The Open Championship would have been held this week. Instead of the real thing, we have the Virtual British Open. Find out what happened in Round 2
The wind blew, the rain fell and the scores rose during Friday’s second round of the Virtual British Open. Even more cloudy than the weather was the forecast for the final two rounds, with 21 players huddled within six strokes of the co-leaders.
Those co-leaders at the 36-hole mark, for what it’s worth, are first round leader Jamie Anderson and Ted Ray, the 1912 British Open champion. Anderson followed his first round 62 with a 67 in the wet, blustery conditions while Ray produced a 65 to go with his opening 64.
That left them at 11-under 129 and leading a tightly bunched field. Three players – Henrik Stenson, Walter Hagen and Jack Simpson – lurked one stroke off the pace at 10-under 130. Jack Nicklaus and Roberto deVicenzo were one further stroke behind at 131.
But with half the tournament still to be played, the 21-player mass still within a half dozen strokes of the lead included such Hall of Fame caliber names as Seve Ballesteros at 132, Henry Cotton at 134 and Harry Vardon, Nick Faldo, Greg Norman and Ernie Els, all at 135.
The blustery weather drove average scores a quarter of a stroke above par at Royal St. George’s – that was three-quarters of a stroke higher than under Thursday’s idyllic conditions. But it did not tamper scoring entirely.
https://progolfnow.com/2020/06/15/virtual-u-s-open-national-champ/
In fact two players emerged from back in the first round pack Friday to post remarkable rounds that thrust them back into contention.
Fred Daly, the first Irishman to win the British Open when he did so in 1947, followed what looked like a disastrous Thursday 77 with a sensational 60 on Friday to leapfrog 50 players and finish the day at two-under 138. That was still nine behind Ray and Anderson, but it was good for a tie with such luminaries as Arnold Palmer and Old Tom Morris.
Daly, whose opening round included six bogeys, a double and no birdies, was one over through five holes during Friday’s round. But a birdie at the par 3 sixth ignited a run that included a six-hole stretch between the 11th and 16th that he played in seven-under par including an eagle three at the par five 14th.
Jim Barnes, a British Open champion from the 1920s, may have made an even more meaningful run. Barnes followed a Thursday 71 with a nine-under 62 Friday to close within three shots of the lead pair. Barnes got his day started right with birdies at the first two holes, and close with birdies on four of the final five holes.
Nicklaus, a pre-tournament favorite, delivered the kind of consistency that makes him a contender in every event. He produced seven birdies, offset by just two bogeys, to shoot 65 and slice two strokes off what had been a four-shot deficit entering play Friday.
Ray, who started the day two strokes behind Anderson, drew even with the 19th Century champion bogeyed the sixth hole, and briefly took the lead when Anderson also bogeyed the eighth. They traded the lead with Stenson, Simpson and Hagen the rest of the way until Ray birdied the 17th and Anderson birdied the 18th to jointly jump one stroke in front.
The biggest victim of Friday’s weather was probably amateur Harold Hilton, a two-time British Open champion from the 1890s. Hilton began play Friday three strokes behind Anderson at 65, but his first two holes and quickly fell out of contention. He shot 75 and fell to even par 140, plunging from a tie for sixth to a tie for 44th.
Some of the field’s notables helped their causes Friday. Coming off a 71, Arnold Palmer shot 68 to get to two-under. That was still none strokes behind Ray and Anderson, but it tied him with both Young Tom Morris and Old Tom Morris as well as James Braid.
Six-time champion Harry Vardon shot 67 and remained on the fringes of contention at five-under 135. He trailed by six.
Tiger Woods continued to disappoint. For the second straight day Woods started badly, bogeying two of his first three holes and turning in three-over 38. He did manage to birdie two of his final four holes, but that only brought him back to a 71, leaving Woods at one-over for the event and a full dozen strokes out of contention. Woods was tied with Phil Mickelson and Jordan Spieth.
Here are the full 36-hole scores.
Player 1 – 2 – Tot.
Ted Ray 64-65-129
Jamie Anderson 62-67-129
Jack Simpson 63-67-130
Walter Hagen 64-66-130
Henrik Stenson 66-64-130
Jack Nicklaus 66-65-131
Roberto deVicenzo 67-64-131
Jim Barnes 71-61-132
Seve Ballesteros 63-69-132
George Duncan 66-67-133
Hugh Kirkaldy 68-65-133
Bob Ferguson 67-66-133
Peter Thomson 67-66-133
Henry Cotton 67-67-134
John H. Taylor 67-67-134
Ernie Els 66-69-135
Greg Norman 68-67-135
Reg Whitcombe 67-68-135
Harry Vardon 68-67-135
Nick Faldo 66-69-135
Arnaud Massy 68-67-135
David Brown 67-69-136
Zach Johnson 66-70-136
Darren Clarke 69-68-137
Mungo Park 69-68-137
Fred Daly 78-60-138
Old Tom Morris 70-68-138
Arnold Palmer 71-67-138
Shane Lowry 66-72-138
James Braid 67-71-138
Young Tom Morris 68-70-138
Tom Watson 68-71-139
Sandy Herd 67-72-139
Kel Nagle 71-68-139
Louis Oosthuizen 68-71-139
Tom Weiskopf 66-73-139
Francesco Molinari 68-72-140
Harold Hilton* 65-75-140
Willie Park Sr. 71-69-140
Gene Sarazen 69-71-140
Bob Charles 74-66-140
Sandy Lyle 72-68-140
Arthur Havers 71-69-140
Mark O’Meara 69-72-141
Tiger Woods 70-71-141
Phil Mickelson 69-72-141
Bobby Locke 75-66-141
Jordan Spieth 70-71-141
Dick Burton 73-68-141
Willie Auchterlonie 72-69-141
Willie Fernie 69-72-141
Jack White 67-75-142
Willie Park Jr. 68-74-142
Gary Player 70-72-142
Johnny Miller 70-72-142
Alf Padgham 70-72-142
Alf Perry 70-73-143
Bob Martin 71-72-143
Justin Leonard 71-72-143
John Ball* 72-71-143
Rory McIlroy 72-72-144
David Duval 71-73-144
Lee Trevino 70-75-145
Padraig Harrington 70-77-147
Ian Baker-Finch 70-77-147
Nick Price 75-72-147
Stewart Cink 77-71-148
Tom Lehman 74-74-148
Paul Lawrie 71-77-148
Bill Rogers 73-76-149
John Daly 71-78-149
Todd Hamilton 83-67-150
Max Faulkner 71-79-150
Tony Jacklin 74-77-151
Mark Calcavecchia 74-78-152
Ben Curtis 74-81-155
*denotes amateur