Jason Day made a powerful entry into the race on the second morning of the British Open at Royal Troon, shooting a flawless round of 68 strokes (three under par) to catapult himself to the top of the leaderboard.
The Australian No. 1 started Friday eight shots behind leader Dan Brown, but with the leaders struggling to extend their lead on another blustery morning at the Ayrshire Links, Day's bogey-free second round ensured he halved the deficit by the time he finished at lunchtime.
Things could have gone even better for the 36-year-old, who missed a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole. Still, his round was the best of the early starters on Friday, tied with American Billy Horschel, who was the clubhouse leader at the start of the second round with his own two-under-par 68.
Day was just one stroke behind in the top 10, which looked potentially even more promising given the worst weather conditions forecast for later in the afternoon.
Two strokes over par after his first round, a 30-foot birdie putt on the second hole followed by another 6-foot on the next brought the Queenslander back to par. Another 25-foot birdie putt on the 13th hole put him in the red.
After finishing second at Royal Liverpool last year to complete his streak of second places in all majors, former world number one Day will be looking to go one better in Troon and add a second Big Four title to the PGA Championship he won nine years ago.
He benefited from the fact that the two leaders of the night stuttered as they tried to extend their lead.
Shane Lowry took the lead alone, but then the lead was snatched away from him again on his rollercoaster lap.
The 2019 champion recorded three more birdies before the turn, finishing at seven under par and moving two strokes ahead of England's previous night's leader, Dan Brown.
Lowry dropped his first shot of the tournament after 23 holes when he hit the bunker on the par-3 fifth hole, but otherwise seemed to be in complete control of the game, sinking birdie putts from nine feet on the first, tap-in on the long fourth and 11 feet on the ninth.
But on the 11th hole, misfortune befell the Irishman when he hit the gorse bushes with his second shot, had to accept a penalty drop and hit the green with his fourth, where his original ball was found by a spectator.
That meant the ball was still in play, and after a long delay while he worked out where he could make the best drop, Lowry hit his approach shot just short of the green and eventually completed a double-bogey six, dropping back into the joint lead at five under par.
Lowry played alongside 2022 Australian champion Cam Smith, whose miserable Open continued after his first-round 80, his worst round at a major.
Three more bogeys in the first six holes were offset by the lucky relief of a rare birdie on the seventh, but at 11 over par after 13 holes the 30-year-old was certain to miss the cut, which should have been four over par.