SANDWICH, England – Darren Clarke marched along bumpy fairways on a wild ride at Royal St. George’s that was filled with blunders and brilliance, and one final birdie that brought the kind of ovation he had not heard in a decade at the British Open.
Right behind him was Lucas Glover, far more steady in closing his solid round with eight straight pars.
When a sun-baked and wind-blown second round finally ended Friday, they shared the lead in a major that is living up to its proper name.
The Open Championship is every bit of that.
Before anyone could get excited about the prospects of Clarke delivering yet another major to Northern Ireland, all it took was one look down the leaderboard – all the way to the bottom – to realize this championship was just getting started.