Harrington battles into top 10 at Dunhill bloodbath

England's Richard Mansell holds a two-shot lead at the midway point, as Padraig Harrington battled his way into the top 10 in appalling weather conditions on Round 2 at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland. Mansell, playing at the Old Course in St Andrew's, carded five birdies and a single bogey to post the lowest round of the day and climb to 10 under par as strong winds and heavy rain made life difficult for the players at all three of this week's host courses.

Harrington, always a formidable operator in horrendous weather conditions, carded a superb round of 71 in Kingsbarns.

The Dubliner, a two-time winner of the event in 2002 and 2006, posted an outward nine of 35, with birdies at the 4th and 9th, with a dropped stroke at the 8th.

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While all around him, garish-looking numbers were being posted, Harrington battled his way to a steady even par inward nine, with a birdie at 16 only cancelled out by a bogey at the last, to leave him tied-10th after 36 holes.

It was a more trying afternoon for Harrington's compatriots, Rory McIlroy posting a round of 75 to fall back to -1 for the tournament, a triple-bogey at the 14th blighting an otherwise reasonable scorecard.

Two triple bogeys on the back-nine ruined Shane Lowry's card, the 2019 Open Champion struggling to a round of 79 around Kingsbarns, after a bright start with birdies on the opening three holes.

Johnny Caldwell, meanwhile, in impressive shape after an opening round of 68 at Kingsbarns, endured a horror-show on Friday at the Old Course. His round of 81 including an unsightly quintuple bogey at the par-4 9th hole, the Bangor golfer firing his second shot out of bounds, finding another bunker well shy of the green, before three-putting for a 9.