Els misses cut, Mickelson drops back as Doak leads Scottish Open on home soil

Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson endured frustrating second rounds at the Scottish Open as the tournament's headline acts were upstaged by some lesser-knowns on Friday.

Chris Doak, ranked No. 341, was the surprise leader at the halfway point of his home event after a second straight 66 left him on 12-under 132, while Matthew Southgate (64) was in a tie for second place with Ross Fisher (65), Peter Uihlein (66) and JB Hansen (65) a stroke back.

Conditions were ripe for low scoring on the Castle Stuart links but Els struggled on the greens and shot a 2-under 70 to miss the cut a week before he defends his British Open title.

Mickelson, another four-time major winner, was tied for third after a first-round 66 but dropped after a 70.