By Rahul Banerji
Cameron Smith dug deep and delivered just when he needed it most, using an 18th-hole eagle to cross the cut line even as Shubhankar Sharma climbed from tied seventh to shared fourth at the 151st Open on Friday.
At the top of the board, Brian Harman of the US fired a sizzling 6 under par 65 to total 10 under 134 after 36 holes, a lead record of five shots he now shares with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy at the Open.
England’s Tommy Fleetwood was second five shots behind. Sepp Straka of Austria was third on 4 under 138 and Shubhankar shared fourth place with Australians Jason Day and Min Woo Lee on 3 under 139.
Smith looked headed for the door at 4 over par after 17 holes, but a magnificent eagle on hole 18 at Royal Liverpool Golf Club saw him safely through to the weekend on 2 -over.
Hammering his drive on 18 to 356 yards, the mullet-haired Smith nailed the approach shot to within two feet of the flag which he converted without fuss.
“It would have been very frustrating if I had missed out on the weekend,” Smith said after totalling 2 over 144 after 36 holes with cards of 72 and 72.
“I think defending is one thing, but just the golf I feel like I’m playing and to miss out on the weekend would have been very frustrating.
The cut fell at 3 over 147 with 76 golfers going through to the money rounds including sole amateur Christo Lamprecht, the first-day co-leader.
Memorable birthday
Shubhankar fired a level par 71 on Friday to go with his opening 68 to make his 27th birthday a memorable one.
It could have been even better for the birthday boy had he come away from the tricky 17th hole with better than a double-bogey five, though he recovered some lost ground straightaway with a birdie on 18.
Playing in his third Open, Shubhankar said later, “Very happy with my round. In fact, when I played the first two-three holes, I felt the wind was definitely a lot more than yesterday. I told myself a level par round would not be a bad round.
“Obviously, I didn’t want that 17 thing to happen and finish level-par like that, but if I look at it as a whole, I’m quite happy. Level par is good and I am still in it.”
On his late blemish, Shubhankar added, “I hit an 8-iron there. The wind was quite strong all day, and the hole before that, we played about a 25-yard wind.
“It was a slightly different direction. I just tried to be extra cautious, and I pulled it as well, which didn’t help.
“Just rolled into the waste area. Didn’t have a way to get out from there. But I’m happy that I came back with a birdie, and level par for the day. I will take it anyway.
“It’s only the second day, so it really doesn’t matter. Even if I was tied 50th, it’s golf, so you’ve just got to get up, do your process again.
“Until it’s the back nine on Sunday, your position really doesn’t matter. You can’t lose a tournament in the first two days. That’s important. I’m happy that I’m in and around the top-10 mark.”
Delayed party
Shubhankar said he was hoping to defer the birthday party to Sunday night.
“Nothing today. Mom will cook. I think she will make some rajma and probably bake a cake. A few of my friends are here, as well, so we’ll just chitchat,” he said.
“They came today, so it’ll be good fun. There’s some work to be done at the range today, but after that we’ll chill. It was quite late last night when we finished the round, but tomorrow I will hopefully have a late tee time. At least I will have some time to relax today.”
World number one Scottie Scheffler birdied his closing hole to join Smith in the weekend field while last week’s winner in Scotland Rory McIlroy missed a tap-in putt in his round of 1-under par 70 to move to tied 13th place.
Harman will take the joint-biggest lead after two days at the Open for 89 years into the weekend after a sublime second round. One behind the lead after day one, the left-hander hit four birdies on the trot after an opening par to seize control.
One at a time
The Wells Fargo Championship in 2017 was his last title, and Harman said he would play it hole by hole over the final two days.
“I’m just trying not to get too caught up in it. It’s just golf. I’ve probably – I think when I held the 54-hole lead at the US Open, I just probably thought about it too much.
“I just didn’t focus on getting sleep and eating right. So that would be my focus this weekend. I’ve always struggled with trying to predict the future and trying to forecast what’s going to happen. I’ve just tried to get really comfortable just not knowing.”
Local lad Fleetwood had the Royal Liverpool crowd behind him on his way to a level par 71 that gave him second place and a spot in the final group on Saturday.
The shot of the day came from Australian Travis Smyth who made history with the first-ever hole-in-one on the brand-new hole 17.
The ace was in stark contrast to Thursday’s double bogey and was the perfect consolation as he missed the cut.
Also read: Shubhankar Sharma sits T7 after opening day at Royal Liverpool
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