Trouncing Troon Irishman Leads Counterattack On Course After Wind Takes Day Off

Darren Clarke, a reformed hothead from Portrush, Northern Ireland, kept his cool and the second-round lead of the British Open at Royal Troon.

Quite unexpectedly, it was a pleasant, sunny day on Scotland’s Ayrshire Coast, where the weather can turn on you faster than you can say “gorse.”

As a matter of fact, the only wind associated with the place Friday was the air being displaced by flying golf balls as they rushed to the nearest flagstick.

This is precisely what Justin Leonard accomplished in a span of three holes on the front when he eagled not once, but twice, on his way to a 66.

“It was like a Palm Springs day in the wintertime,” said Tom Kite, who had a 67. Of course, this is Scotland in July.

Certainly the meteorological conditions appealed to Clarke, 28, who has one tournament victory in the last four years. He trounced Troon on his way to a five-under-par 66, a 36-hole score of nine-under 133 and a two-shot lead over Leonard.

Jesper Parnevik, the sand-eating son of a Swedish comedian, flipped up the bill of his cap and turned in a five-under 66 to move to within three shots of Clarke’s lead.

Fred Couples played a bogey-free 68 and is four shots behind at 137. He is tied with 22-year-old David Tapping of England, who has missed the cut in nine of 15 European Tour events this year but whose 66 is his best round of the year.

Couples has five top-10 finishes in his last seven British Opens, but he has spent a lot of time not playing golf recently. Couples has played only five times since he finished seventh at the Masters.

Couples’ father, Tom, has leukemia and golf has not been as high a priority in his life.

“I would love to win another major tournament,” Couples said. “But you know, this has been a difficult year.”

Kite and Jim Furyk are tied for sixth at 139 going into the weekend. Like everyone else, they’re chasing Clarke.

Reunited with the caddie he fired last year and determined not to be too hard on himself, Clarke was a picture of a mellow putter. He made eight birdies, five of them with putts that seemed to roll in all the way from Prestwick.

Each of those birdie putts covered 20 feet, which meant one thing to Clarke as he stood there all five times next to caddie Bill Foster on those bumpy greens.

“They’ve all gone in,” Clarke said.

Of course, it’s not something that happens all the time. But this is a new, mood-enhanced Clarke, and so far, it’s paying off.

“I’m more relaxed this year than I have been in the past,” he said. “My caddie has come back and we’ve got on very well. I’m just generally more happy.

“I don’t get so annoyed with myself now, whenever I don’t hit a shot I like.”

Leonard liked the five-iron shots he hit on Nos. 4 and 6. He stroked a 15-foot putt into the hole to eagle the 557-yard fourth, then nailed a 20-footer for a second eagle on the 577-yard sixth.

“When I knocked that (first) putt in, I figured that was probably the last eagle putt I was going to have for the day,” he said. “To go two out of two feels pretty good.”

Meanwhile, some of the big names need to start making moves in a hurry.

Tiger Woods is 13 shots off the lead after a 74. Greg Norman’s 73 dropped him to par 142, nine shots behind. Ernie Els is 11 shots from the leader, the same as Nick Faldo after a 73. Hometown favorite Colin Montgomerie is at 145 despite a 69, mainly because he started with a 76.

For Parnevik, his personal habits border on the, well, unusual.

His diet includes volcanic sand, which is supposed to clean his system. He also likes stovepipe slacks, reads books about chess and dreams, and carries a meditation pillow with him on the road.

He may be best known for his cap, which he wears with the bill turned up, and for not looking at the scoreboard down the stretch at the 1994 British Open. Parnevik thought he needed to birdie the 18th at Turnberry when he actually needed a par, but wound up with a bogey and lost to Nick Price by one shot.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: LEADERS Top scores Friday after the second round of the 126th British Open on the Royal Troon course (par-71): Darren Clarke 67-66-133 Justin Leonard 69-66-135 Jesper Parnevik 70-66-136 Fred Couples 69-68-137 David Tapping 71-66-137