Shubhankar Sharma's Battle to Keep Hopes Alive at The 152nd Open

Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma fought back with birdies on the 15th and 16th holes in the second round of the 152nd Open. Despite bogeys that pushed him to 6-over, he remains in contention. Shane Lowry leads at 7-under, while legends like Tiger Woods made early exits.

Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma was hanging by a thread after fighting back with birdies on the 15th and 16th holes during the second round of the 152nd Open on Friday.

Sharma, turning 28 on the final day of this edition, had two bogeys on the seventh and the ninth holes, pushing him to 7-over for the tournament. With the cut looking likely at either 5-over or 6-over, a birdie on the 12th followed by a bogey on the 14th tested his resilience.

He birdied from 20 feet on the 15th and added another on the Par-5 16th to get to 5-over. However, he lost a shot on the 17th, dropping back to 6-over and tied 71st with one more hole to go. With the cut line at 70 and ties, Sharma was still in the game.

As Sharma battled on, Shane Lowry moved into pole position for a second Open title, having won his first five years ago at Portrush. Lowry (66-69) was 7-under, leading Justin Rose (69-68) and Dan Brown (65-72) by two shots.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (70-70) was in tied fourth, alongside Billy Horschel (72-68) and Dean Burmester (71-69) at 2-under 140 for 36 holes.

Several big names made early exits, swept aside by the southerly wind at Royal Troon. Tiger Woods, shooting 79-77 for a 14-over total, acknowledged he wasn't physically sharp but looked forward to future events. Indian-Americans Akshay Bhatia and Sahith Theegala also headed home early.

Shane Lowry led the field as he gunned for a second Open title, his sole PGA Tour win this season coming in the company of McIlroy. He fought back with birdies on the 16th and 18th, holding a two-shot lead at 7-under 135.

(With inputs from agencies.)