British Open: Straka in 25th place at the halfway mark, Herbert takes the lead

His compatriot Bernd Wiesberger narrowly missed the cut. The 40-year-old slipped with a round of 71 from tied 60th place to tied 79th place and is therefore one stroke behind the cut line at two strokes over par. On the second nine holes he played par, while on the first nine holes four bogeys were offset by three birdies.

Wiesberger misses the cut

Australia's Lucas Herbert took over the lead at the top of the leaderboard. With a 62 round, which was eight strokes below the course standard of 70 strokes, he improved by 38 places and moved to the top. His attempt to set a sole course record with a 61 round was thwarted by a bogey on the final hole. The world number 98 had previously been in tied second place.

In second place is the American Jackson Suber, who needed two strokes more than the leader and had been at the top after the first round. Sam Burns produced another remarkable comeback: the world number 18 from the USA improved after an opening round of 73 strokes with a 62 round by exactly 100 places to rank six.

Herbert takes the top spot

The world number one and defending champion Scottie Scheffler from the USA needed 68 strokes on the second of four tournament days and is tied for eighth. Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, six-time major winner and world number two, made the cut with a 67 round after an opening round of 72 strokes.

A rules decision against Bryson DeChambeau caused a stir. The American, who had originally been in tied second place, received two penalty strokes after the round because he had hit his ball from the fairway on the fifth hole and trampled down tall grass to achieve a better position for his shot. Although he did not change the position of the ball, he had, according to the rules official, gained a more advantageous stance for his swing.

Penalty strokes for DeChambeau

The course record of 62 strokes, set by South African Branden Grace in 2017 at the same venue, was equaled several times during the second round. Grace was at the time the first player to reach this mark at the British Open.

Outlook for the weekend

Straka was satisfied after advancing to the weekend, even though he rated his long game as weaker compared to the opening day. "Making the cut is always great. From a playing standpoint it really wasn't good today. I'm still pretty happy with the score," he summed up.

The tournament at Royal Birkdale Club, a links course on the north English coast, will continue on Saturday and Sunday with rounds three and four. For the remaining players, it is now about the positions in the leaderboard, after the cut has been made following two rounds.