Friday 21 July 2017 21:07, UK
English duo Lee Westwood and Chris Wood both made an impact during the second day of The 146th Open with morale-boosting eagle-twos.
Westwood opened the championship with a 71 and dropped an early shot at Royal Birkdale's tough second on Friday to leave him flirting with the projected cut, but he suddenly jumped back to level par with one swing of an iron.
The English veteran, who is playing in his 23rd consecutive Open, tugged his tee shot at the par-four fifth into the wispy rough to the left of the fairway, although he drew a good lie and needed only a flick with a wedge to get to the green.
He shouted at his ball to "go" as it was in the air, and the ball kindly obeyed as it pitched 25 feet short of the pin and released, taking the left-to-right break and dropping into the middle of the cup at perfect pace.
Westwood was unable to build on the eagle, though, as he made five bogeys in six holes from the eighth, and he eventually signed for a four-over 74 which put him on the cut mark at five over.
Wood will also be around for the weekend thanks to his eagle two which came at the final hole - the first-ever one there.
The 29-year-old, who won the silver medal as leading amateur in the 2008 Open at Royal Birkdale, stole the limelight a little from his playing partner Mark O'Meara at the 18th when he holed his second shot from the middle of the fairway.
O'Meara, making his farewell Open appearance, received a generous ovation as he marched onto the green first, but there were also plenty of cheers for Wood as he picked his ball out of the hole and threw it into the stands.
The two gave Wood a two-over 72 for a three-over total of 143 and comfortably inside the top 70.
Wood said: "It was a great way to finish but it's quite embarrassing to steal Mark O'Meara's thunder a little bit. I stole his and he sort of stole mine!
"But it was a pleasure to walk up the last with him. He is one of the nicest men I have met, and not just in golf. He was an absolute pleasure to play with, a great champion.
"I actually had an identical shot as I hit yesterday so knew the sort of shot I needed. It was a little eight iron, 194 (yards) I think. As I soon as I hit it I thought it could be good. I was just looking to make four and scrape in for the weekend."
Watch the video above to see Westwood make a big move with one swing at The Open, and don't miss our live and extensive coverage right through to Sunday evening on Sky Sports The Open.
