Lowry takes British Open lead, Woods, McIlroy in tough spot

Shane Lowry

Shane Lowry moved back into the lead of the 152nd British Open at seven under par midway through his second round as Tiger Woods looks set to miss the cut at Royal Troon on Friday.

Woods is not the only big name to struggle in the blustery conditions on Scotland's west coast as Rory McIlroy will begin his second round at seven over and likely needing an under par round to make the weekend.

Lowry had been usurped at the top of the leaderboard late on Thursday by unheralded Englishman Daniel Brown, who posted a six under 65. However, the Irishman picked up birdies on the first, fifth and eighth to make the turn with a two-shot lead. Brown remains Lowry's closest challenger but dropped back to five under after five.

Woods was adamant earlier in the week that he is not considering retirement and feels physically better than 12 months ago. But the 15-time major champion dropped three shots on the front nine to slide to 11 over par for the tournament. With the projected cut at four over, Woods, 48, seems certain to fail to complete four rounds for the sixth time in eight majors.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever