Dustin Johnson held a one-stroke lead over Danny Willett of England at 10-under par while playing the 14th hole of the second round when darkness halted play in the 144th Open Championship on the Old Course at St. Andrews.
Johnson, seeking his first major victory after several disappointing near-misses, held the lead with an opening round of 7-under-par 65 and carded four birdies and a bogey on No. 11 in round two before nearly reaching the par-5 14th in two shots as the end came.
“We needed to play (as many holes as possible),” said Johnson, who had a chance to win the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay last month but three-putted the final green and finished second. “The more we get done, the easier it is for the return.
“I’m in a good spot. Definitely got very tricky this afternoon, all day. Even the front side, the wind was howling and it was blowing straight left-to-right pretty much. It played very tough all day.”
Johnson and the 41 others who were still on the course will return early Saturday to finish before the third round.
Willett, who has won twice on the European Tour, held the lead for much of the day after posting a 3-under-par 69 after play was delayed for about three hours following torrential rain in the morning.
Paul Lawrie, who won the 1999 Open Championship at Carnoustie, posted an opening 66 and was two shots back after 12 holes in round two and tied for third with Jason Day of Australia, who also started with a 66 and was through 11 holes.
Adam Scott of Australia shot 67 and was three strokes behind in a tie for fifth with Marc Warren of Scotland, who totaled 69, and Zach Johnson and Robert Streb, who both played the second round in 71.
Also in the tie for fifth at 7-under was Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa, the 2010 champion at St. Andrews, who opened with a 67 was 2-under for 11 holes in round two.
Amateur Paul Dunne of Ireland shot a second 69 and was four shots back in a tie for 10th with Luke Donald of England, who had a 70, and Retief Goosen of South Africa, who came in at 72.
Charl Schwartzel of South Africa, after 15 holes, and Hideki Matsuyama, through 14, also were tied for 10th at 6-under.
Jordan Spieth, the Masters and U.S. Open champion who is trying to join Ben Hogan (1953) as the only players to win the first three majors of the year in the modern era, was five strokes behind in a tie for 15th at 5-under for the tournament and even for the day through 13 holes.
Phil Mickelson was tied for 40th after a 72 and Tiger Woods, who opened with a 76, was in a tie for 129th at 5-over for the tournament through 11 holes and well on his way to missing the cut in a second straight major for the first time in his career.
The Open Championship and the Scottish fans said special goodbyes to two greats who both missed the cut, three-time Open champion Sir Nick Faldo at 83-71–154, and five-time Open champion Tom Watson of Stanford, at 76-80–156.
