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American Collin Morikawa made full use of his early start to turn up the heat on day two of The Open at Royal St George’s.
The 24-year-old, who won his first major last year at the US PGA Championship, moved to within two shots of the lead with a six under par 64.
Morikawa hit four birdies to go out in 31 and three more birdies by the 14th saw him move to 10 under – a dropped shot at the 15th was the only blemish on his card.
Louis Oosthuizen, the overnight leader, trailed when he teed off but soon made up ground to regain the lead at 11 under par following a round of 65.
Oosthuizen followed up birdies at 12 and 13 with an eagle three at the par five 14th, a dropped shot at 16 was his only backward step and the duo will be the last pairing on the first tee on Saturday afternoon.
Other players to make their move on day two included Dustin Johnson, who sits on seven under after a round of 65 while Jordan Spieth sits one shot behind Morikawa at nine under.
Paul Casey (67) and Brooks Koepka (66) are joined on five under by Jon Rahm, who went round in 64 after a quiet first day.
Defending champion Shane Lowry was another to hit five under, moving to four under.
Bryson DeChambeau made four bogeys in the first 10 holes but picked up birdies at 14 and 15 to just make the cut at one over par – 12 shots off the lead.
Francesco Molinari missed the cut after a torrid time, including taking a seven at the par-three sixth hole. Molinari found the bunker from the tee but twice failed to get the ball onto the green. After it twice came back off the face of the bunker, he eventually opted to come out sideways but it was a painful episode. Subsequent birdies at seven and eight eased the pain, only for a double bogey at nine to again prove costly.