Five Things To Know About Danny Willett 2015 British Open Leader

But once the grounds crew got at it with squeegees and pumps and the breeze wafted over the ancient turf, it firmed up quickly and the assault on par picked up pretty much where it left off Thursday.

Several dozen players returned to the course early Saturday morning to complete the second round after a rain delay of more than three hours the previous day. He didn’t mind that play continued to near darkness, despite the chill.

Officials of the British Open made one mistake Saturday and decided not to compound it with more disjointed play for the players. “My game is in really good shape and, though I’m not experienced in this situation, I’ve won tournaments and feel totally at ease on this golf course”. More showers are possible in the afternoon – but there is nothing in the Met Office’s predictions to suggest play will be interrupted.

The clubhouse leader was England’s former world amateur number one Danny Willett who fired a 69 earlier in the day to stand at nine under 135.

He joked he had already received messages of support from home.

A double bogey at 16 was followed by another dropped shot at 17 – but crucially he made par on 18 to sneak passed the cut line at level par.

Former champion Paul Lawrie, Retief Goosen and Jason Day were among those at 66. The second round was affected by rain and overnight leader Dustin Johnson was about to tee off when play was suspended.

“It got pretty cold down the last few holes and it was a little bit tricky and me and Dustin just couldn’t get anything going between us”.

So instead of enduring a test of survival and patience, Willett took advantage of the easier conditions with four birdies in his first 10 holes to surge to the top of the leaderboard.

WHEN the first great public trial of his ability and nerve came upon him, blessings were bestowed on Danny Willett. But after a start at 7 a.m., that was ended 32 minutes later, when high winds made the Old Course unplayable. He can play.

At only 22-years-old, Dunne is the biggest surprise of the tournament so far.

Memories of the 2012 Open at Lytham-St Annes, where he bogeyed the final four holes to lose to Ernie Els, still haunt him, but Scott is a regular among challengers in majors and hungers for this one.

Willett is set to be in the final group in Saturday’s third round, and could yet hold the lead. “If I play well, that’s just the icing on the cake because I just embrace the week”.

“I looked at the leaderboard on 11 and knew we were three in front”, added vicar’s son Willett, whose best finish in a major is a share of 15th at Muirfield in 2013.