British contingent left to celebrate minor triumphs in round two of The Open
5:04 PM ET
Matt CooperSpecial to ESPN.com Close
- Matt Cooper is a golf writer from the United Kingdom who has worked for SkySports.com and SportingLife.com. He is a writer for Golf365.com and a number of print magazines.
SOUTHPORT, England — Conventional wisdom insists that when the wind blows, the locals have an advantage. Conventional wisdom could be tainted, however, because, with three notable exceptions, the home contingent was left celebrating minor triumphs in round two of the 146th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
No doubt, the standouts were strong: Ian Poulter maintaining his audacious title bid, Richie Ramsay's reminding us that he boasts U.S. Amateur-winning pedigree, and Rory McIlroy's resurgence.
Poulter has been a revelation, buoyed by qualification on home soil at Woburn Golf Club and inspired by memories of his runner-up finish on this course in 2008. He posted 11 straight pars from the first tee, prompting memories of Sir Nick Faldo's 18 consecutive pars to win the 1987 Open at Muirfield and the fact that his final Championship success in 1992 remains the last time an Englishman claimed the Claret Jug.
"On the scorecard it was a very boring round of golf," Poulter reported after his level-par 70 for tied third on 3-under 137. "But I had to piece my way around this golf course. It was tricky. 35-miles-an-hour wind in a different direction to yesterday."
He thrived on the support from the stalwart galleries, who refused to be cowed by the fierce wind and occasionally torrential rain.
"Just walking from greens to tees was really pretty special today," Poulter said. "There were huge galleries who were really pulling for me.
"I'm in a good frame of mind. The large confidence tank that was empty a few months ago is starting to fill up. And I like it when it gets full up."
For Scotsman Ramsay this week has the possibility of becoming a dream come true after rounds of 68-70 leave him alone in fifth on 2-under 138.
"I'm not going to lie, it's pretty cool, isn't it?" he said. "You grow up saying you've got a ten-foot putt to win The Open and fortunately I'm in a position to compete for it.
"It was some of the best golf I've played this year, maybe in a few years. I've really wanted to prove I can compete with the best in the world in a major and I feel like I've done that the first two days. Whether I do that over the next two days, I really don't know, but I'll just give a hundred percent."
Elsewhere the locals will be feeling frustrated or left smiling through gritted teeth.
Paul Casey spent his post-round one interviews expressing his love affair with Royal Birkdale, but it all turned sour on his 40th birthday in an eight bogey 77 which dropped him 31 spots down the leaderboard to T-35 on 2-over.
Fellow veterans of Open disappointment Lee Westwood and Justin Rose both posted 74s which leave them off the pace in T-61, although the same score and ranking represents something of an accomplishment for Danny Willett given his dire recent form (one cut made in seven starts).
There was better news for veteran Richard Bland, who enjoyed a career-best finish on the Race to Dubai in 2016 (28th), but remains something of an unknown at this elevated level of the sport and is yet to win on the European Tour.
The 44-year-old's only previous Open appearance came when missing the cut at Royal Birkdale in 1998 and this week has been a huge contrast. He was briefly tied for the lead on 5-under before signing for a 2-over 72 which leaves him T-6 on 1-under.
"I know I haven't won a tournament yet," he admitted. "But, hey, why not this one? I'm not here just to wear the numbers off [the scoreboards]."
Chris Wood was unsure if he would be joining Bland for the weekend when he stood in the middle of the final fairway on 5-over-par for the week, but he booked himself a berth in the final rounds with a spectacular hole-out from 194-yards for an eagle-2 that completed a 36-hole total of 3-over 143.
The final plaudits were reserved for the week's local hero.
Tommy Fleetwood would never have dreamed of holing a short par-putt on the 18th green to complete a 1-under 69 that squeezed him into the weekend by one shot, but after the travails of Thursday's 76 it was a superb performance in some of the day's worst weather.
"I was so happy to give all the people watching me something to cheer about," he admitted. "It took me a long time to make a birdie [29 holes], but I feel a lot better coming off the course than yesterday. Just to make the cut, it's massive.
"It's my first cut at the Open, and my fourth start. It's definitely one of my rounds of the year because one thing I absolutely didn't want was to be sitting at home for the weekend and moping around."
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