British Open Leaderboard 2016: Saturday Score Updates and Tournament Predictions

The wind and rain came down during the second round of the British Open at Royal Troon, as expected, but the weather was a bigger factor later in the day than it was in the morning Friday.

Since Phil Mickelson and Henrik Stenson played early in the day, they were able to take advantage of the conditions on the Scottish course and secure the top two spots on the leaderboard:

Mickelson followed up his sensational first-round 63 with a two-under-par 69 in the second round. Entering Saturday's third round, he is in first place by a single stroke over Stenson with an overall score of 132. The Swedish star was on top of his game, posting a 65 on Friday and cutting four strokes off Mickelson's Day 1 lead in the process.

Mickelson was pleased with the way he played in the second round, though.

"I thought it was a good round to back up the low round yesterday," he told the Associated Press' Doug Ferguson (via Golf Channel). "I played kind of stress-free golf again. I made one or two bad swings that led to bogeys. But for the most part, kept the ball in play."

But as well as Mickelson played, he knows that Stenson is breathing down his neck. Stenson fired seven birdies and just one bogey during his round. He got started with three straight birdies on the third, fourth and fifth holes, which allowed him to get on a roll.

"I was five back of Phil from yesterday, so of course I was hoping to gain a little," Stenson said, per Ferguson. "And the way it turned out, I gained quite a lot. It's still early in the tournament, though. We're only halfway through. But so far, so good. I'm happy with the way I played the course. It's not easy out there."

While Stenson performed well throughout his round, he saw how the heavy winds impacted play later in the day. The winds are expected to be a factor throughout the rest of the weekend, according to Weather2.

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Keegan Bradley followed up his opening-round 67 with a strong three-under 68, and he sits one stroke behind Stenson. So is Danish golfer Soren Kjeldsen, who has mirrored Bradley's performance through the first two rounds. Defending champion Zach Johnson is also in contention with a two-round total of 137.

It has been a struggle for U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson and world No. 1 Jason Day as well as Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Bubba Watson.

Dustin Johnson and McIlroy are both at two under par and could seemingly get back into contention if Mickelson and Stenson come back to the pack. Day has played inconsistently and enters the weekend at one over. At four over, Spieth and Watson barely made it to the weekend, sneaking inside the cut line with no room to spare.

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Spieth understood that he got the poor end of the draw by playing in Friday's afternoon round, but he made no excuses for his showing through the first 36 holes.

"But at four over par, my game is not major championship-winning caliber those first two rounds," he said, per Ferguson. "It just made it pretty interesting and actually somewhat nervous on the last five, six holes because I'd really like to play the weekend."

Predictions 

The veteran Mickelson has led after 36 holes five times in major tournaments. He has managed to win just one of those tournaments, so he is a long way from bringing home his second British Open title. However, he is dialed in, and there is an excellent chance he can continue to play well for the final 36 holes.

However, Mickelson is sometimes his own worst enemy with his go-for-broke mentality. That could work against him with a strong and consistent player like Stenson chasing him.

Bradley is something of an X-factor because he has been struggling for much of the season. He has just two top-10 finishes in the 20 events he has played this year, and he has won slightly more than $650,000. This could be the event that turns Bradley's season around, or he could turn back into an also-ran Saturday or Sunday.

Kjeldsen is battling with the big boys, and the huge stage could be problematic as the weekend moves along.

While Dustin Johnson and McIlroy still have a chance to move up, both players will need to be spectacular over the final 36 holes to have a chance. Day appears to be too far out of it to make a move.

When the tournament concludes Sunday, look for Stenson to emerge as the British Open champion. Mickelson will continue to play well, but key mistakes during the final round will open the door for the Swede, and he will charge right through.

Bradley will play impressively to finish third, while Dustin Johnson will mount a late charge to finish fourth.