Suzann Pettersen leads women’s British Open at halfway

Almost three decades have passed since the second day of the 1986 Open at Turnberry. But for those who saw the seven-under-par 63 shot by Greg Norman in the foulest and toughest conditions imaginable - driving wind and rain on a course all but submerged in long grass - it remains one of the greatest rounds played in the history of golf’s oldest event. Although many times equaled (25 to be exact) no one has shot lower than 63 in any of the four (male) major championships.

The weather on Friday on the Ayrshire coast was not quite as bad as it was when the Great White Shark set about the Ailsa course. Nor was the 69 recorded by Suzann Pettersen in the second round of the women's British Open either as low or as potentially historic. But on a scale of one-to-10 it was a good 8.5. Consider this: with more than two-thirds of the field back in the clubhouse, the 34-year old Norwegian was the only player who had broken 70.

Suitably impressed by Pettersen's play was the 2009 champion Catriona Matthew. Playing alongside her long-time Solheim Cup team-mate, the Scot, raised on the links of North Berwick, witnessed what she called "a beautiful round of golf. Suzann had almost total control over the flight of her ball all the way from the first tee to the 18th green."

Such mastery of trajectory, combined with the ability to hole out consistently for hard-earned pars from six- to eight feet, has forever been the key to a good score when the wind blows by the seaside. And Pettersen, who recently left swing coach David Leadbetter's stable to link up with Butch Harmon - "at this point, I feel like only the best teacher is good enough" - was quick to recognise and embrace that fact. Which was no surprise. Tied fourth two years ago at St Andrews, the Orlando resident was joint runner-up in 2014 at Royal Birkdale.

“I’m getting older,” Pettersen said with a grin. “I’m getting wiser. I’m learning. That’s why this game is so great. Every year you learn something different about how to manoeuvre yourself around a golf course.

“On days like this, the yardage doesn’t really matter. If you have to chip a 5-iron from 140-yards, then that is what you do. On the 12th hole I had 156 yards to the pin and knew I wasn’t going to get there with a 4-iron. So I hit a great little ‘stinging’ hybrid. That was impressive.”

Still, despite the obvious high quality of the leader’s play, it was not enough to shake off a chasing pack spearheaded by world No2, Lydia Ko. Out in the worst of the weather, the diminutive New Zealander played her last five holes in two under par to add a 73 to her opening 66.

Only two shots back, Ko is in contention for what would be her first major title. Perhaps not coincidentally, both Ko and Pettersen played in last week’s Scottish Ladies Open at nearby Dundonald, readying themselves - as so many of their male counterparts do in the Scottish Open immediately before the Open - for the bigger test ahead.

England's rising star, Charley Hull, was another happy with her overall performance. The 19-year-old from Woburn missed a couple of short putts that were not much more than tap-ins but got round in 73 for the second day in succession. On two over par, she is nine-shots shy of Pettersen.

“I played really well,” she said with the certainty of youth, even if her grasp of cliches is clearly less than stellar. “I just really like a battle. I like it when it’s tough because I feel like I can stick in there when the tough get going and the tough gets going, or whatever that saying is called.”

Less cheerful was last year's US women's Open champion, Michelle Wie. The 25-year old Hawaiian slipped and fell walking off the 13th tee and immediately withdrew. The reason given was a sore ankle but on 14 over par and with torrential rain, staying down made perfect sense.

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