British Open 2017 Leaderboard: Updating Results and Standings for Friday

Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka slept on the lead after the first round of the British Open, and they remained tied for the top spot as they began Friday's action at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England.

Spieth and Koepka were playing in the afternoon session in the third major championship of the year, and they watched many of their rivals complete their second rounds of action in heavy wind conditions. Spieth birdied the first hole of the round to take the lead by himself, but he gave that stroke back when he bogeyed the third hole.

Matt Kuchar, who was tied for the lead with Spieth and Koepka after the first round, shot a one-over 71 and was the clubhouse leader at the midway point of the Open Championship at four under par.

Kuchar had taken the lead on the back nine when he reached six-under, but bogeys on the 16th and 18th holes left him one stroke behind the leaders.

Despite those late bogeys, Kuchar can be quite secure that he will remain near the top of the leaderboard at the conclusion of the second round. In addition to the heavy winds that dogged those playing in the early part of the day, heavy rains were also expected for the golfers playing in the afternoon.

Kuchar explained that the conditions were challenging throughout the round and that the golfers had to adjust their swings to account for the wind.

"You take what the golf course gives you, and it was hard," Kuchar said, per his Golf Channel interview following the round. "You just try to find the fairways, and it was difficult with 25 to 30 mile-per-hour winds. You just have to make the adjustments."

In addition to Kuchar, Richie Ramsay finished his second round in impressive fashion as he shot an even-par 70. After firing a 68 in the opening round, he was just three strokes behind the leaders as he finished his round.

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Rory McIlroy has provided one of the most interesting storylines through the first two rounds of the tournament. After starting with five bogeys in his first six holes Thursday, McIlroy turned it around and was able to finish the first round with a score of 71.

His positive momentum continued at the start of the second round, as he played the front nine in three-under and that brought him within three strokes of the lead. He shot at two-under 68 in the second round and is one-under for the tournament. McIlroy has put himself in a position to contend over the weekend at Royal Birkdale.

McIlroy shared that his mental and emotional states were problems in the early part of his first round, and he was able to right his game after receiving a bit of a lecture from caddie J.P. Fitzgerald.

“I was nervous going out,” McIlroy admitted, per Alistair Tait of Golfweek. “I was a little anxious, timid. Probably just not as much belief in myself as I should have had. J.P. gave me a good talking on the sixth tee box, and sort of reminded me of who I was.

“He said: ‘You’re Rory McIlroy: What the (expletive) are you doing?’ It definitely helped. It kept me positive. He did a great job.”

The winds also impacted Canadian Austin Connelly, who shot a two-over 72 in the second round. Connelly was one-under through the first 12 holes, and that allowed him to get to four-under for the tournament. However, he struggled in the difficult conditions during the final six holes, and he bogeyed three of them. Connelly had shot a 67 in the opening round, and he is one under par through the first 36 holes.

Ian Poulter, Justin Thomas and Matthew Fitzpatrick were among the leaders who were playing in the afternoon session of the second round.

The cut line (low 70 players and ties) was projected to be at four over par, but the challenging weather conditions were expected to push that number up even further.