Clement Sordet leads Open tributes to victims of Nice attack
France's Clement Sordet led the tributes to the victims of the suspected terror attack in Nice as the second round of the Open Championship got under way at Royal Troon.
France's Clement Sordet led the tributes to the victims of the suspected terror attack in Nice as the second round of the Open Championship got under way at Royal Troon.
At least 80 people, including several children, are dead after a lorry hit crowds who had gathered to celebrate Bastille Day in the Mediterranean city on Thursday night.
Sordet, 23, had written “PrayForNice” on his cap before teeing off in the first group at 6:35am, with fellow players and caddies wearing black ribbons in honour of the victims and the French flag on the top of the grandstand on the 18th hole flying at half mast.
The flag was also indicating that the wind had changed direction from the opening day to mean the front nine, which South Africa's Haydn Porteous covered in just 30 shots on Thursday, was now playing into the breeze.
Overnight leader Phil Mickelson was again looking to make the most of favourable conditions after coming agonisingly close to making history on day one.
Mickelson, who has not won a tournament since lifting the Claret Jug at Muirfield in 2013, needed to make birdie from 15 feet on the last hole to shoot the first 62 in any major, only to see his birdie putt catch the edge of the cup and stay out.
The 46-year-old American could barely believe it as he had to settle for a 63, the 28th such score in majors and the first in the Open since Rory McIlroy in 2010 at St Andrews.
McIlroy famously slumped to an 80 the following day in winds gusting up to 40 miles per hour which forced play to be suspended for more than an hour, but a similar story did not look to be on the cards for Mickelson.
After opening with three pars, the left-hander two-putted from just short of the green on the par-five fourth for birdie to restore his three-shot lead, Denmark's Soren Kjeldsen having closed the gap with birdies on the fourth and sixth.
Defending champion Zach Johnson was a shot further back after chipping in for birdie on the second, with South Africa's Charl Schwartzel a shot further back after a brilliant start to his round.
Former Masters champion Schwartzel began the day one over par but birdied five of the first seven holes to reach four under alongside Andy Sullivan, Martin Kaymer and Bill Haas.
In contrast, 2003 winner Ben Curtis had taken 10 on the par-four third after needing three shots to escape from a fairway bunker and two more from another beside the green on the 379-yard hole.