Cameron Smith -13, 1st

Smith’s eight-under second round of 64 to catapult him into the lead and break the record score to par after 36 holes of an Open was simply mind blowing. The world number six holed long bombs, put approaches close to pins that appeared impossible to access and found his way out of tricky positions in both rough and bunkers as he made six birdies and an eagle.

What he said: “I think I’ve always been a pretty good player in tough conditions. I think most Aussies are, for some reason. I think we’re all brought up to be smart golfers, hit away from the pin sometimes. And that really serves us well, I think, in big tournaments and when the conditions get tough.”

Adam Scott -7, T8

Scott was simply sensational to shoot the low round of the morning at the Old Course with a seven-under 65 and put himself firmly into the mix. He said it was exactly what he needed after fighting back from being four-over through six holes in the first round.

What he said: “My putting was great today. And it’s been generally great this year. So I want to keep that going over the weekend. The big thing is when you hole a couple of long ones like I did today, it’s so good for the momentum out there because it’s so hard to hit them close.”

Min Woo Lee -6, T12

A rollercoaster round from Lee where he made five birdies and an eagle, and matched yesterday’s effort of 69. Remarkably he didn’t have a par in the final seven holes going eagle-bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie to finish on the cusp of the top ten.

What he said: “It was a bit of a rollercoaster, but it could have been worse and I did a lot of good stuff. On the 12th when I made eagle it must have been pretty close to going in off the tee, and then I holed like a 35-footer.”   

Lucas Herbert -6, T12

Herbert charged out of the gates with a front nine 33 before handling the change of wind direction well during his back nine to finish four-under for the day. The Victorian felt like it was the kind of score he should have shot yesterday, but he is building nicely towards the weekend.

What he said: “Once I got here I really wanted to make the cut because I wanted to see what it was like coming down 18 on Sunday and as late as possible. I was looking at the stands and everyone hanging out of buildings walking up 18 today and I was like ‘this will be cool come Sunday’.”

Brad Kennedy -4, T25

The 48-year-old has progressed to the weekend of a major for the first time in his career after shooting an even-par 72 on Friday. Before hitting his second shot on 18, Kennedy took a moment to savour achieving a lifelong goal.

What he said: “Tonight with a cold drink I’ll sort of understand what a place like this and enjoy it but I’ve still got a job to do. I’ll be out there tomorrow trying to push myself mentally to play the shots required under pressure.”

Anthony Quayle -1, T55

Fight and grit from the Open debutant propelled him into the weekend with a three-under round of 69. Quayle was in one of the last groups to tee off and held his nerve throughout a tricky closing stretch.

What he said: “There’s a few tee shots on that back nine where the wind is into you out of the left and they’re pretty strong tee shots. I feel like I did a pretty good job to step up and hit a couple of those. I definitely was feeling the nerves but to fight through and make the weekend is cool!”

Jason Scrivener -1, T55

Scrivener gave himself breathing room from the cut line with a birdie at the 18th. He started the day even-par and managed to make four birdies to play his way into the weekend.

What he said: “It was a tricky day but I battled my way through. If there’s one tournament where you can sneak through and you’ve still got a chance this is it. You can shoot a low score and hopefully the wind gets up later in the afternoon.”

Matt Griffin +2, MC

Griffin produced an even-par second round to finish off his second major appearance – he played The Open at Royal Birkdale in 2017 – in nice fashion. The Victorian came home strong with a back nine 35 but simply had too much ground to make up after battling the elements late Thursday evening.

What he said: “Probably got the worst of the draw but I felt like I played really well. I gave myself looks all the way coming in. The game felt good. Yesterday teeing off at 3:40, playing for 6 hours 20 minutes and shooting two-over wasn’t the worst score. I go away pretty happy with my game.”

Marc Leishman +6, MC

Leishman’s day got off to the worst possible start as he hit his second shot at the first into the water and made double bogey. He followed that up with consecutive bogeys and a triple bogey at the 11th ended any hopes of pushing towards the cut line. The Victorian shot a two-over 74.

Dimi Papadatos +7, MC

The Vic Open champion found the going tough in his second start in an Open – he featured at Royal Portrush in 2019 – and carded two-over on Friday. Playing alongside Griffin, he was unlucky with the draw but relished the opportunity nevertheless.

What he said: “Unbelievable week. I was a bit short but still pretty good. The course is pretty tricky so you have to play pretty well around here. 50,000 people on top of that doesn’t make it any easier.”

Jed Morgan +11, MC

Morgan’s Open debut was a tough pill to swallow for the Australian PGA champion. His second round was an improvement on his first, but his four-over 76 did not include a birdie.

What he said: “Playing in events like this is so different to what I usually play in. I don’t know what to take away from it yet other than the fact I’ve got to learn to play pretty patient golf.