British Open Leaderboard 2015: Updating Results and Standings for Friday

Jordan Spieth's quest for a golf Grand Slam continued Friday at the 2015 British Open, but the second day of play at the Old Course at St. Andrews has seen things get quite crowded at the top of the leaderboard.

Day 1 saw Spieth finish two strokes behind leader Dustin Johnson, who showed no sign of lasting psychological damage from his disastrous three-putt at the U.S. Open, opening with a score of 65 on Thursday.

Spieth and Johnson were hardly alone in their splendid play Thursday, as several of the PGA Tour's top players finished with scores in the mid-60s.

Here's a look at the live leaderboard from Friday's second round:

And here's a rundown of three players who put in top-shelf performances heading into the weekend.

Danny Willett

Jon Super/Associated Press

If you're worried that you haven't heard of Danny Willett, who followed up a first-round 66 with a score of 69 on Friday, don't stress. You're not alone.

The 27-year-old Willett is ranked No. 39 in the world. That's pretty darn high, although the position doesn't come from his work on the PGA Tour, where he makes only sparing appearances and has hardly played well this year.

Date	Tournament	Pos
3/08/15	WGC-Cadillac Championship	T12
3/22/15	Arnold Palmer Invitational	T29
4/05/15	Shell Houston Open	CUT
4/12/15	Masters Tournament	T38
5/03/15	WGC-Cadillac Match Play	3
5/10/15	The Players Championship	CUT
6/21/15	U.S. Open	CUT

Willett does his best work on the European Tour. Yahoo Sports' Jay Busbee even went so far as to call him the English Rickie Fowler:

"

So who the heck is Danny Willett? He's a European Tour vet who's basically the English Rickie Fowler. Both have two wins on their home tours. Willett's 27, Fowler is 26. Willett had four amateur wins, Fowler had five. Fowler held the World Amateur Golf No. 1 spot for several streteches in 2007 and 2008; Willett overtook him during one of those stretches. Both players competed on the 2007 Walker Cup team, a Europe-America showdown that also featured future notables like Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson.

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Willett's gotten off to hot starts in both rounds at St. Andrews. On Thursday, he birdied his first three holes and hit an eagle on No. 10 before finally slipping up with a bogey on No. 11. Friday saw him at three under on the front nine, only to stumble a bit and end up even on the back nine for a final score of 69—135 for the first two rounds.

ESPN Stats & Info pointed out that he's playing in unfamiliar territory on the leaderboard at a major:

The Sheffield man has done yeoman's work so far. Whether or not he can hold up against the competition and defy his previous major performances remains to be seen.

Adam Scott

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Remember Adam Scott? Former world No. 1, currently ranked 11th? It's easy to forget about the normally reserved Scott when the media is scrutinizing Spieth, closely watching Johnson and the injured Rory McIlroy and morbidly curious about Tiger Woods. Scott has stayed the course, however, and is seven under after two days, posting an excellent 67 on Friday.

Per TheOpen.com, Scott has hit 94 percent of greens in regulation at St. Andrews, and he's followed that up with some fine putting. He's notched 10 birdies, five each in the first two rounds, and didn't have a bogey or blemish to account for on Friday.

Scott has had a tough year on the PGA Tour by his normally lofty standards, but he's rounded into form at just the right time to make yet another run at The Open Championship.

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

The Australian finished tied for 24th at Crowne Plaza—hardly spectacular but his best showing in approximately two months on the tour—and then managed to finish tied for fourth at the U.S. Open.

The British Open has tormented him in recent years. In 2012, he finished second, in 2013 tied for third and last year tied for fifth. He's yet to capture the Claret Jug—Scott's only major win came at the 2013 Masters. Scott keyed in on his 2013 result at St. Andrews as giving him hope for one day perhaps winning this tournament, per Craig Swan of the Scottish Daily Record:

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I felt as though I had a great chance on the back nine at Muirfield and was leading with seven holes to go but Phil had a great finish and I didn’t.

It has shown me that I have come to grips with links golf and I would love to put it all together this week and finally win.

This is the ultimate. The Open at St Andrews is the pinnacle of the sport.

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Spieth has been in imperious form—and Johnson has his own golf demons to exorcise after his stunning failure on the final hole at the U.S. Open—but Scott could end up being the famous tour name who tops the leaderboard after four days at St. Andrews.

Russell Henley

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Russell Henley hardly looked like a player who might finish near the top of the leaderboard after the first day of play on the Old Course. In truth, he looked more like a player in danger of falling on the wrong side of the cut line. Henley shot a dreadful two-over Thursday, with two bogeys and a double bogey against just two birdies.

The 26-year-old golfer remedied his ugly play in brilliant fashion Friday, shooting a second-round 66, with a total of seven birdies. WMAZ's Frank Malloy noted that Henley had made a huge leap in the standings by the time he finished off his second round:

Henley has hardly been a force at majors so far this year. He finished 21st at the Masters and missed the cut at the U.S. Open with a two-round score of 148. Henley did find his stroke at the Greenbrier Classic on July 2, ending up in fifth place.

Henley's best finish at the British Open is a tie for 73rd in 2013, so past results don't bode well for the Macon, Georgia, native. Henley may not be a mainstay at the top in this tournament, but he has a fine chance to cobble together a personal-best result at a golf major.