Saturday's Birdies and Bogeys
Birdie: Dustin Johnson
Johnson's day began with an eagle pitch into ridiculous wind that came back to his feet and he wound up needing four shots to finish from just off the 14th green. But after the long delay, he didn't let the unfortunate bogey bother him, playing the final four holes in one under and maintaining the one-shot lead he had when he went to bed the night before. The good news for Johnson is the last seven major winners have at least had a share of the 36-hole lead. The bad news is he's yet to close one out himself. Judging by the resilience he's shown thus far in his first major start since Chambers Bay, though, Johnson looks like he's ready to handle whatever else this week throws at him. -- Alex Myers
Bogey: Jordan Spieth
Let's not panic yet. The wunderkind is still only five shots back with 36 holes to play after two-putting for birdie on the 18th hole Saturday. But that five-shot deficit can all be traced to his five three-putts over the two days of his second round. There is little Spieth can do wrong these days, but one quirk in his game is how he fluctuates between looking at the hole and looking at the ball on short putts. Have to think sticking to one routine couldn't hurt. -- Sam Weinman
Birdie: Louis Oosthuizen
Video of Oosthizen's ball blowing across the green, from tap-in range to a nerve-racking length, symbolized the blustery conditions the field faced this morning. A short 10 1/2 hours later, Shrek was finally able to address his putt -- and drained that bad boy. -- Joel Beall
Birdie: Live Golf at 2 AM
There was a Christmas Eve-like anticipation on Friday night. Live coverage of the British Open past midnight, from the Home of Golf! This was a golfer's dream. Of course ... -- J.B.
Bogey: Wind Delay
It's a disconcerting realization that, upon calling for a delay at 2:30 EST, one could have theoretically drove to the airport, went through the necessary TSA screenings, hopped on a plane, grabbed a cab and made your way to the Old Course without missing another shot. Not that such a thought crossed my mind. -- J.B.
Bogey: The R&A
If I never read another "update delayed on delay update" tweet, it will be too soon. Hindsight is 20/20, but judging by the players' indignation, the R&A's attempt to play this morning was misinformed and myopic. Coupled with yesterday's vain shot at playing in the rain, it's not been a great few days for golf's governing body abroad. -- J.B.
Birdie: ESPN Coverage
It's not easy to fill delays during live coverage (remember the chaos that ensued during the Super Bowl blackout?), but the Worldwide Leader did so with aplomb. In a situation conducive to "hot take" narration, ESPN's team mainly avoided such fallacies. Special kudos to Paul Azinger -- who provided sagacious commentary on a litany of players and topics during the delay -- and Dottie Pepper, who braved the winds on the 11th to keep the audience updated on the conditions. -- J.B.
Birdie: Paul Lawrie
DJ, Oosthuizen, Day and Scott are enticing names, and Danny Willett has the intrigue of an unknown. But among this pack of leaders is Lawrie, the 1999 champ at Carnoustie. Many -- this man included -- envisioned Lawrie falling down in Round 2 after Thursday's 66. Instead, the 46-year-old Scot survived heavy winds and a robust delay to turn in a two-under 70, leaving him just two behind Johnson heading into Sunday play. If Lawrie wins, it would be the longest span between victories -- 16 years -- in major history. -- J.B.
Birdie: Sergio Garcia
Sergio Garcia: The hard-luck Garcia, with 10 career top-fives in majors but no wins, finally got a stroke of good fortune when his approach on the difficult Road Hole looked to be sailing way long, but hit the flagstick and settled nearby. He made a rare birdie there, followed by another birdie on 18 to get to five under through 36 holes, just five shots off the lead. -- S.W.
Birdie: David Duval
If, for some reason, you failed to remember that David Duval was actually in the field, don't worry: we did, too. The 2001 Open champion has made just three cuts in this championship since he claimed the claret jug. But after birdieing the 18th hole Saturday, the 43-year-old Duval completed 36 holes in even par to advance to the weekend in a major for the first time since 2010. -- S.W.