Olympic Men's Golf 2016: Friday Leaderboard Score, Highlights and Reaction

Although Australia's Marcus Fraser couldn't match his outstanding 63 from Thursday, his two-under 69 during Friday's second round sends him into the weekend with a one-shot lead in the first golf event at the Summer Olympics since 1904.

It's a crowded leaderboard though. There are eight other players within five shots of the top spot, including Belgium's Thomas Pieters one shot back and 2016 Open Championship winner Henrik Stenson of Sweden just two strokes off the pace.

Let's check out the top 10 after Round 2 at the Olympic Golf Course in Rio de Janeiro. To view the complete list of scores through 36 holes, visit the Games' official site.

Rank	Athlete	Country	Score
1	Marcus Fraser	AUS	-10
2	Thomas Pieters	BEL	-9
3	Henrik Stenson	SWE	-8
T-4	Gregory Bourdy	FRA	-6
T-4	Justin Rose	GBR	-6
T-6	Rafael Cabrera Bello	ESP	-5
T-6	Graham DeLaet	CAN	-5
T-6	Danny Lee	NZL	-5
T-6	Fabian Gomez	ARG	-5
T-10	C.T. Pan	TPE	-4
T-10	Thorbjorn Olesen	DEN	-4
T-10	Alex Cejka	GER	-4
T-10	Seamus Power	IRL	-4

Fraser put together another sold ball-striking day. While it didn't lead to another barrage of birdies, it did keep him mostly out of trouble as he finished the day with four birdies and just two bogeys. He only had a single bogey during the opening round.

It looked as though the Aussie was going to head into moving day tied with Pieters, but he posted a four on the par-five 18th to get the solo lead back.

Justin Ray of the Golf Channel noted Fraser converted his last start of this quality:

Pieters is a surprise contender. His best finish in a PGA Tour stroke-play event in 2016 is 30th, which came in The Open Championship. He did register a couple top-five results on the European Tour, but the last one came back in March.

That said, the absence of many of golf's biggest stars, including Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy, always meant the door was open for a surprise gold medalist. Perhaps the Belgian is getting ready to take advantage of that opportunity.

Geert De Vlieger of Sporza commented on Pieters' encouraging first 36 holes:

Justin Rose is another player to watch heading into the weekend. The Great Britain star made headlines during the opening round by scoring the first hole-in-one in Olympic golf history. There weren't any moments like that Friday, but he remained in the mix.

The Englishman matched Fraser's 68 to stay within four strokes of the lead. Now the question is whether the experience of players like Rose and Stenson will begin to shine through as the pressure level increases over the final two rounds.

Rose posted a message on social media after Friday's round:

Looking ahead, the good news for the golfers trying to play catch-up over the next two days is the fact the course is gettable. Along with Fraser's eight-under first round, Danny Lee of New Zealand managed a six-under round amid Friday's trickier conditions.

Combine that with the fact there are still a large number of players within striking distance of the lead and the stage is set for a terrific battle over the next two days. Whichever golfer stands atop the podium Sunday afternoon will have earned it.