Louis Oosthuizen tightened his grip on the Open Championship with another phenomenal round that saw him finish two shots clear, on 11 under, at the close of play. The South African was rock solid across the 18 holes and has put himself in pole position to repeat the feat that he achieved in 2010, when he was crowned champion at St Andrews.
He attempted to shut out his rivals with a little bit of history as his 36-hole total of 129 is the lowest ever, breaking the total of 130 set by Nick Faldo (1992) and Brandt Snedeker (2012).
However, there is a talented chasing pack on his tail that could set up a thrilling weekend. 2017 winner Jordan Speith posted a solid if not spectacular round - a three-under - to put himself well in contention on eight under par. We all know what he can do when it comes to the business end of majors and when he is this close to the lead, we usually get to see the best of the American.
Collin Morikawa had an amazing second round as he scored six under on his Open debut to put himself second, just two shots off the lead. No player performed better than the 24-year-old PGA Championship winner who put himself well in contention heading into Saturday,
It was an astonishing day of action that featured enough stories in a matter of hours to fill a broadsheet newspaper. Rotherham’s very own Jonathan Thomson was already a winner as he teed off on his Open debut this week, having graduated from the notoriously difficult Q school.
As a child, he suffered from Leukaemia for five years before he overcame the form of cancer and the only way has been up, quite literally for Jigger, ever since. At 6ft 9in, he is the tallest ever golfer to play on the European Tour and on the 16th hole, he landed a hole in one to go from one over, to one under for the round.
He deserves that moment more than anybody.
- Made it through Q School and became the tallest ever golfer on the European Tour at 6'9"
- Making his Open debut this week
Jonathan Thompson's incredible story continues with a hole-in-one on the 16th! ⛳️🙌
#TheOpen
Tyrell Hatton also caught the eye on a rollercoaster round that eventually saw him miss the cut on two over par. One shot angered the Englishman so much that he stamped on his club until it snapped in half, on a frustrating afternoon in Kent.
Hotly tipped Brooks Koepka went round at four-under to put himself on five under ahead of the weekend, but he also spoke of his love for golf in Britain after his round: “If you put the ball in the fairway and drive it well you can make quite a few birdies out here.
"I think links golf involves creativity. In the US, you're pitching a number. Here you have lob wedges, you can use any club in the bag. I love links golf, it's my favourite event of the year."
World number one Dustin Johnson made progress up the leaderboard with three consecutive birdies but also felt the pressure on the closing holes, eventually finishing on -7 while American Scottie Scheffler rattled home five birdies in eight holes to take himself to seven under, the same score as Oosthuizen’s impressive countryman Dylan Frittelli.
But it is Oosthuizen still in the driving seat as we enter what should be an absolutely thrilling weekend of golf at the Royal St George's Golf Club.
