• Open Championship: What They Said

Tiger display leaves McDowell in awe

Tiger Woods impressed Graeme McDowell on Friday © PA Photos

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Tiger Woods was pleased with his day's work, on another difficult morning where birdies were hard to come by. The world No. 1 said: "The golf course is getting quick - it was slow this morning.

"G [Graeme McDowell] and I were talking about it today - how slow [the putts] are up the hill. Today we couldn't get one in the hole. The wind direction was one thing. The greens are different speed and are progressively drying out. I was fighting it and G was fighting it. "It'll be a fun weekend. This course will be difficult."

Woods' playing partner, Graeme McDowell, was waxing lyrical about the state of the 14-time major champion's swing.

"He was very, very impressive the last two days. The flight control he has in his irons - he just hits the shot that you're supposed to hit at all times. I'm not sure there's a better iron player in the world. It's incredible how well he controls his ball flight.

"He's putting exceptionally well. I lost count of how many eight-, 10- and 15-footers he's made for par over the last two days, how many comebacks for par, leaving them short, blowing them by. He's putting them exceptionally well. You've got to play extremely well here to score, and I certainly watched how it's done the last couple of days with TW."

Lee Westwood outshone Woods and McDowell in the morning, reaching six-under for his round at one point, but ultimately took the clubhouse lead after a round of 68.

"I made the most of the softer conditions," he said. "I wouldn't say they were really soft, but it was certainly more scoreable than yesterday afternoon. I feel very confident. The golf course is playing tough. You know sooner or later you're going to drop a shot of two. It just gets firmer as the day goes on and around the holes get shinier. You're obviously not going to hit it to the flag as much as you would, so you get a lot of 30 to 40ft putts. You might see a few fun and games on 15 and 16."

Both Woods and Westwood start Saturday at two-under par, a score matched in the morning by Henrik Stenson.

"I'm up here and playing in a big tournament again," the Swede said. "I think I've got the experience to do well in these championships. Tough conditions is something that I enjoy and suits my game, as well. I might still look for a bit more confidence and a bit more trust in my long game. I feel like I've been a bit wishy-washy these two days. But, at times, I've hit some nice ones and committed to some good shots as well."

Martin Laird is one-under after his round, noting: "Four [birdies] in a row is always nice and in an Open it's especially nice because I was struggling on the front."

Mark O'Meara was in second at the end of play on Thursday, but a follow-up 78 sent him tumbling over par. He noted: "It's pretty simple, if you don't hit it good in an Open Championship with the rough the way it is out there, you're going to make some bogeys. The short game is key, you have to putt well. I did none of those well, that's why I shot seven over. I'm disappointed. I know I can play better than that. It's never fun having a poor round, especially off a good round yesterday."

Amateur Matt Fitzpatrick enjoyed his day after finishing seven-over for 36-holes: "The big thing for me was playing with two such nice guys as Jordan Spieth and Russell Henley. Players don't come across very well in the media and that's not right. But they couldn't have been nicer, as was everyone I played with in the practice rounds."

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