British Open 2011: Dissecting the Day 2 Leaderboard

Get your brolly ready. Just as God intended, it looks like it's going to be a wet and windy weekend for the right to hoist the Claret Jug at Royal St. George's.

With a diverse leaderboard that features a talented mix of young and not-so-young at the 2011 Open Championship, popular 42-year-old European Tour veteran Darren Clarke and former U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover share the 36-hole lead at four under par.

They are followed closely by Chad Campbell, Martin Kaymer, Thomas Bjorn and Miguel Angel Jiminez at three under par. Then, seven players are two shots under par, including reigning Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, Dustin Johnson and U.S. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III.

A slew of popular players are in contention, just a few shots off the lead. That list includes four-time major championship winner Phil Mickelson (minus-one) and a large group at even par, including reigning U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy, former Masters champion Zach Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Rickie Fowler and Anthony Kim.

Also, keep your eye on 61-year-old living legend Tom Watson, who just two years ago nearly won this event at Turnberry. He finished the first two days of this Open Championship at two over par.

Only 18 players from the starting field of 156 were under par after 36 holes.

With so many formidable players so close to the lead, the race for the 2011 Open Championship is just that—open. Wide open.

"There's an awful long way to go yet," Clarke warned in his post round presser. "And I believe the forecast for the weekend is very, very poor, which I quite look forward to."

That's Clarke's wry humor showing a bit. But, I believe he really does look forward to "typical" British Open weather. That's because veterans of this event expect the worst and know how to deal with the harshest conditions when they arrive. And they usually do.

For Glover, he looks at his previous major championship success as a benefit.

"I'd like to say I've got a slight advantage because I've been there before," Glover said in his post round presser. "But it's going to be tough here Saturday, Sunday, with 36 holes to go. And the wind is going to get up, so it's going to be difficult. But I can always say—I tell myself at the start of a round or at the end of the round that I've done it before and I've been there before and succeeded, so I've got that in the back of my head."

Clarke predicted the weekend of golf to come as well as anyone could.

"The course is going to play very, very tough," he said. "The tournament is still wide open for an awful lot of players, and will be. So there's still two days of tough golf and tough weather ahead of us."