game, whether it's the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA or LIV Golf. He also looks after NCG's Twitter and Facebook accounts. George is a member of Woburn, but is not friends with Ian Poulter.
