Day 2 of the Open Championship

We're halfway through the 144th Open Championship at the Old Course at St. Andrews, but not all players have finished their rounds. In an interesting decision by tournament coordinators, due to the darkness the remaining players were given the option to finish their round in the dark or pick up tomorrow morning. As it stands right now though, the leader is still Dustin Johnson with a score of 10-under par and a one shot lead over Danny Willett. The cut also looks to be set at even par.

The initial delay today was due to the fact that the Old Course received heavy rain early this morning. It lasted just over three hours thanks to the work of the great groundspeople at St. Andrews, who worked hard to remove casual water that had collected on the many low parts of the course. That meant that the early tee times had to be moved back, as did everyone else throughout the day. Players who didn't want to finish today's round will have to wake up early tomorrow to complete it (at about 2AM EST). However it's forecasted to rain again tomorrow.

Wind was the prominent weather condition today. Like yesterday, a stiff wind was still present all day, but some players like Adam Scott (67) and Russell Henley (66) found low scores and again the front nine played easier than the back nine. However during the later rounds, the wind picked up significantly. At one point even the camera towers were shaking. We even saw leader Dustin Johnson back off from a par putt twice on the 11th due to strong gusts. He eventually missed it and bogeyed; his only one of the round. He too will finish off his second round tomorrow morning.

One player who elected to finish his round today was multiple Open Champion and golfing legend Tom Watson. Today was Tom Watson's last professional round at the Open Championship (as he unfortunately missed the cut). Despite the darkness, he received a warm welcome from fans and players as he stood on Swilcan Bridge on the 18th, for the last time as a pro. Watson won the British Open five times over his long successful career.

Finally, here's how our picks are doing:

1) Tommy Fleetwood: CUT
2) Dustin Johnson: 1st at 7-under
3) Rickie Fowler: T49 at 1-under

Fleetwood unfortunately shot a 76 today, which was probably his first +70 round at the Old Course in a long time. Dustin continues to take advantage of an easy front nine and is looking great for the weekend. Fowler, on the other hand, will need to put in a bit of work to be into contention.

Weekends at the Open Championship are always a special thing. Stay tuned for our recap coverage on Saturday and check us out on Sunday to see who's won.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

 Can Dustin Johnson hold on for his first major win?