In fact, Steve himself was outshot by an even better round of 67 from Australian Daniel Gaunt, but Daniel was coming from six-over at the start of the day. Although he made the cut with a stroke to spare, he lies in a tie for 53rd. Other big names to crash-dive spectacularly were Mike Weir and Ian Poulter, with respective scores of 78 and 79.

Yesterday's leader Miguel Jiminez was another to suffer from wind. In the first round he was four-under after 9. In the second he was four-over after 7, and seemed to be heading for disaster. But he pulled things round with a long, undulating putt for birdie on the par-3 8th, and although he gave the stroke straight back, it did help him to steady the ship, and he finished on three-under, still very much in contention.

In truth, those who were out on the course in mid-morning enjoyed a huge stroke of luck. Around 11 am conditions suddenly eased, and although the breeze continued to blow the heavy grey clouds thinned and the sun was almost able to break through. The temperature rose by several degrees, and the prospect of a round of golf became that much less uninviting, even if only on a psychological level.

Huge attention awaited some of the afternoon groups – in particular the trio featuring Watson, Garcia, and Manassero. Watson continued his serene form of the first round by birdying the first. But that was with the wind at his back.

The course then turned back into the face of the wind, and it was an unaccustomed north-easterly as opposed to the prevailing south-westerly – not something for which even the oldest hands would have been prepared.

Watson duly succumbed, and bogeyed every one of the holes he played into the wind up to the 8th – a total of five bogeys in six holes. It seemed that time had tolled the bell on the venerable champion.

But Watson has insisted repeatedly that he is not here to make up the numbers. He is clearly still convinced that he can compete in The Open, and he went on to show why, with a birdie on nine followed by three more on the easier homeward run – including that terrific and emotional effort on 18 - that took him back to his starting score of five-under and a precious share of the lead going into the weekend.

He had referred to a sense of spirituality in his Thursday interview, and he returned to the theme on Friday: "The memories – I guess the memories are with me," he said. "All those wonderful memories I've had playing links golf. You know, walking down the fairways, walking up onto the greens, people showing their respect for me, me showing my respect for them. And it's been that way since 1975 – 34 years I've been playing links golf. It's a fabric of my life, I can tell you that. To be able to be doing what I'm doing out here, making a few lucky putts here and there and still felling like I have a chance to win, that's pretty cool at the age of 59. That's why it's kind of spiritual."

Following along behind the Watson group was Tiger Woods, in the company of England's Lee Westwood and Ryo Ishikawa of Japan. They were around an hour in arrears, and that timing was to prove critical. Just as the Woods group approached the turn, the weather itself took a brief turn for the worse. Heavy clouds forced their way over the course once more, delivering some sharp squalls, and the temperature dropped as the wind rose.

The 8th and the 9th are two testing par-4s, a long way uphill into the wind. The 10th – the lighthouse hole – demands an intimidating blind drive across a long rocky inlet and over the brow of what must seem a very distant fairway.

Woods arrived at that point – the most distant of the course – at the worst possible moment. With a birdie on the par-5 7th he was in good shape, back to level-par for the tournament and starting to look threatening in terms of Sunday afternoon.

But in an extraordinary sequence that must rank among his worst ever in any Major, he bogeyed 8 and 9, doubled 10, bogeyed 12 and doubled 13 – seven strokes dropped in six holes. While the bookies rubbed their hands in glee, his fans were in despair. A hundred of them joined forces in a desperate and ultimately unsuccessful search when he lost his ball from the tee on 10.

From level to seven-over, with five left to play. The cut was looking to hit around plus-four. But like the champion he is, Woods refused to give up. Reaching 16 and still needing to find three strokes to stay in the tournament, he duly pulled out a birdie. But the pin placement on 18 was making it almost impossible to get close, so that meant eagle on 17. He hit a towering tee-shot and a similar second. It seemed headed for the bunker front left, but took an enormous bounce to clear the sand, only to overshoot the green and leave him needing a chip-in. He could only birdie, but unlike Watson he could not find another on the last, and could get no lower than five-over.

For a few agonizing minutes it seemed that the cut might follow him up to that number, but it was not to be, and Woods will not be there for the weekend in a Major – incredibly for only the second time in his professional career. The first was in the US Open in 2006 shortly after the death of his father; now Turnberry too has tamed the Tiger.

"I just made mistakes," he said. "And obviously you can't make mistakes and expect to not only make the cut but also try to win a championship. You have to play clean rounds of golf and I didn't."

"The wind was blowing pretty good," he added. "It was coming off the left pretty hard. It was a crosswind with holes that go from right-to-left and it was coming over your shoulder. You've got to hit some good draws in there and hold it against that wind, and I didn't do that."

Woods was obviously bitterly disappointed, as were many spectators, including those who would have planned to come for the weekend in hopes of seeing the great man compete for the trophy. Also bereft were the many young fans who watched him leave the course in haste, their autographs unsigned.

Footnote: After the Scottish Open, I opined that Germany's Martin Kaymer could not possibly compete in The Open after the strain of winning the previous two tournaments. Not only did he make the cut with strokes to spare, he is one of those currently lying tied for 14th place at one-under. Having been proved spectacularly wrong, I would no longer be at all surprised to see him in contention for the third Sunday evening in succession.

Leaders:

135 – Steve Marino (USA); Tom Watson (USA)

136 – Mark Calcavecchia (USA);

137 – Ross Fisher (Eng); Retief Goosen (RSA); Miguel Angel Jiminez (Sp); Kenichi Kuboya (Jpn); Vijay Singh (Fiji)

138 – JB Holmes (USA); James Kingston (RSA); Lee Westwood (Eng); Stewart Cink (USA); Mathew Goggin (Aus)

Eight players on 139

(China.org.cn July 18, 2009)