SANDWICH, England — Darren Clarke marched along bumpy fairways on a wild ride at Royal St. George’s that was filled with blunders and brilliance, and one final birdie that brought the kind of ovation he had not heard in a decade at the British Open.
Right behind him was Lucas Glover, far more steady in closing his solid round with eight consecutive pars.
When a sun-baked and wind-blown second round finally ended Friday, they shared the lead in a major that is living up to its proper name.
The Open Championship is every bit of that.
Before anyone could get excited about the prospects of Clarke delivering yet another major to Northern Ireland, all it took was one look down the leaderboard — all the way to the bottom — to realize this championship was just getting started.
Only seven shots separated first from worst going into the weekend.
“There’s still two days of tough golf and tough weather ahead of us,” Clarke said.
Clarke, a forgotten figure as Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy captured the U.S. Open the last two years, bounced back from a double bogey to make a 90-foot eagle putt and survived a few more hiccups on his way to another 2-under-par 68.
Glover, playing the kind of golf that won him a U.S. Open two years ago, has made only three bogeys in the opening two rounds. He had a 70 to join Clarke in the lead at 4-under 136.
“Unlike often when you’re in contention in a championship where it may be between six, seven, eight of you, now it’s between the whole field,” Thomas Bjorn said. “You’ve just got to go out there and knuckle down and see where it gets you to on Sunday afternoon.”
Bjorn (72) was one shot behind, along with PGA champion Martin Kaymer (69), Chad Campbell (68) and Miguel Angel Jimenez (71). The 29 players within four shots of the lead included U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy, who got to even par for the tournament with a spectacular save from a buried lie in the pot bunker in front of the 18th green.
McIlroy will play today for the third straight time with Rickie Fowler, who fought his way to a 70.
Phil Mickelson finds himself within three shots of the lead.
“I’m looking forward to that challenge, and I’m hoping I’ve got the shots now to be effective in it,” he said.
At a glance
Highlights from Friday’s second round of the British Open at Royal St. George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, England:
• Tom Watson, the five-time Open champion, sent a charge through the crowd with a hole-in-one at the sixth hole on his way to an even-par 70 and 2-over-par total. Pulling out a 4-iron, Watson sent the ball soaring to the green, then it bounced once before dropping into the cup. “Wish I could have seen it go in,” Watson said.
• Tom Lewis, the 20-year-old amateur who shot an opening-round 65, stumbled a bit Friday with a 4-over 74, carding just one birdie. Still, he will play the weekend.
• The key hole Friday? How about the 564-yard, par-5 No. 7. It played the easiest of all holes Friday, giving up 10 eagles, including one by co-leader Darren Clarke.
• Cutdown day claimed Lee Westwood (144), top-ranked Luke Donald, former winners Padraig Harrington, Ernie Els, Ben Curtis and Mark Calcavecchia, plus No. 7-ranked Matt Kuchar and 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell.
• Of the 71 players remaining, only 13 occupy positions in the world’s top 30. And two of the leftovers are amateur players — Lewis and 21-year-old American Peter Uihlein (2 over).
• Weekend weather forecast: True British Open weather, with rain and wind expected.
• Masters champion Charl Schwartzel was feeling better about his chances after a 67 in the second round. A little luck helped. His 3-wood into the par-5 14th was headed for trouble to the left when it struck a spectator in the head and bounced back toward a bunker. He wound up making par.
• Steve Stricker has a chance at a feat achieved only once, and that was 40 years ago — winning a tour event, then winning the British Open the next week. Lee Trevino did that in 1971 with the Canadian Open and British Open. Only nine other players have won the week before winning a major, the most recent being Tiger Woods at the Bridgestone Invitational and the PGA Championship in 2007.
