Irish Open 2016: Friday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights
Marc Warren shot a sensational 66 to surge into a joint lead at the 2016 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open on Friday, heading into the weekend's action alongside Danny Willett at eight under.
Willett clung onto a share of the top spot after shooting one under in Friday's second round, while Rory McIlroy ensured things remained tight at the summit with a score of 70 to keep within one shot of first place.
Matthew Southgate took steps toward contention for the title at the K Club after recording a round of 69 on Friday, while Richard Sterne and Tyrrell Hatton also ran into the top five with scores of 68.
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Read on for a recap and highlights of all the second-round action in County Kildare, complete with a look at the latest leaderboard.
| T1 | Marc Warren | -8 | 70 | 66 |
| T1 | Danny Willett | -8 | 65 | 71 |
| 3 | Rory McIlroy | -7 | 67 | 70 |
| 4 | Matthew Southgate | -6 | 70 | 69 |
| T5 | Richard Sterne | -4 | 68 | 68 |
| T5 | Tyrrell Hatton | -4 | 72 | 68 |
| T5 | Jaco Van Zyl | -4 | 68 | 72 |
| T8 | Callum Shinkwin | -4 | 72 | 68 |
| T8 | Richie Ramsay | -3 | 68 | 73 |
| T8 | Eddie Pepperell | -3 | 70 | 71 |
| T8 | Jamie Donaldson | -3 | 71 | 70 |
Visit the official European Tour website for a look at the full leaderboard.
Recap
Warren laid the groundwork for a title challenge with a solid 70 in Round 1, but even he may not have expected to shoot the best score of the tournament thus far with his 66 on Friday.
It was only a double bogey on the third hole that prevented the Scot from soaring on Thursday, but Warren limited himself to just a single bogey on Day 2, along with nailing seven birdies, such as this one on the eighth green, per the European Tour Twitter account:
In fact, Warren came back to show the third he meant business, cutting Thursday's error-strewn five shots down to a birdied two—strong evidence he had learned his lessons as he rose up the leaderboard.
Speaking to the media after powering his way into title contention, the 35-year-old suggested he felt his form had been building toward a performance like this, per the Guardian's Ewan Murray:
"I felt, especially in the last three events, two in China and one in Spain, as if I was close to some decent form. But the schedule this year feels as if I’ve been stop, start a lot; not top 50 in the world and not into the events in America to fill in some of the downtime we have on the European Tour. I feel I was more rusty than anything else.
I have been searching, working hard for it, and hopefully the time is right coming into some great events this year starting with the Irish Open. Hopefully it’s the start of a run of good form.
"
He rose to tie reigning Masters champion Willett at eight under overall, but after enjoying a seamless opening round, Willett's form turned in the opposite direction.
The Sheffield man quadrupled his bogey rate in the space of 24 hours and recorded four to go along with his five birdies—two of which came on the 16th and 18th to salvage what could have been an even more disastrous day.
According to the official European Tour website, the seventh (23 bogeys) and 15th (40 bogeys) holes have been two of the most difficult for players thus far in the competition, and Willett surrendered shots on each.
As things stand, he remains above third-placed McIlroy, and the European Tour illustrated only the Englishman's putting has kept him above his Northern Irish rival:
Like Willett, McIlroy's Friday session was altogether less consistent than his Round 1 appearance, which was best summarised by his record of two birdies and two bogeys across the first five holes.
McIlroy also ended his Round 2 display with a bogey on the 17th before rescuing a score of 70 with his birdie finish on the 537-yard 18th. He admitted his performance was more "erratic," via the European Tour on Twitter:
Southgate's storm up the table came seemingly out of nowhere, but considering he ended Thursday's show with an eagle on the 18th, perhaps it was no surprise to see him carry that momentum through to Friday.
Callum Shinkwin was among the biggest fallers in the second round and plummeted down to joint eighth after shooting one over; he's the only player in the top 23 to record a positive score on Friday.
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