British Open 2017: Jordan Spieth Leads Field, Rory McIlroy Lurking After Round 2

Jordan Spieth leads the 2017 British Open by two shots after shooting 69 on a rain-soaked day at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England, on Friday. At six under par after Round 2, Spieth is two ahead of Matt Kuchar and three ahead of Ian Poulter and Brooks Koepka.

Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy is tied for sixth after finishing two under par for the day.      

The cut line was projected at five over, and among those to miss it were 2013 Open champion Phil Mickelson and veterans Mark O'Meara and 45-year-old Padraig Harrington, along with Darren Clarke, Patrick Reed, David Lipsky and Justin Thomas. 

For the full leaderboard after two rounds, visit the tournament's official website.

Poulter was in steady form over the front nine, managing par on each hole. Things could have been better, though, had the 41-year-old managed to sink this birdie from the bunker on the par-four ninth. The club's official Twitter account relayed the near-miss:

A birdie finally arrived for Poulter at the 12th, but by then, he had been overtaken atop the leaderboard. Five more pars followed for the Englishman, who recovered from a bogey on the 16th to finish even for the day and remain just three shots off the leader.

Spieth had moved ahead of Poulter and the competition thanks to a fast start. The American hit a birdie on the first before recovering from a bogey on the par-four third to have a run of five pars. But he had a bogey on the ninth.

Spieth made amends when he saved par on the 10th, courtesy of this delicate chip, via Sky Sports Golf:

It meant Spieth was still tied with Koepka, Kuchar and Richard Bland at the top, with Poulter a shot behind. As Spieth prepared to attack the 11th, the rain started to fall more heavily, bringing things to a close temporarily.

Consecutive birdies on the 11th and 12th put Spieth into the lead, but he stumbled to a bogey at the par-three 14. However, Spieth quickly rebounded and went three clear with this eagle on the 15th:

A fourth bogey of the day on the 16th cut Spieth's lead to two strokes.

Spieth had still stayed ahead of Kuchar, with the latter also guilty of four bogies. Yet Kuchar's card also featured a trio of birdies, good enough for a round of 71 but still one over par.

McIlroy couldn't match those at the top but still produced a splendid round, shooting a 68 to finish one under. He saved par with a classy shot from the bunker on the 12th, but three birdies on the front nine are what set his card.

His performance over the first nine confirmed McIlroy's steady improvement after an erratic start during the first two days of the Open:

Afterwards, McIlroy told Sky Sports how proud he was of his round, per Keith Jackson of the broadcaster's official website: "To be in after two days and be under par for this championship after the way I started, I'm ecstatic with that. I hit some quality shots out there, I saw a lot of better iron shots and I saw some really good putts going in."

Of those who didn't make the cut, 60-year-old O'Meara signed off in some style with a landmark birdie, via the European Tour's official Twitter account:

It was one of three birdies for O'Meara on the day, but he couldn't overcome as many bogeys during his round. In truth, the veteran looked doomed since starting the opening round on Thursday with a quadruple bogey at the first hole, per Mark Tallentire of the Guardian.

One player who saved himself from the cut was Chris Wood, who closed out his round in style with this eagle on the final hole:

Clarke and Reed both missed the line by three strokes after finishing eight over.

Yet one surprise name who made it was European Amateur champion Alfie Plant:

Meanwhile, Tommy Fleetwood found par on the 18th to just make the cut. He shot 69, recovering well from four bogeys and a double bogey on day one.

Most of the biggest names are still in The Open, with Spieth dominating the field, but Kuchar and Poulter are showing enough resolve to keep their chances of winning alive. Meanwhile, McIlroy is steadily starting to look close to his best.        

All scorecard information courtesy of The Open's official website.