Blockbuster Shrek

The challenge to Louis Oosthuizens lead started to unravel in the high winds that battered St Andrews on Friday,as Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy floundered in pursuit of the unheralded South African....

The challenge to Louis Oosthuizens lead started to unravel in the high winds that battered St Andrews on Friday,as Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy floundered in pursuit of the unheralded South African. The 27-year-old,dubbed Shrek by his friends,carded a second-round 67 to add to his opening 65 and move to 12 under and a five-shot clubhouse lead over Mark Calcavecchia,and with every violent gust that buffeted the Fife coastline his advantage looked more impregnable.

Officials said enough was enough and 65 minutes was lost when play was suspended due to the winds clocked at over 40mph,and when the hooter sounded for the resumption,overnight leader McIlroy and Woods immediately suffered. Phil Mickelson 71 was sweating over his cut prospects on level-par 144 after being unsettled by the gusts.

With winds this strong 8230; your putts from three feet are greatly affected, the world number two told reporters. McIlroy,who had sat frustratedly on the fourth fairway during the hiatus,resumed with a bogey and followed it with a second dropped shot at the sixth and another at the seventh to fall back to minus six,one behind 1989 champion Calcavecchia.

Woods resumption was just as bad,opening bogey-bogey after he had barely reached the first green when play stopped before getting one shot back at the fifth to go four under. The driving winds that forced the suspension gathered strength and the heavy morning cloudbursts that forced players to change clothing as often as their clubs were blown away.

Organisers called a halt to the action,and players at the far reaches of the course were left to their own devices during the respite as the Royal and Ancient opted against an evacuation of the links course. Tom Watson chatted to spectators,Englands Ian Poulter put on an extraordinary display of stretching to keep supple while it was all too much for South African Charl Schwartzel,who lay down on the fairway,used his bag as a makeshift pillow,pulled down the brim of his cap and closed his eyes.

Earlier Oosthuizen,who has played three Opens and missed the cut every time,fired three straight birdies from the fifth to overtake McIlroys overnight lead of nine under. He birdied the 10th too before a three-putt from 60 feet on the par-three 11th knocked him back.

Having fun

Oosthuizen put a chip at the 12th stone dead for another birdie. He then bogeyed the 13th before picking up another stroke at the 14th and capping off a fine round by calmly rolling in from 15 feet on the last for his seventh birdie. Im okay with anyone waking up and seeing my name on the top, said the graduate of the Ernie Els Foundation who could easily have pursued a professional tennis career. Im just having a lot of fun.