Shubhankar set to make cut at Open

Shubhankar Sharma has assured himself of the weekend action after signing for a one-over-par 72 in the second round of The 148th Open here on Friday.

It will be the second time he would make the cut in as many starts at the Open.

With 70-72, he is even par for 36 holes and T-51, but that will change as more than half the field is yet to finish.

It became wet in the afternoon and was likely to worsen, making it difficult for the second wave.

Meanwhile, Ireland's Shane Lowry moved to the top of the leaderboard even though he still had the back nine to play.

Beginning the second day with a hat-trick of birdies, Lowry added a fourth on fifth and a fifth on eighth to be five-under through eight holes on second day and nine-under through 26 holes.

That put Lowry one ahead of first-day leader, American J B Holmes (66-68) who was eight-under for 36 holes.

Among the big names taking a tumble was the Tiger Woods (78-70), who finished six-over for the tournament and was certain to miss the cut, as was Phil Mickelson, two-over through seven, and seven-over for the tournament.

The cut is likely at one-over or two-over.

For Shubhankar, the three birdies on the front nine on Par-5s second and ninth, promised another fine round like one-under 70 on the first day, but two holes the 11th and 12th ruined those hopes.

He had three birdies, all on the front nine, and none on the back nine. He had two bogeys on either side of the course for a round of 72, which added up to even par 142.

Summing up the round, Shubhankar said, "A little bit disappointed. But again, I'm happy the way I played the last 36 holes. I was very calm on the course. I played decent. Today a few -- I hit a few shots that I didn't want to and dropped a few shots on the back nine. But it's all part of the game."