Henley and Noren can get closer to Spieth in Saturday calm

Story so far

Jordan Spieth took control of the Open Championship over the first two rounds at Royal Birkdale, the tough Texan defying poor weather to reach six under par through 36 holes.

Spieth, one of the 16-1 co-favourites of three on tournament-eve, followed up his excellent opening round of 65 with a 69, a score compiled largely in difficult conditions. He has been slashed to a best-price of 6-4 going into the weekend with a two-shot lead.

Friday produced the worst conditions the players are likely to face all week, strong winds blowing relentlessly from start to finish and heavy rain arriving in the late afternoon. Play was suspended for 15 minutes just after 5.30pm due to waterlogging.

Spieth handled the assignment in cool fashion, the dual Major champion putting himself in a superb position as he bids to win the Claret Jug for the first time.

Another American, Matt Kuchar, set the early clubhouse target on Friday and he is alone in second place. The pre-tournament 55-1 chance followed up his round-one 65 with a 71 to reach the halfway stage at four under par. Kuchar has never won a Major, but has posted eight top-tens since the start of the 2010 season.

Richie Ramsay, a 300-1 rag at the outset, led the British challenge in the morning by reaching the safety of the clubhouse at two under par, but Rory McIlroy was making more headlines as his resurgence from a shocking start to round one continued.

McIlroy, who was five over par through six holes of the event, recovered to a round-one 71, then followed up with a Friday 68 to put himself bang in contention at one under par. McIlroy was 20-1 for Open glory before the off and drifted to 150-1 after his terrible opening nine, but the former world number one is 7-1 having made eight birdies in his last 26 holes.

Sergio Garcia missed a tiddler on the 18th green in a second-round 69 which left him two over par for the tournament, while Rickie Fowler is on the same score after a pair of 71s. Adam Scott also putted poorly and is three over, requiring weekend fireworks to get into title contention.

World number one Dustin Johnson, Spanish youngster Jon Rahm, and fading Englishman Paul Casey are alongside Scott at three over par.

Jason Day is five over, squeezing into the weekend by a shot, but Phil Mickelson packed his bags after two rounds. Mickelson, an 11-4 chance to feel the halfway axe, finished ten over par.

The weather forecast for the rest of the event is much more encouraging for competitors and spectators alike. Overnight rain should clear in time for a pleasant Saturday, with hardly any wind, then Sunday is expected to be mostly dry, with the breeze picking up as the tournament approaches a conclusion.

The first twoball is on the tee at 9.30am and it is guaranteed a large gallery. Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood, the English duo who were both well backed in the ante-post outright market, have been drawn together in the first match out.

Spieth and Kuchar do not tee off until 3.55pm.

Leaderboard

-6 Jordan Spieth
-4 Matt Kuchar
-3 Ian Poulter, Brooks Koepka
-2 Richie Ramsay
-1 Austin Connelly, Rory McIlroy, Gary Woodland, Richard Bland
Par Jamie Lovemark, Joost Luiten, Charley Hoffman, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Bubba Watson, Kent Bulle, Alex Noren, Russell Henley, Hideki Matsuyama, Chan Kim

Selected others

+1 Zach Johnson
+2 Sergio Garcia, Rickie Fowler, Henrik Stenson
+3 Adam Scott, Paul Casey, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm
+5 Jason Day, Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood

Missed cut

+7 Justin Thomas
+8 Patrick Reed
+10 Phil Mickelson
+12 Louis Oosthuizen

Best prices

6-4 J Spieth, 7 R McIlroy, 8 M Kuchar, 17-2 B Koepka, 16 I Poulter, 25 H Matsuyama, 40 R Ramsay, 45 A Noren, 60 R Cabrera-Bello, R Fowler, S Garcia, 70 G Woodland, 80 B Watson, R Henley, 100 bar

Third-day advice

Jordan Spieth has become by far the most likely winner of the Open Championship, but ambitious punters may want to look further down the leaderboard for players who could possibly make a charge from off the pace.

Spieth will be thrilled to have got into pole position despite savage weather. He has ridden his luck at times, which has often been the case throughout a charmed career, but his composure and battling qualities are greatly impressive.

The easing up of the weather over the weekend – the forecast is particularly pleasant for Saturday – will take pressure of Spieth's weakness of driving. The tee-shots at the par-fours and fives were the testers for Spieth, who can be inaccurate with a wood in hand, but a huge reduction in wind is expected to make life much easier.

Spieth should stay in command of the tournament after another 18 holes and 6-4 is a more than fair price given a Major maiden is in second place. Matt Kuchar never gives the impression that he has the bottle to finish the job in Major competition and another near-miss seems likely for him.

Ian Poulter and Richie Ramsay are likely to go through their careers without ever winning a Major and world-class dangers to Spieth are in short supply on the leaderboard at the moment.

US Open champion Brooks Koepka is an obvious threat, but he lost flat-stick confidence over the closing holes of round two, pulling lots of putts left. Birkdale has only two par-fives and his power advantage over Spieth is not worth an awful lot at the Southport venue.

Rory McIlroy is well in the hunt, but the need for low scoring on a clear, calm Saturday may scupper his hopes of a second Claret Jug. The Northern Irishman has burst into life after a sluggish start to round one, but it has been a while since he sustained putting form for a worthwhile amount of time, and the short stick may not deliver enough birdies for him to get close to Spieth.

Rickie Fowler has played better than his score this week and could make a late dash up the leaderboard from two over par, but outright punters getting involved at this stage may want to consider a couple of big-priced options from the pack at level par. Russell Henley and Alex Noren are two top-class putters who are within six shots of Spieth and capable of firing a low third round to enter the equation. All bookmakers are still offering at least four each-way places.

Henley, one of the deadliest putters on the planet, won the Houston Open by three shots in April. He has won three times on the Web.com Tour and three times on the US Tour, a strong yield at the age of 28. This season he has finished 11th in the Masters and 27th in the US Open, clearly becoming more comfortable in Major arenas. This is his fifth Open start and he warmed up for a crack at the Claret Jug with fifth place in the Greenbrier Classic last time out.

Henley has the form and putting ability to make a Saturday surge at the Open, and he should also be competitive when the breeze is forecast to pick up again in the closing stages of the final round. Henley's US Tour victories have come in Hawaii, Florida and Texas, underlining that this is a man who can handle the wind.

The other steamer from level par could be Noren, another confident rock-roller who is capable of explosive bursts of scoring. Noren roared back from nowhere to win the BMW PGA Championship with a final-round 62 in May, producing near-perfect golf.

Noren's final-round 63 to win the Nedbank Challenge last year is another example of how hot the Swede can get when in the zone, and the nine-time European Tour winner could be the one to emerge from the pack to lay down a Jug challenge to Spieth.

Third-round twoball punters should consider Henley for his 2.35pm match against Hideki Matsuyama. Some layers make Matsuyama a banker, but Henley can outclass the Japanese raider on the greens.

Chris Wood, who closed with an eagle in round two by holing out from the fairway, is links-proven and typically a strong putter. The Bristol giant is an attractive price to outscore Thongchai Jaidee in the 12.25pm match.

Outright recommendations
R Henley
1pt each-way 80-1 BetBright, Boyles, Hills, SkyBet

A Noren
1pt each-way 45-1 SkyBet

Twoball recommendations
R Henley
1pt 15-8 SkyBet

C Wood
1pt 4-5 general