Scottish Open 2016: Friday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

Alex Noren sailed into a one-shot lead at the 2016 Scottish Open on Friday after shooting a splendid 66 at Castle Stuart, where he stands at eight under overall following two rounds of the competition. 

Danny Lee and Eddie Pepperell sit just one shot behind the Swedish leader on seven under overall, while Celtic contenders Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell—both on five under—also feature in the top 10.

Shane Lowry, Thongchai Jaidee, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Kiradech Aphibarnrat were among the big names who failed to make the cut after two rounds of the competition, with each failing to record a score below 70 in Inverness.

Here's what the leaderboard looks like after the second day of the tournament:

Position	Player	Round	To Par
1	Alex Noren	-6	-8
T2	Danny Lee	-6	-7
T2	Eddie Pepperell	-5	-7
T4	Richard Bland	-4	-6
T4	Matteo Manassero	-5	-6
T4	Jorge Campillo	-6	-6
T4	Branden Grace	-5	-6
T8	Graeme McDowell	-3	-5
T8	Padraig Harrington	-3	-5
T10	Alejandro Canizares	-6	-4
T10	Richie Ramsay	-4	-4

All scorecard information is via the European Tour's official site. 

Recap

Noren was one of eight players who came into Friday's round tied for third place after carding 70 on Day 1, but the Swede burst from his restraints to thunder in for a 66 on Day 2.

The 33-year-old deserved it after improving on his single-bogey Thursday performance for an even cleaner Day 2 display, as the official European Tour Twitter account illustrated:

Noren began on the ninth and only managed to sink a single birdie that, while solid, was hardly the kind of form he needed to contend for the top spot at Castle Stuart.

That all changed on the back stretch, however, where he notched five birdies on Nos. 1 through No. 9, via Bunkered magazine:

Lee and Pepperell also began their second rounds on the ninth tee, where the former matched the joint-best score of the tournament thus far alongside Noren. Lee also didn't record a single bogey on Friday.

The South Korean-born New Zealander is garnering his share of support away from the course due to the fact he agreed to donate a percentage of his winnings to charity for every birdie and eagle sunk:

Matteo Manassero, Branden Grace, Richard Bland and Jorge Campillo will come into Saturday level in fourth place at six under, while the Irishman Harrington comes in at the bottom of the top 10 at five under.

He made the cut tied alongside Northern Ireland's McDowell, who did his title chances a world of good with this tremendous save on the 226-yard 17th:

Richie Ramsay finished Day 2 as the highest-placed Scot hoping to clinch home success in Inverness. He scored 68 in the round and is on four under overall.

That being said, the error-free form of players such as Noren and Lee mean Ramsay and many others will have to clean up their performances if they're to climb the Scottish Open leaderboard this weekend.