Gullane: Tiger Woods started solidly and Lee Westwood took advantage of a hot putter to charge into a share of the lead in perfect conditions in the British Open second round at Muirfield on Friday.
American Woods, the world number one, made two birdies and two bogeys on the front nine to stay at two-under-par, three shots behind overnight leader Zach Johnson who was among the late starters.
Westwood, seeking his first major title, picked up five birdies on the front nine to get to four-under-par. The 40-year-old Briton has been working on his putting with former Open champion Ian Baker-Finch and he sank a beauty from 15 feet on the eighth green.
Another birdie followed at the par-five ninth and a stunning approach shot set up a four-foot birdie putt at the 12th which put him level with Johnson on five-under, one ahead of Spain's Rafael Cabrera-Bello. Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez and Americans Dustin Johnson and Brandt Snedeker, all on three-under, were also yet to start their second rounds.
Tournament organisers watered the greens overnight following complaints from some players during the first round but the parched turf continued to cause problems. Briton Darren Clarke, the 2011 Open champion, made three early birdies before taking three shots to get out of a greenside bunker at the sixth on the way to a quadruple-bogey eight.
Johnson tees off at 1507 local time (1407 GMT), around two hours after Cabrera-Bello. Former world number one Luke Donald, trying to make the cut following his first-round 80, made two early birdies but dropped a shot at the 10th to slip back to eight-over. He is now in serious danger of missing the cut. The cut is projected to fall at four-over.
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