Henrik Stenson made the most of the better conditions this morning to shoot the lowest scoring round of the day so far with a 65. It leaves him on nine under - one shot behind leader Phil Mickelson.

BBC Radio 5 live's Iain Carter called it and the projected cut is now at three-over.

Great news for Jordan Spieth and maybe Danny Willett if he can get one shot back, the Yorkshireman is currently four-over after 12.

World number one Jason Day's momentum is halted as he bogeys the 12th.

Bubba Watson hits a delightful bunker shot which somehow stays out on the ninth.   

A birdie on the 13th and that will put a spring in the step of Jordan Spieth.

Steve Stricker is the only player currently out on the course who is inside the top 10.

The American is at evens for the day, and is yet to drop a shot after 12 holes. He carded -4 on Thursday, and that has proved enough to keep him at tied sixth.

Iain Carter
BBC Radio 5 live at Royal Troon

70 players are on two-over par or better. It will only take a coupe of those to slip to three-over or worse and those on three-over par will slip into the weekend, it may even slip to four-over with the weather.

Bubba Watson and Hideki Matsuyama both hit the rails off the tee.

It's a double bogey for Bubba, while Matsuyama recovers to drop just one shot.

Rory McIlroy safely avoided the railway tracks, but can't take a chance to birdie on the 11th. Instead he's left with a three-footer for par, similar to those missed on the previous two holes...but, he makes it.

The brollies are back up, and that means it's started to rain again at Troon...

Those who were hoping to avoid the adverse conditions and stay dry throughout Friday evening, think again.

Image source, Getty Images

Jason Day holes a monster putt on the fourth for par. 

He went on to tie for second...

Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke birdied the 18th to card a one-over 72.

He is plus one for the tournament, a shot ahead of the projected cut.

Well, it's been a pretty woeful run for Patrick Reed since the turn, but the 25-year-old American birdies the par-three 17th to claw a shot back.

He headed into the day at five under, but is on course to post a three over par round that includes five bogeys - four of those have come on the back nine.

-10 Mickelson (18)

-9 Stenson; -7 Kjeldsen, Bradley; -5 Z Johnson,

Selected others:

-4 Johnston, Garcia; 

-3 Fowler (10), McIlroy (10); 

-2 D Johnson, Reed (17)

-1 Day (10); +1 Rose (12); +2 B Watson (10)

+4 Montgomerie, Spieth (12), Willett (10)

Projected cut: +2

Rory McIlroy misses another putt to the right of the hole. And it was another one that looked straightforward for the Northern Irishman.

He was making a real charge up until the ninth hole, but those back-to-back bogeys leave him on three under.

Suddenly Phil Mickelson's lead is seven shots in the distance again.

Rickie Fowler bogeys the 10th to drop to three-under, his first mistake this round.

Jason Day leaves with par, while it's another bogey for Danny Willett and the cut is drifting away from the Masters champion.

Another dropped shot for Jordan Spieth.

He looks visibly annoyed.

That tee shot into the rough proved costly and he leaves the 12th with a bogey.

Running out of holes now.

Image source, Getty Images

Louis Oosthuizen had a day to remember on Thursday with a hole-in-one on the par-three 14th as the 2010 Open champion began with a level-par 71.

Today, he's bogeyed the 14th but it matters little. The damage was done on the 11th hole. 

The Railway is statistically the hardest hole at Royal Troon over the first two days, averaging 4.5, and the South African lifted that with a quintuple-bogey nine.

Oosthuizen, who has had four other bogeys in a dreadful round, is +10 and already thinking about the journey home.