France’s Clement Sordet paid tribute to the victims of the suspected terror attack in Nice as the second round of the Open Championship got under way in markedly different conditions on Friday.
A t least 80 people, including several children, are dead after a lorry hit crowds who had gathered to celebrate Bastille Day in the Mediterranean city on Thursday night.
Sordet, 23, had written “PrayForNice” on his cap as he teed off in overcast conditions in the opening group at 6:35am, with rain forecast through the morning and the wind having switched direction.
The front nine, which South Africa’s Haydn Porteous covered in just 30 shots on Thursday, was now playing into the breeze and Sordet almost drove out of bounds on the first on his way to a bogey to drop back to four over par.
Tournament organisers the R&A confirmed that black ribbons would be made available to players at the first tee on Friday should they choose to wear one in honour of the victims of the Nice attacks.
Overnight leader Phil Mickelson was due out at 8:25am as he looked to build on a three-shot lead created thanks to a stunning opening round, the former champion having come agonisingly close to making history.
Mickelson, who has not won a tournament since lifting the Claret Jug at Muirfield in 2013, needed to make birdie from 15 feet on the last hole to shoot the first 62 in any major, only to see his birdie putt catch the edge of the cup and stay out.
The 46-year-old American could barely believe it as he had to settle for a 63 – the 28th such score in majors – to finish eight under par, three shots ahead of fellow American Patrick Reed and former world number one Martin Kaymer.
The French flag on top of the grandstand on the 18th hole had been lowered by the time Mickelson teed off.
A nice touch by those in charge at @TheOpen. A French flag has been lowered to half-mast next to the leaderboard. pic.twitter.com/5gPAhCW6as
— Ben Nagle (@bennagle17) July 15, 2016
The left-hander was looking to avoid the fate of the last player to shoot 63 in the first round of the Open.
Rory McIlroy had a two-shot lead after doing so at St Andrews in 2010, but slumped to an 80 the following day in winds gusting up to 40mph which forced play to be suspended for more than an hour.
That did not appear to be on the cards on Friday and South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel had birdied the first and third to reach one under par, but 2003 Open champion Ben Curtis had taken 10 on the 379-yard third hole to crash to 13 over par.
Mickelson did well to save par on the second after a wayward approach, but still saw his lead cut to two as Soren Kjeldsen – who was seventh in the Masters in April – birdied the fourth and sixth, the two par fives on the front nine.
Schwartzel had also picked up shots on the fourth and fifth to make it four birdies in the first five holes and improve to three under for the tournament, which was good enough to lie just a shot outside the top 10.
American Matt Kuchar, who replaced Jordan Spieth in the US Olympic team after the two-time major winner withdrew on Monday, was also three under after a hat-trick of birdies from the second.
