As Rory McIlroy managed to steady the ship after a difficult first day, ESPN had live updates throughout the second round of The Open.
Elsewhere, history was made as both Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns carded eight-under 62 to become only the fifth and sixth men ever to do so at a major.
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There was a surprise name at the top of the leaderboard going into the day as American Jackson Suber, who was making his Open debut, had the day of his career so far as he carded a five-under 65 thanks to a tremendous back nine in which he eagled the 17th. He stayed in contention on Friday.
Bryson DeChambeau also impressed after a difficult year in which he has failed to make the cut at any of the three other majors, finishing with a three-under 67 on Thursday and going strong on Friday.
His compatriot Scottie Scheffler, the defending champion, had a decent first day, finishing one shot back from DeChambeau. But, after racking up four birdies from the opening six holes, Scheffler may have expected more -- he bogeyed two holes after that and made par on the rest. It was much of the same from the world No. 1 on Friday, as he missed opportunities to cut the deficit to leader Herbert.
Southport native Tommy Fleetwood initially looked as though he may have been struggling under the pressure but eventually pulled it back to finish with a respectable one-under 69 in difficult conditions. He started well on Friday.
Much was expected of Matt Fitzpatrick, who was the highest-placed Brit at last year's Open and is coming off the back of a brilliant last 18 months. However, his usually stellar iron play really let him down on Thursday, and no improvement on Friday saw him miss the cut.
