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Shane Lowry was one of five players to set the early clubhouse target in the second round of the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open on Friday, with defending champion Justin Rose and Graeme McDowell as in the group. All three strokes of leader Daniel Brooks.
Lowry followed up on Thursday’s 66 replicating his impressive first round to leave him at eight under par overall. He is joined by Rose, Johan Carlsson, Grégory Havret and McDowell.
Lowry was quick out of the blocks with two birdies from his opening five holes, before three further birdies on the back nine were marred by a bogey on the 15th.
Carlsson was in the first group out at 6:30am and carded four birdies and one bogey to add a 67 to his opening 65 in damp conditions to finish eight under par.
However, Rose had also improved to eight under with nine holes to play thanks to a front nine of 31, the former US Open champion looking to become the first player to successfully defend the Scottish Open following his win at Royal Aberdeen 12 months ago.
Rose bogeyed the opening hole but two-putted the par-five second for birdie and then carded four more in the space of five holes from the fourth.
Playing partner Phil Mickelson, who won the 2013 Open a mile down the road at Muirfield, could only manage one birdie on the front nine to lie two under, one shot inside the projected cut after 77 players broke par on Thursday.
The best scoring of the day so far was coming from Chile’s Felipe Aguilar, who began the day in 140th place after struggling to an opening 73, but jumped up the leaderboard in style with birdies at the first and second before firing a hole-in-one on the third, holing from 170 yards with an eight iron.
The 40-year-old has a habit of brilliant bursts of scoring, winning his second European Tour title in Singapore last year with a final round of 62 at Laguna National, holing his second shot to the 18th to complete the back nine in just 28 shots.
And after carding what would prove to be his only par on the front nine today on the fourth, Aguilar followed it with three birdies and two bogeys for an eventful front nine of 30.
Aguilar could not repeat such fireworks on the back nine but did birdie the 14th to move to six under for the day and three under overall.
Rose found trouble off the tee on the 10th but produced a superb pitch from 55 yards to within inches of the hole to save par and remain tied for the lead, along with fellow English man Brooks, who had eagled the second.
In contrast, Mickelson bogeyed the 11th and 12th after finding sand off the tee on both occasions and, at level par, was facing an uphill battle to make the halfway cut.
Lowry had no such worries, the links specialist going to the turn in 33 and picking up another shot on the 11th to get within a shot of the lead on seven under.
Mickelson produced the ideal response with birdies on the 14th, 15th and 16th, the latter coming thanks a typically deft chip from the side of the green.
That took the five-time major winner to three under par and safely inside the cut line, while playing partner Rose remained eight under and appeared shaken by hitting an elderly spectator on the head with a wayward drive on the 16th.
MIchael Hoey fired a second round 65 to share 24th place ahead of the weekend.
Padraig Harrington was 34th after second round 68.
Damien McGrane and Paul McGinley missed the cut
