MacIntyre battles brutal conditions to share lead at Alfred Dunhill

Alfred Dunhill Links Championship – round two leaderboard

–12 R MacIntryre (Sco), R Sterne (SA); -11 L Oosthuizen (SA)

Selected others: -10 S Jamieson (Sco), T McKibbin (NI); -8 B Koepka (US)*, M Fitzpatrick (Eng); -7 B Schmidt (Eng), T Clements (Eng)* T Hatton (Eng), T Fleetwood (Eng)

*Denotes still to finish second round

Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre shot a six-under 66 in brutal conditions at Kingsbarns to claim a share of the clubhouse lead before the second round of the weather-affected Alfred Dunhill Links Championship was suspended.

The home favourite and European Ryder Cup star made seven birdies and a solitary bogey to join South Africa’s Richard Sterne at 12 under overall.

Sterne’s compatriot Louis Oosthuizen was a shot further back, while Northern Ireland’s Tom McKibbin and Scotland’s Scott Jamieson are in a nine-man group at 10 under, and England’s Matt Fitzpatrick two shots adrift at eight under.

The world number nine, who started on the 10th tee, collected birdies on the 11th, 12th and 14th holes and was equally impressive after the turn, with the sole blemish to his card arriving on the second during a run of three birdies in five holes.

“It was almost a perfect round of golf, especially once the weather came in, just a lovely round,” said MacIntyre, 29.

“It’s difficult when it gets this windy. It’s hard to hit the ball good with the wind.

“So I was having to try to fight the wind on certain holes and wasn’t comfortable – but I made some beautiful shots.”

Meanwhile, England’s Nathan Kimsey made nine successive birdies at the Old Course to write his name into the DP World Tour record books, becoming only the third player to achieve the feat after Matt Wallace two years ago and Australian James Nitties in 2019.

The 32-year-old, who ended the day on five under after a 68, started his stunning streak on the second hole after a par at the first.

Almost a third of the 168-man field will complete their second rounds from 08:00 BST on Saturday, with the third round scheduled to get under way at 12:30 with a shotgun start.

While former Wimbledon champion Andy Murray’s prowess off the tee and around the greens has caught the eye, a poorly executed bunker shot found its way on to social media on Friday.

The unfortunate moment for the Scot also drew laughter from his playing partner Eddie Pepperell, along with MacIntyre and his partner Brett Overman.

Alejandro del Rey and Downton Abbey actor Matthew Goode are in a four-way tie at the top of the team leaderboard on 24 under, while ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky and LIV golfer Dustin Johnson are 10 shots back.