Louis Oosthuizen stormed into the weekend of The Open in record fashion when he added a 65 to his opening 64 to set a 36-hole scoring record in this Major at Royal St George’s.
Oosthuizen’s halfway total of 11-under-par 129 is the lowest in the history of The Open and has earned him a two-stroke lead going into Saturday’s third round.
American Collin Morikawa is his nearest challenger, while Jordan Spieth is next best on eight under par.
Oosthuizen is joined in the top 10 by fellow South Africans Dylan Frittelli (-7), Daniel van Tonder (-6) and Justin Harding (-6).
Van Tonder worked his way into a dream position as he finds himself well in contention.
Van Tonder, playing in only the second Major of his career, signed for a second round of 66 on Friday to climb to six under par overall.
“I’m here for the weekend and just enjoying every moment,†said Van Tonder. “I’m very happy. I did leave a few putts out there but other than that I’m happy with my performance. I was in trouble a few times, but I managed to muscle it out of there and recover from that.â€
“I made a birdie on the eighth and from there it just felt a bit easier, with me and my wife just agreeing on everything, you know. She trusts my aggressiveness on the course with a few shots. Other than that, I just enjoyed it.â€
And Van Tonder has no problem with conditions becoming tricky on the weekend.
“As long as the wind keeps on blowing, I’m very happy about that.†– Sunshine Tour/European Tour/The Open
