Kuchar in strong position as McIlroy recovers

In the weather version of rock, paper, scissors – wind beats rain, both beat sun.

Two rounds of the British Open are in the books, but plenty of history remains unwritten.

Jordan Spieth put on a masterclass on the opening day of the 2017 British Open to share the lead with Brooks Koepka and Matt Kuchar on five under at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England.

The former Masters and U.S. Open champion was in form coming into the tournament, after winning the Travelers Championship in his last outing. And, by the end, McIlroy’s second round 68 for a midway total of 139, one-under-par, had enabled him to leapfrog over more than 50 players.

“You just have to feel it”. I’m hitting the ball solid and firmer. “It’s not much fun”.

So too Adam Scott with Rickie Fowler, and Paul Casey. “I love playing in the wind”.

He bogeyed five of his first six holes, looked lost and was headed for public ridicule. The player-caddie relationship is always a fragile one, but McIlroy has had Fitzgerald on the bag his entire pro career and is very comfortable with his fellow Irishman.

He wound up watching another short-game clinic from Spieth.

“I watched some of the golf this morning on TV.

Spieth’s white ball shone in the gloaming as it flew towards the sixth green.

It has certainly been a magnificent effort in what is only Bland’s third major and his second Open, having also played at Royal Birkdale in 1998.

Walking off the seventh green, umbrellas formed a virtual tunnel either side of the path.

And now Spieth turns for home at the halfway point of the 146th Open with only a handful of legitimate chasers.

Spieth was quick to dismiss any talk of a Big Four, pointing out the depth of talent now playing around the world. None of his family were in the house but he lost some valuables and all his clothes.

“I’m always more nervous playing in these four (major) tournaments than I am anything else”, McIlroy said.

“The back nine is playing really, really hard, so to birdie three of the first six and give myself that little bit of a cushion to play with was nice”.

When play resumed, Poulter snuck off 18 with a 70 and couldn’t hide his delight.

“And he kept saying, ‘Come on, Poults”. It was rainy and it was windy.

On Thursday, it looked like a second straight early exit in a major was imminent for Rory McIlroy.

“It was ideal conditions so we made a decision to take it by the horns, play a bit more aggressively and it paid off nicely”, the world number 277 said.

Kuchar’s 29 was 10 shots better than the 39 shot by Rory McIlroy on the front nine.

“But curiously as the day went on, it seemed like the later your tee time the better draw you got. I am trying to keep the same tempo as in the States and act like it is a five-foot longer putt”.

Ditto such luminaries as Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington and a host of other Major champions of the relatively recent past who are eager to get their hands on the Claret Jug.

“But also the technology with coaching, with TrackMan, with the knowledge out there, the coaches, the stats guys, you know way more about your golf game than you did 20 or 30 years ago, and everyone has access to that now”.