Saturday 21 July 2018 17:22, UK
Paul McGinley discusses another encouraging day for Rory McIlroy at Carnoustie and assesses the weekend prospects for Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth.
It's so tight at the top of the leaderboard and there are so many players there that you can talk about heading into the weekend. A lot is going to happen and a lot is going to change over the next 48 hours.
I expect the scoring will be pretty decent on Saturday and somebody will shoot 65 or 66, particularly with the early guys going out with a bit of moisture in the grass and the wind down.
We all know how difficult Carnoustie is in perfect weather like we had today but what about when the wind comes at 20mph on Championship Sunday? It could be a whole different story.
I think the ground conditions changing - moving to softer conditions with this rain that we've had today - will play into the form of golf Rory McIlroy normally plays. He seems to be bubbly at the moment and enjoying his golf.
He likes to play on the front foot and make lots of birdies. The ground conditions didn't allow for it on Thursday, but they will over the third round on a softer golf course.
Tiger through
Was it vintage Tiger Woods today? I don't think so, but there's certainly a lot of progress there. He has come back and hit the ground running since he has come back after his injury.
Six off the lead, you think 'okay, waiting for a Tiger charge' but he is in 29th position with 28 players ahead of him. There are a lot of quality players ahead of him and he has got to do something special over the weekend.
Spieth shines
I just think Jordan's like a street fighter, as he hasn't shown a whole lot of form in the last six months. He then gets to a major championship and all of a sudden he's a little bit more engaged, a little bit more with it and there's a little bit more of a buzz about him.
Spieth hasn't played stellar golf over the two days, but he's competed brilliantly. His short game has been good and he's certainly going to be a factor. He's not going to relinquish his crown very easily.
The important thing tomorrow is to stay in touch with the lead, not get too far behind and make sure he is there or thereabouts within two or three of the lead going into Sunday.
Watch The Open throughout the weekend live on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues on Saturday from 9am on Sky Sports The Open and Sky Sports Main Event.
