The Open: Darren Clarke seizes chance to follow his countrymen

EVEN Peter Dawson, the R&A chief executive, was baffled. Summer had arrived in Kent for the first time this week and conditions were perfect for the morning starters.

We just had to wait for the low scores to be posted. Yet, after waiting and waiting, they never came.

Instead, the leading score in the 140th Open Championship went backwards on what proved to be a perplexing second day at Sandwich. Five-under at the start, it's now four-under, the new pacesetters at the halfway stage in the battle for the third major of the season being Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke and American Lucas Glover.

Clarke, bidding to step out of the giant shadow that has been cast over him in the past year or so by fellow Ulsterman Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy as they both became US Open champions, signed for a second successive 68 to move back into a position he last occupied in this event 14 years ago, while 2009 US Open champion Glover stayed in contention thanks to a 70.

As Tom Lewis, who shared the overnight lead after an opening 65 - the lowest by an amateur in Open history - could only manage a 74 that included five bogeys and just one birdie, Dane Thomas Bjorn, the other first-round pacesetter, had a 72 to sit just a shot behind the two leaders alongside American Chad Campbell (68), German Martin Kaymer (69) and Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez (71). Masters champion Charl Schwartzel is lurking in a group on two-under that also includes 1996 champion Tom Lehman and US Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III.

So what caused the leaderboard to stay as stagnant as it is has in this event for as long as some can remember and, at the same time, lead to a spectacular list of casualties headed by the top two players in the world, Lee Westwood and Luke Donald being among those on the wrong side of a cut line that fell at three-over-par. "It was a tough set up. It was bouncy and the pins were tough," observed a despondent Donald, while Stephen Gallacher, one of the Scots to survive, pointed to the wind shifting round to the south, presenting a different test altogether to the opening day. "A lot of pins were placed in the opposite winds the flag on the right, wind on the right, so it was tough to get close," he observed.

It could get even tougher. Wind and rain are forecast for both today and tomorrow and, standing just three shots off the pace on one-under, Phil Mickelson (69), Adam Scott (69) and even Lewis will all be fancying their chances of getting into the mix. As will a possee on level-par that includes McIlroy (69), Sergio Garcia (70) and Steve Stricker (71).

Clarke is celebrating 20 years of Open golf this week. He was the halfway leader at Troon in 1997 before finishing in a tie for second behind Justin Leonard then finished third as the Claret Jug went to another American, David Duval, at Lytham four years later. His record more recently hasn't been so impressive, missing the cut twice in the past four years. A monster eagle putt at the seventh, followed by a birdie at the next, took him to the turn in two-under 33 yesterday and the 42-year-old had a rollercoaster back nine which included three bogeys and three birdies, the last of which was set up by his shot of the day at the 18th. "I hit a little cut 7-iron," he reported. "It was a brave line but I had to give myself a chance to make birdie after making a couple of mistakes on 14 and 16."

Until he spent some time with Dr Bob Rotella, the renowned sports psychologist, on the practice putting green on Wednesday night, Clarke hadn't felt confident about his chances of being a contender. "My putting has been average but I've fortunate this week to be able to spend a bit of time with Dr Bob, an old friend, and it's certainly helped," said the Ulsterman.

"It would mean an awful lot (to win an Open), but obviously this is only after two rounds. There's an awful long way to go yet, and I believe the forecast for the weekend is very, very poor, which I quite look forward to. I've been doing a lot of practising in bad weather because that's usually what we get at Portrush. That's a little bit harsh. It's not always that bad."

Glover's opening 66 was only the second time in 17 rounds that he had managed to break 70 in this event. The bearded American followed that up with a level-par effort that was pretty tidy, containing two birdies and two bogeys. He had a great eagle chance at the long seventh but missed from five feet. "I've become comfortable," he said of links golf. "I used to get mad when I hit an average shot and it rolled into bunker or bounced off the green, but if you don't hit the shot you're supposed to here you get penalised."

His beard was getting just as much attention yesterday as his golf. Former European Tour player Gordon Brand Jnr and the other members of the Open Golf radio team gave it an airing for a full ten minutes yesterday. According to a quick check by The Scotsman, 1882 champion Bob Ferguson was the last bearded warrior to win the world's oldest major.

At one point in the afternoon, Englishman Simon Dyson had moved above both Clarke and Glover, the 2009 Dunhill Links champion having opened with three straight birdies in the company of Bjorn, who, in contrast, started shakily before pulling himself back together. But Dyson came unstuck on the back nine, dropping four shots in five holes to drop back to level-par for the tournament.

On his debut in the event, Campbell finished a respectable 15th here in 2003. But he's not done anything since, missing the cut four times in his five subsequent appearances. He offered an insight into why the scoring was not spectacular. "A lot of them (the pins) are on the edges. There were four or five that are just off the fall-offs on either side."

For the second day running, Kaymer hardly put a foot wrong as he moved into contention for a second major triumph in less than a year. "I maybe missed a few more greens than yesterday, but my putter was very strong," said the German, who tied for seventh after a disappointing closing effort of 74 at St Andrews 12 months ago before confirming his liking for seaside golf with victory in the Dunhill Links in October. "If the weather comes in [over the weekend], then it becomes a battle and I had last week off, so I am prepared for some mental strength out there."

Schwartzel made his move on the back of three birdies in the opening five holes en route to a 67 and a two-under-total. He hit a spectator on the head with one wayward shot, admitting the fact his ball rebounded into a bunker had been a good break. "I felt sorry for the guy but it's one of those things," he said.

On the golf, course, the South African noted: "You're not going to walk all over it." Mickelson is still having "fun". By his own admission, the left-hander hasn't been in contention heading into the weekend in this event too many times over the years, so is happy to have the leaders in his sights on this occasion. He's relishing the bad weather that is being forecast for the final two rounds as he now believes he had a ball flight to combat such conditions.

"One of the things I'm looking forward to is the bad weather - I hope it comes and we get faced with that," he said after a 69 that put him in a group on one-under along with Lewis. "I'm hoping I've got the shot now to be effective in it. It's a very low one off the tee, with a driver or a 3-wood, and I've been able to control it. I'm not fighting the wind as much."

Louis Oosthuizen, the defending champion, was staring an early exit in the eyes when he reached the turn at four-over for the tournament before digging deep to pull three timely birdies out of the bag, holing a 30-footer at the tenth, getting up and down for his 4 at the long 14th then knocking in a ten-footer at the short 16th. A bogey at the last for a 70 put him on two-over. "I was hitting it all over the place but it was nice to see light at the tunnel over the last few holes," said the South African.

As the dust started to settle on an incredible day, an amazing fact probably just summed it up. Almost as many of Colin Montgomerie's backroom team (Clarke, Bjorn and Garcia) at last year's Ryder Cup in Wales as players (Kaymer, McIlroy, Peter Hanson and Edoardo Molinari) are still standing at Sandwich.