Jordan Spieth is bunkered on two. He punches at it, low trajectory and that leaves six to eight feet for par.

Jason Day, strikes and follows up with a "no" as he knows this ball is heading left on one. He shuts his eyes and turns his head in frustration. You know it's bad when you can't even look at the shot.

Justin Rose - playing with Spieth - needs two putts for par, Shane Lowry alongside him is off to the quick start he needs, birdie-birdie start takes him to five over.

Rory is walking to the tee box, blue coat, black cap, the walk of a surf dude, care free.

Can Spieth tidy up on the second? 

Gerald Scott
BBC Sport Online

Phil Mickelson maintained his march at Royal Troon with a fifth-successive  sub-70 Open round over the Ayrshire links.

And his former Ryder Cup opponent Graham McDowell has no doubt that the left-hander learned his lesson following an opening-day 73 here 12 years ago.

“He came back from that to shoot 66-66-68 and finish third,” said McDowell. 

“Like Tom Watson at Turnberry in 2009, it’s not about being a Dustin Johnson or Jason Day and overpowering a golf course like this. You’ve got to caress it round.”

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Wondering why Phil Mickelson has a binder clip on his hat?

We can confirm it's not a fashion statement.

He is in fact just trying to keep his hat in place.

The 46-year-old said:, external "I know it looks terrible, but it is what it is. I know."

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, EPA

It was steady fare from Rory McIlroy on day one. Three dropped shots but ample birdies saw him end two under par. With 28 putts and hitting just 57% of fairways, nothing was sizzling yet Rory finds himself well in the picture.

He is not underway until 14:37 BST, so it's been a morning of leisure for the man chasing a fifth major.

Danny boy Willett is on the tee box, good swing, aggressive, fairway.

Rickie Fowler is over the man flu which saw him in the house on the sofa earlier this week, he's going with an iron, starts it right, brings it back nicely.

"On the tee from Australia, Jason Day." White cap, grey jacket, not really the stuff of vibrant personality. Day shuts his eyes, he loves to visualise a shot. With a swipe he's in the fairway.

Dustin Johnson tees off the 17th and then runs for cover from the rain. The conditions did not impact his aim and have since eased.

Colin Montgomerie is enjoying a consistent second day at Royal Troon.

The 53-year-old Scot has not dropped a shot so far on Friday, but is yet to make a birdie either. He remains at evens, inside the cut, with eight to play on Friday.

Image source, getty

The projected cut at the minute is at one over par, and that would see a few big names having to chop their week at Royal Troon unexpectedly short.

They don't come any bigger than world number one Jason Day, who shot a two-over 73 yesterday and is perched perilously outside that line ahead of his second round.

Some selected others also currently missing the cut are former world number one Lee Westwood, Americans Brandt Snedeker and Webb Simpson and Scotland's very own Paul Lawrie.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

The last time Phil Mickelson won The Open, Henrik Stenson was second.

Phil Mickelson leads The Open, Henrik Stenson is second.

Sergio Garcia takes his three wood at the last and places his tee shot perfectly in the middle of the fairway.

The Spaniard has steadily been encroaching on the leaders, building on his three-under opening round by making up another two shots today.

He sits at five under with just the 18th to complete heading into the weekend. 

Jordan Spieth has had a slice of luck, though what he's left with is still pretty grim.

The Texan retrieves his ball from the crowd and is told he will have to take a free drop elsewhere, thus moving his line to the flag enough so that he doesn't have to chip over a bunker. The chip is still ugly, over long grass, not much green to work with, pretty much the type you dread.

His ball races past the pin and he will have a long putt for par.

Just Rose chucks his ball out of the bunker to within a few feet, all the while Shane Lowry is making birdies to get to six over. Back to Spieth, no one home, that's a bogey. And can Rose tidy up? No. The ball does a lap of the cup and stays up, smiling at Rose. Smiling, teasing, taunting.

Gerald Scott
BBC Sport at Royal Troon

Londoner Andrew Johnston – the man they call ‘Beef’ – admits he’s loving the attention at Troon this week.

He even had fans waving their burgers at him in tribute.

“I absolutely love it,” he said, after carding a second straight 69. “It’s what I dreamed of as a kid. If someone shouts my name, I’ll acknowledge it and have a laugh back.”

But why is he called Beef? “It’s a sad story,” he grinned, “from when I was a kid. I’m a quarter Jamaican. When I grow my hair, it goes curly. One of my mates just said one day ‘It looks like a big bit of beef’ and it just stuck.”

Image source, Getty Images

Chris Watkins: What's happened to Keegan Bradley, can we have an update? Shot up to -9 and is now back at -6 but no mention of him today!  

Well, Chris, the American is right up there in tied third on seven under through 16 today. Five birdies and a couple of bogeys this round, but he's right in the mix.

Jordan Spieth whips at his ball from the rough, good contact is it? Nope, not great and he send that well left.

Justin Rose fires an arrow in and it looks great... briefly... only for some spin and a slope to send the ball slowly, painfully, into a deep bunker.

Sergio has a right to left breaker from four feet for birdie and he makes it.

Just five back now. Sergio is walking with purpose, you can tell he loves The Open.

"FORE. FORE LEFT."

Those are the first words of Jordan Spieth's round.

No audio coming from Justin Rose's mouth, just a bite of his lip as he sees his ball land safe. 

Shane Lowry starts seven over, his race is run, but he's on the fairway.

Image source, AP

Much has been made of Jordan Spieth's quite unbelievable putting. The American tends not to look at the ball when putting from in close, he stares at the hole instead.

But on Thursday his putter did not want to play out. He needed 33 putts in all, an almost unthinkable tally for the prolific young American.

"I struck the ball incredibly well," says Spieth. "If I putt to the standards it's a round of four or six under par. I'm trying not to think of it, I just feel the putter will get there if I'm a little more aggressive on the greens."

Aged just 22, Spieth is chasing his third major. He can try to get it going again from 14:04 BST.

Zach Johnson gave the Claret Jug back this week. He may well be poised to wrestle it back from the R&A.

Image source, Getty Images

Zach Johnson now at the last. He will not want to fall five off the lead so this must drop in for par. It's 10ft and it's breaking right and wide. Back to five under, a round of one under today.

Adam Scott follows him into the cup, two over today, level overall.

If you are just joining us, Troon is playing tough but fair and a number of the big names are about to tee off in trickier conditions than their contemporaries out this morning have faced.

The lowest round of the day belongs to Charl Schwartzel who shot a 66 to end four under overall. That just goes to show how good Phil Mickelson's position on 10 under is but Schwartzel's round is under serious threat right here, right now.

One man can move level with Lefty at the top, Henrik Stenson has a long putt on 18 for birdie and to move to double figures. It's a good stroke, he has the speed of these greens on point, it looks good... just wide. Stenson will end on nine under but that's a 65 for today. A Friday low.