Oosthuizen overtakes McIlroy to lead Open Championship
Published:South African golfer Louis Oosthuizen has made an early charge on the second day of the Open Championship to wrestle the top spot from overnight leader Rory McIlroy.
Oosthuizen, who is 54th in the world rankings, has come down to 12/1 to win the major after moving to 11 under par through 12 holes. McIlroy, at nine under, remains the 3/1 favourite.
The 27-year-old shot a first round 65 late in the day on Thursday to position himself well for this morning’s burst and has posted five birdies and one bogey, at the 11th.
Oosthuizen has never really featured at a major before, with his best finish a 73rd place at the USPGA in 2008.
Ricky Barnes is another unlikely player making the most of favourable conditions at the start of the second day at St Andrews and is 25/1 to win the Open.
The 29-year-old American is having his best season on the PGA Tour, with a third place finish and six top tens, and is four under par for his round and eight under for the Championship – good enough for outright third place.
His highest previous finish in a major was tied second at the 2009 US Open, but he has only made the cut at the Open once before, in 2003.
Englishman Paul Casey is also making a blistering start to his second round, going to six under par after three birdies at the first, second and third. The 32-year-old is 16/1 to win the Championship – his first major.
The world number 10 seems to be making up for yesterday’s bad luck, after he got caught up in the blustery afternoon weather which followed calm morning conditions.
The squall that came in cost the golfer “four shots” Casey said, lamenting: “I always get the rough end of the draw.”
Mark Calcavecchia is on six under after shooting a faultless round with four birdies so far. He’s finished the 14th and is 80/1 to win the Open. See the full Open Championship betting market.
