The Open 2024: second round updates – live | The Open

Corey Conners has been up and down on the front nine. An opening birdie was followed by bogeys at 3 and 6; he’s just birdied 8 and 9 to hit the turn in 35. The 32-year-old Canadian, who doesn’t have much of a record at the Open to date, is -1. Meanwhile Marcel Siem is beginning to let Troon get to him. He was absolutely steaming after dropping a shot at 11; he’s not in much better humour as he leaves 12, having left a straight birdie putt short. He remains at -1, and to be fair is still the hottest player out there this morning, three under par for his round.

Trouble for Brooks Koepka at 1. His approach plugs in a bunker to the right of the green, and he’s short-sided. He can only blast out 30 feet past the flag. He gives the long par putt a chance, but it’s an opening bogey for the five-time major champion. He’s level par.

Another backwards step for Marcel Siem. Bogey at 11, the end result of sending his tee shot into some native filth. He’s -1.

Australia has supplied five Open champions: Kel Nagle, Greg Norman, Ian Baker-Finch, Cameron Smith and the legendary five-time winner Peter Thomson. Jason Day would love to become number six, and nothing’s off the table after yesterday’s 73. He’s started well this morning, following up a 30-foot birdie rake at 2 with a wedge from 105 yards to five feet at 3. In goes the putt, and last year’s joint runner-up returns to level par.

A weather update. Safe to say the early starters will have had the better of the draw.

Marcel Siem takes 3-wood at 10 for safety, but with a 20mph breeze behind, runs out of fairway anyway. He’s got a decent enough lie in the semi-rough, though, and flicks his second from 120 yards into the heart of the green. Then he cocks his head back in irritation as his 30-foot right-to-left swinger grazes the side of the cup. So close to a bounce-back birdie, but that’s a tricky hole out of the road. He remains at -2.

Dean Burmester had quite the topsy-turvy round yesterday. Four straight bogeys between 4 and 7, then a repair job for the ages, with birdies at 8 and 12 and eagle at 16. Put another way, out in 39, back in 32. Put yet another way, a level-par round of 71. But he’s started scratchily today, sending his opening tee shot into deep filth. A bogey and the 35-year-old South African slips to +1.

Marcel Siem effs and jeffs like an old sailor, bemoaning a poor lie in the semi-rough down the left of 9, as he sends his ball down a swale by the side of the green. He spins around while waving his club in the air in irritation, before jogging up to the green. The fume seems a little disproportionate, given he’s left with an up and down that’s relatively simple for these guys. The blood pumping, he trundles an aggressive chip nine feet past the flag. The par putt is always destined to die off to the left, and he closes out his front nine with bogey. He’s out in 32, a number he’d have grabbed with both hands at 6.35am this morning, but his current disappointment is palpable. A resigned sigh. Momentum stalled, he’s back to -2. At least he’s calmed down now.

Tiger Woods didn’t have the best round yesterday. He’ll need something extremely special if he’s to survive the cut. Some 48-year-olds, their body ravaged by years of intense competition, might consider sacking it off, but Tiger’s not really wired that way. He’s out on the range right now, working a few things out ahead of his round. He tees it up in 50 minutes or so.

Marcel Siem keeps on keepin’ on! A sensational shot into the Postage Stamp lands pin high and screeches to an immediate halt, six feet from the flag. He’s left with a straight putt, and in it goes for a fifth birdie in eight holes! Things may start to get a little trickier now with the wind slowly picking up, though it’s not expected to become a proper game-changer until around midday, by which time the German will be long back in the hutch.

-6: Brown
-5: Lowry
-3: Siem (8), Thomas
-2: Noren, N Hojgaard, Rose, Henley, Schauffele, Hughes, Dean

Angel Hidalgo secured a place at his first Open in dramatic circumstances, holing out from 120 yards for eagle on the last hole of his qualifying round at Dundonald. The 27-year-old Spaniard may currently be wondering why he bothered: he’s followed up yesterday’s 77 with a nightmare start to his second round. Bogeys at 3 and 5 have sandwiched a quadruple-bogey nine at the 4th that involved shenanigans in both fairway and greenside bunkers. He’s +12 and it’s all good experience going forward.

A birdie-birdie start for Billy Horschel. The 2014 FedEx champion is a big fan of West Ham United – he bought a DVD of Green Street from Best Buy when at college and fell in love immediately – so may be buoyed by the exciting news of his team’s pursuit of N’Golo Kanté. Transfer tittle-tattle always puts extra spring in the step, doesn’t it. He’s -1.

Sepp Straka is the first player in red figures after the first round out this morning. The Austrian clips an iron down the middle of the 1st only to find a divot. He still arrows his second straight at the flag, but it’s a good 20 feet short. His birdie putt travels 19 feet and 11 inches. So close but he remains at -1.

A fourth birdie in six holes for Marcel Siem! He rolls in a gentle right-to-left slider from 15 feet on 6, and punches the air in delight. He’s storming around Troon in these favourable conditions, and suddenly finds himself right in the mix.

-6: Brown
-5: Lowry
-3: Thomas
-2: Siem (6), Noren, N Hojgaard, Rose, Henley, Schauffele, Hughes, Dean

Let’s be honest, we’re kicking our heels until the big names and leaders tee it up later this morning. Time to catch up on yesterday’s play with Ewan Murray’s report from Troon. You’d have got a good price on Dan Brown bettering Bryson DeChambeau by 11 strokes and Rory McIlroy by 13, but that’s the beauty of the Open and here we are.

Not only is there very little wind right now; they’re also not expecting any rain today. The 2019 US Open champion Gary Woodland is the next player to take advantage of a defenceless Troon, opening with birdies at 1 and 2 to move to +3 overall.

The conditions are benign this morning. A small breeze, nothing more. The wind is expected to pick up later on, so the early starters need to make hay. Marcel Siem, out in the first match, has grasped the opportunity with both hands: the 44-year-old German, whose best result in an undistinguished major-championship career is a tie for 12th at the 2014 US Open, has birdied three of the opening four holes to rise up the standings to -1. Confidence soaring after his recent win at the Italian Open.

The 2002 and 2012 champion Ernie Els shot 82 yesterday. The Big Easy won’t be racking up the numbers again today; the 54-year-old veteran has withdrawn from this year’s tournament. A shame for Els, of course, but also for his playing partner and compatriot Altin van der Merwe; at least the 27-year-old amateur got to play 18 holes at the Open with his idol. As for Ernie, he’ll always have Muirfield and Lytham.

Preamble