Rory won the Players … might that mean the Masters is next?

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CARNOUSTIE, Scotland – Good morning, golf fans. Here’s a quick look at Friday’s early developments in the second round of The Open Championship at Carnoustie. HELLO, RAIN. After a lengthy dry spell in Scotland that left Carnoustie’s fairways with racetrack-like conditions, the weather we’re accustomed to seeing at The Open finally arrived. The rain picked up throughout the mid-morning, forcing players to pull out the umbrellas and rain gear for the first time this week. Game plans were adjusted for the slower conditions, but the good news is that the winds remained calm. PAST CHAMPS MAKING NOISE. Rory McIlroy, the 2014 Open winner, moved into a tie for the lead with Kevin Kisner at 5 under with a birdie at the par-5 14th. McIroy shot an opening 69, and then on Friday birdied the seventh, 10th, 13th and 14th holes (with a bogey at the 12th). Meanwhile, Zach Johnson, the 2015 winner, was 4 under through 12 after shooting a 69 on Thursday. FLEETWOOD OUT FAST. Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, who opened with a 72 on Thursday, played the front nine in 3 under, then added two more birdies after the turn. He was 5 under on his round through 14 holes and 4 under for the tournament, just one shot off the lead. Fleetwood was solo second last month at the U.S. Open, shooting a final-round 63, and he owns the course record at Carnoustie, also 63. TIGER BATTLING. With a mid-morning tee time, Tiger Woods set out to improve on his even-par 71 on Thursday. Things didn’t go well early – on his second shot from the rough on the second hole, he hit a spectator. But after two straight bogeys, he bounced back with two straight birdies to remain even par through five holes. Woods has missed the cut in five of his last seven major starts, so the first order of business will be to get to the weekend. (Click here for our Tiger Woods blog in Round 2.) And yes, he’s still wearing the kinesio tape on the back of his neck that caused such a commotion on Thursday. DAY GETS IT GOING. After a first-round 71, Jason Day moved up the leaderboard with three birdies in his first 10 holes. In seven previous Open starts, Day has just one top-10 finish – a T-4 in 2015. WILL KISNER MAINTAIN? First-round leader Kevin Kisner has a 12:53 p.m. tee time (that’s 7:53 a.m. ET). It’s the second time in four majors that he’s been atop the leaderboard after the opening round. At the 2017 PGA Championship, he was the co-leader with Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen after 18 holes and maintained that position through the next two rounds, taking the solo lead by a single stroke entering the final round before finishing T-7. He took only positives from his performance at Quail Hollow. “I love myself under the gun and down the stretch,� Kisner said. CHASING THE CUT. The top 70s and ties make the cut following the second round. Patrick Reed will tee off this afternoon locally (10:21 a.m. ET) below the cutline after shooting a 4-over 75 on Thursday. Reed has missed the cut in two of his previous four Open starts, including last year at Royal Birkdale. Since then, his major results include: T-2 at PGA, win at Masters, solo fourth at U.S. Open. NO. 1 IN TROUBLE. After opening with a 5-over 76, Dustin Johnson started the day outside the cutline, and was drifting farther away. He was 1 over through 12 holes, leaving him at 6 over at that point. Johnson had made the cut in his last eight Open starts after missing the cut in his Open debut in 2009. EARLY/LATE ADVANTAGE. The rain was forecast to subside late in the day, and winds were expected to remain relatively calm, so those players in the afternoon could have ideal scoring conditions. They already had the better side of the draw with early first-round tee times – 11 rounds under par were shot by the first 12 groups Thursday compared to none in the last 12 groups.

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Check out the current field for this season’s THE NORTHERN TRUST as of Aug. 17. HOW THEY QUALIFIED Top 125 FedExCup Points Dustin Johnson Justin Thomas Brooks Koepka Justin Rose Bubba Watson Jason Day Francesco Molinari Bryson DeChambeau Patrick Reed Phil Mickelson Tony Finau Webb Simpson Jon Rahm Patrick Cantlay Patton Kizzire Paul Casey Kyle Stanley Kevin Na Tiger Woods Marc Leishman Tommy Fleetwood Pat Perez Andrew Landry Chesson Hadley Aaron Wise Xander Schauffele Luke List Austin Cook Brian Harman Gary Woodland Ian Poulter Andrew Putnam Chez Reavie Brendan Steele Alex Noren Kevin Kisner Beau Hossler Jordan Spieth Ryan Armour Byeong Hun An Billy Horschel Emiliano Grillo Si Woo Kim Charles Howell III Keegan Bradley J.J. Spaun Zach Johnson Henrik Stenson Cameron Smith Scott Piercy Brian Gay Whee Kim Stewart Cink Ted Potter, Jr. Rafa Cabrera Bello Jimmy Walker Ryan Moore Chris Kirk Jason Kokrak Matt Kuchar Joel Dahmen Michael Kim Kevin Streelman Keith Mitchell J.B. Holmes Adam Hadwin Kelly Kraft Adam Scott Louis Oosthuizen Troy Merritt Satoshi Kodaira Kevin Chappell James Hahn Peter Uihlein Brice Garnett Branden Grace Russell Knox Brandt Snedeker Russell Henley Ollie Schniederjans Daniel Berger Abraham Ancer Anirban Lahiri Jason Dufner Tom Hoge Hideki Matsuyama Tyrrell Hatton Jamie Lovemark Brandon Harkins Charl Schwartzel Kevin Tway Rory Sabbatini Charley Hoffman Trey Mullinax Alex Cejka Ryan Palmer Richy Werenski Nick Watney John Huh Sung Kang Scott Stallings Harold Varner III Tyler Duncan Danny Lee Cheng Tsung Pan J.T. Poston Bronson Burgoon Vaughn Taylor William McGirt Grayson Murray Martin Laird Sam Ryder Ryan Blaum Brian Stuard Scott Brown Sean O’Hair Sam Saunders Bud Cauley Jhonattan Vegas Seamus Power Martin Piller Tyrone Van Aswegen

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