Lytham St. Annes, England – Brandt Snedeker fired a 6-under 64 on Friday to earn not just the second-round lead of The Open Championship, but also a place in the storied event's record book.
Snedeker matched The Open Championship 36-hole scoring record on Friday at Royal Lytham & St. Annes when he finished two rounds at 10-under 130. Nick Faldo established the original mark at Muirfield in 1992.
Perhaps even more impressive than his place in Open lore is the fact that Snedeker has not made a single bogey through 36 holes.
"I'm in shock right now," said Snedeker. "I feel pretty good not to have dropped a shot so far this week and am proud to tie the Championship 36-hole record."
Adam Scott, the first-round leader, birdied the last for a 3-under 67. He is alone in second place at 9-under 131.
Tiger Woods holed out from a bunker for birdie at the 18th and shot his second straight 3-under 67. He is third by himself at minus-6.
"It wasn't as hard as it may have looked," Woods said of his bunker shot. "I just threw it up there, played about a cup outside the left and it landed on my spot and rolled to the right.
Woods had four birdies, including two in his last three holes, to keep himself in contention.
"Overall I'm very pleased at where I'm at - I'm right there in the mix," Woods said.
It was a spectacular performance from Snedeker on Friday after an overnight rain drenched Royal Lytham. He netted six birdies, including five in a 7-hole span around the turn.
Scoring conditions were decent on Friday morning, but no one made a move like Snedeker.
World No. 1 Luke Donald shot a 2-under 68 and is tied for 11th at minus-2.
Rory McIlroy struggled to a 5-over 75 for a share of 51st at plus-2.
Phil Mickelson won't have two days to try and get into the tournament. The 4- time major champion had three double bogeys, three bogeys and one birdie for an 8-over 78. He finished at plus-11 and will not be around on the weekend.
It's a shame Mickelson won't be here because he might miss quite an exhibition from Snedeker.
He flew out of the gate on Friday with a birdie at the par-3 first when he cut a 4-iron to 25 feet. Snedeker parred the next four, including one after a horrendous drive at the second.
At the sixth, Snedeker poured in a 40-footer for birdie to match Scott, who had yet to tee off, in the lead. He made it two in a row with a birdie at the par-5 seventh and was alone in first.
Snedeker hit a beautiful 9-iron inside three feet to set up an easy birdie at the par-3 ninth. He took a brief pause from making birdies with a par at 10, then sank a 25-foot birdie putt at 11.
Nine-under and three clear of Scott, Snedeker kept the momentum going at 12. He drained a 15-footer to get to 10-under par, but had a little hiccup at the last.
Snedeker drove into the tall fescue and hacked his second to 100 yards. He wedged his third close and saved par to keep that bogey-free streak intact.
"The golf course is playing more Americanized now, it's soft with not a lot of wind, and I have a different mentality this time, I'm playing away from a lot of pins," said Snedeker.
He has missed the cut in all three of his previous Open Championship appearances. He does have some experience in the heat of a major championship.
At the 2008 Masters, Snedeker played in Sunday's final pairing with Trevor Immelman, two off the South African's lead. Snedeker, a 3-time PGA Tour winner, including this year's Farmers Insurance Open, shot a 77 and tied for third four years ago at Augusta, but learned a lot.
"I learned that no matter how much we talk about it, that we don't really care about it, we do care no matter what we put off," Snedeker said in a televised interview. "I realize that's a good thing. Embrace it and try and temper that as much as possible. I didn't realize how much I really wanted to win that tournament until time was over with.
"Going from that, to this, I know what to expect over the weekend. I know how I'm going to be amped up and ready to go and how much this means to me."
Scott was no slouch on Friday either.
Scott stumbled early with a bogey at the third, a hole he also bogeyed in the first round. He got a stroke back before the turn with a birdie at the par-5 seventh.
At the 10th, Scott hit a terrible wedge 35 feet short of the flagstick, but he poured in the long birdie putt to reach 7-under par. He made it two in a row with a short one at the 11th.
Scott landed in a bunker at the 12th and blasted out to 12 feet. He holed the huge par to keep the momentum going.
After five more pars, Scott was in the fairway at 18. He knocked his second four feet past the hole and converted the birdie putt to get within one of the lead.
"Two really solid days so far, can't ask for more than that," said Scott. "I'm in great shape, in a position I've never really put myself at The Open before, so exciting weekend upcoming."
Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen raced home a long birdie putt on the closing hole for a 4-under 66. He is fourth at minus-5.
1999 Open Champion Paul Lawrie (71), Matt Kuchar (67), Graeme McDowell (69), Jason Dufner (66) and Thomas Aiken (68) share fifth at 4-under par.
Ernie Els, who won in 2002, had an even-par 70 on Friday and is 10th at minus-3.
NOTES: Tom Watson birdied the last for a 2-over 72. He made the cut on the number at plus-3...Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, Martin Kaymer and last year's winner, Darren Clarke, all missed the cut.
