Story ProgressBack to home
Kendall leads British Open
Little-known American Skip Kendall leads at the halfway stage in the 133rd Open Championship at Royal Troon.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: February 25, 2007 09:07 AM IST
Read Time:3 min
Scotland:
The early starters were expected to hold the advantage as the second round of the 133rd Open Championship began on Friday, but things didn't all go according to plan for the world number one, Tiger Woods. The champion at St Andrews four years ago dropped shots at seven and nine to wipe out two early birdies, but some brave recovery play allowed Woods to stay in touch with the leaders with a level-par 71, one-under for the tournament. Canada's Mike Weir fared rather better - a hat-trick of birdies into the turn taking the former Masters champion to a 68 and three-under-par. Shot of the day Todd Hamilton produced one of the shots of the day. Seemingly in trouble at the seventh, the 38-year-old American struck a perfect approach out of the rough, the ball rolling gently into the cup from almost 200 yards for an eagle. Hamilton went on to card a 67, good enough for a share of the then clubhouse lead on four-under with New Zealand's Michael Campbell. Compatriot Kenny Perry, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour last year, recovered from a double bogey at the eighth to birdie four of the last five holes and register a one-under-par 70, three-under overall. Last year's runner-up Vijay Singh should have left the field behind on Friday, but after some tentative putting and two dropped shots, Singh had to settle for a 70 and is tied at four-under with Campbell and Hamilton. However, they were overtaken at the top by England's Barry Lane and K J Choi of South Korea. Lane hit back-to-back birdies on the 17th and 18th to card a 68, three-under for the day and five-under overall. Choi, the first player from his country to win tournaments on both the European and PGA Tour, followed up Thursday's 68 with a 69 on Friday. Both took advantage of increasingly benign conditions as the expected high winds failed to materialise. But they would not hold the lead into the final two rounds. Els stand Tournament favourite Ernie Els is tucked in behind the pair on four under following a second straight 69. The South African is nicely poised going into the final two rounds. Overnight leader on five under par Thomas Levet, who won the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond last week, went to seven under with a putt at the fourth. A bogey at the twelfth saw the Frenchman drop back to 6-under, but a round of 70 put him clear into second place. The round of the day though, took 39 year-old American Skip Kendall to the top of the leaderboard. A 66, aided in no small part by an eagle at the 16th, propelled Kendall, who has yet to record his first win on the PGA Tour, to seven under for the tournament and a one shot lead over Levet at the halfway stage. Given that Ben Curtis, who missed the cut on Friday, unexpectedly got his hands on the Claret Jug last year, who is to say that another unsung American won't do it again come Sunday? (AP)Topics mentioned in this article
Golf
Get the Latest IPL 2024 Updates, check out IPL 2024 schedules and IPL points table at NDTV Sports.Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for more sports updates. You can also download the NDTV Cricket app for Android or iOS.