Golf: Rory McIlroy's hopes of adding The Open to the US Open almost certainly ended in a moment he described as "tough to take". While playing partner and fellow 22-year-old Rickie Fowler was giving himself a chance with a superb 68 in the wind and rain, McIlroy dropped from level par to four over with a 74.

Seven of those shots came on the 547-yard 14th, where his leaked drive hopped out of bounds.

"To be two over after 13 was a pretty decent effort," said the Northern Irishman. "You've done so well to keep yourself in it and with half of Kent on your left to hit it right was a bit disappointing.

"That was a tough one to take. It's big setback. I obviously wanted to get closer to the lead rather than further away."

With leader Darren Clarke sitting pretty on five under, McIlroy was asked how many shots back was too many he recalled Paul Lawrie's incredible victory at Carnoustie in 1999.

"Ten's been done before. You just have to keep hope."

Last year at St Andrews McIlroy led by two after a major record-equalling opening round of 63, but followed it with an 80 in gale-force winds. He did well to fight back to third place there, but added: "It seems this tournament more than anywhere else you need to get a good draw and it has not really worked out for me this week.

On the drive at the 14th he stated: "The moment I hit it I thought it was out of bounds, but then it started to hang on and I thought it could be okay. I think it bounced in bounds and then went out."

He was forced to hit another off the tee and missed the green with his fifth shot.

Strong winds and heavy rain made life extremely tough for the early starters, with 61-year-old Tom Watson using all his experience to set the early target after a brilliant 72.

Watson, who carded the 15th hole-in-one of his career in the second round yesterday, opened with six straight pars before taking advantage of the downwind par-five seventh, finding the green in two and two-putting for birdie.

Fellow American Gary Woodland had been the only other player to break par on the front nine at that point, the 27-year-old out in a remarkable 33 after birdies at the fifth and seventh, before coming home in 41.

Three bogeys in five holes on the back nine halted Watson's progress, but the five-time Open champion holed from 20ft for birdie on the 16th before three-putting for bogey on the 18th from just short of the green.

It took almost two hours before his four-over-par total was beaten by France's Raphael Jacquelin, but with the weather easing a repeat of 2009 - when he had a putt to win on the 72nd hole before losing in a play-off - was looking highly unlikely.

Former winner Paul Lawrie just avoided his worst ever score in The Open after a “brutal” test.

The Scot, having survived the cut with nothing to spare at three over, shot an 81 that included a visit to one of the most famous — and certainly one of the biggest — bunkers in world golf.

Unhappy about the tee on the 495-yard fourth being pushed forward only 26 yards because of the conditions, Lawrie hit his drive into the middle of the 40-foot high trap.

It led to a triple-bogey seven, but although he had another on the long 14th that was nowhere near the worst score there — France’s Gregory Havret had a quintuple-bogey 10.

Lawrie, whose worst round in the championship was an 82 at St Andrews in last year’s high winds, said: “That was fun!

“The Saturday at Muirfield in 2002 (the day Colin Montgomerie followed a 64 with an 84 and Tiger Woods shot 81) was worse than that, but now it’s getting to that stage. I didn’t play very good, but it was brutal.

“I thought the fourth tee was really poor. They could have gone 50 or 60 yards up minimum to give you a chance. There’s only about two or three people in the whole field who can hit it 250 into a howling gale in pouring rain

“I necked it, but you’re aiming in the left rough.”