British Open Scores 2012: Dissecting the Day 2 Leaderboard

The 2012 British Open is well under way and players across the board are really attacking the course at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. In fact, there are 25 players who are shooting under par for the championship after two rounds.

Tiger Woods is among those players, but he trails a couple of major newcomers for the lead. For a further dissection of the Day 2 leaders, stories and surprises, be sure to read the following slides.

Day 2 Leaders

The biggest story of the championship has been the outstanding play of Brandt Snedeker. He is currently the clubhouse leader and sits at 10 under par, a result of shooting rounds of 66 and 64. Snedeker has actually set a British Open record for the best two-day start in the major's history; that's not too shabby for a player who has never won a major tournament.

Despite his torrid start, he only leads the field by one stroke. Australian Adam Scott is right on his heels and is sitting at nine under par after the first two rounds. Scott was the leader after Round 1 with an incredible opening score of 64, which had him at six under for the day. He kept himself in play with a second-round score of 67 and is in prime position to capture his first major championship.

Meanwhile, a familiar face is sitting comfortably in third place for the Claret Jug. Tiger Woods has played extremely well and shot back-to-back rounds of 67, sitting at six under on the leaderboard. He finished Round 2 in dramatic fashion by holing out a sand approach, converting a potential bogey into a round-ending birdie to remain in contention for the lead. 

Rounding out the top five players on the leaderboard are Masters champion Bubba Watson and Thorbjorn Olesen, and both are currently five under for the championship. 

Day 2 Contenders

Heading into Day 3, there are plenty of players who could surge into contention among the leaders. A group of players ended the day at four under par, including Graeme McDowell, Matt Kuchar, Thomas Aiken, Paul Lawrie and Jason Dufner.

Trailing behind them is Ernie Els, seeking his first major victory in years. Meanwhile, Zach Johnson fell from the top of the leaderboard with a second-round score of 74, taking him from five-under-par to one-under-par by the end of the day. He hopes to bounce back with a strong performance in the third round.

Players Who Missed the Cut

The cut line was set pretty high this year because of the large number of players who were shooting under par. Therefore, the line was set at four over par.

Some of the notable players who missed the cut include Sergio Garcia, Y.E. Yang, Stewart Cink, David Duval, Justin Rose, Todd Hamilton, Robert Allenby, Justin Leonard and Ben Curtis.

Meanwhile, one of the favorites coming into the tournament was Phil Mickelson. He shot a 73 on the first day, so he would have made the cut if he shot even par or better in Round 2. However, he did the opposite and posted a 78; he finished the tournament 11 over par.