South African Oosthuizen five clear as wind blows away field (Roundup)

By Ben James Jul 16, 2010, 22:16 GMT

St Andrews, Edinburgh - Little-known South African Louis Oosthuizen established a five-shot lead over the field at the halfway point in the British Open on Friday as the Scottish wind played havoc with most of the chasing pack.

The 27-year-old, who had never made the halfway cut in the Open before, enjoyed the better of the conditions - albeit in steady rain - to record a 5-under-par 67 and go into the weekend on 12-under-par and with a commanding lead.

When he knocked in his birdie putt at the 18th, he was three clear of overnight leader Rory McIlroy, but the high winds of the second half of the day that at one stage caused the suspension of play took their toll on the Northern Irishman and many others.

McIlroy followed up his British Open record-equalling 63 with an 80 to drop back to 1-under-par, 11 behind Oosthuizen, while the likes of former champion Ernie Els missed the cut and John Daly and Lucas Glover both fell back.

American Mark Calcavecchia, champion way back in 1989, moved up to second on his own on 7-under-par with a 67, while Englishman Paul Casey (69) and Lee Westwood were tied on 6-under-par, the same as compatriot Steven Tiley (through 10 holes) in a position that looked better and better as the day wore on.

Jin Jeong of Korea, the British amateur champion, was 5-under-par for the tournament with two holes to play, while US Open champion Graeme McDowell was safely in the clubhouse on the same score.

World No 1 Tiger Woods battled hard and birdied the last in near darkness for a 73 and a halfway total of 4-under-par, still in touch.

Darren Clarke was 2-under-par for the day, 4-under in total, through 15 holes - thanks in part to an enormous putt for birdie at the 13th - while Ian Poulter hung in well to card a 73 for a level-par halfway total.

The wind was not too much of a factor early on and though there was plenty of rain, Oosthuizen coped better than most, with a birdie at the last putting him on 12-under-par and top of the leaderboard.

The South African has missed the halfway cut in each of his three previous British Opens but was confident he can perform well over the weekend.

'It's probably the position anybody wants to be in,' he said. 'It's what we work to achieve and I'm very happy.

'St Andrews is where it all started. Everybody dreams of winning The Open, but to win it at St Andrews is just ... you never really think it'll happen.'

Like Oosthuizen, anyone already in the clubhouse with a decent score was in an excellent position, including Casey and Westwood.

Casey was heading for a near-perfect round of golf when he arrived at the 17th hole 5-under-par for the day, 8-under in total, but he managed to triple-bogey it, before getting one shot back with another birdie at the last.

'It was a very good round of golf,' Casey said. 'I got stuck in the ugliest rough on this golf course. I wanted to take no chances but I still had to take two shots to get out of the rough and ended up with a seven.

'It's a bit frustrating but it's a Major championship and it's going to test you.'

Westwood continued to battle the pain of an ankle injury and played beautifully, only for a series of birdie putts to miss the whole by millimetres.

'I got nothing out of that round and played a lot better than 71,' he said. 'Sometimes you don't get what you deserve though. I've played a lot better than my scores suggests. If I was sitting here at 10, 11 or 12 under then that would reflect the way I've been playing.

'I think I'll be there or thereabouts, my score certainly suggests that but I just have to keep doing what I've been doing. I'll keep having treatment on the ankle, it's just a case of managing it at the moment.'

The halfway cut was heading towards 2-over-par as play was finally suspended for the day at around 9:50 pm local time, which will be good news for the likes of Zach Johnson, who was 1-under-par for his two rounds.

However, two-time champion Padraig Harrington, 7-over-par through 17 holes, will have the weekend off while former winner Ernie Els crumbled with a 79 to miss the cut on 4-over-par.

Three more former champions, Ben Curtis, Justin Leonard and Sandy Lyle, also failed to make the cut.