Vijai Singh of Fiji lines up a putt during the second round of the British Open on Friday. (AFP)

Troon (Scotland): Golf’s big three — Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Vijai Singh — manoeuvred themselves into positions to challenge for the British Open over the weekend during Friday’s second round.

Neither Woods nor Singh, who were among the early starters, could produce vintage displays in windy, tricky conditions on the Royal Troon links but both ended up handily placed.

Woods surrendered two bogeys in his opening nine after missing two relatively easy putts — including one from three feet — to wipe out two early birdies.

The world No. 1 then strung nine pars together on the more difficult inward half for a level 71 which kept him one under par after 36 holes.

“I’m right there with a chance and that’s where I want to be. I love it with the wind blowing like this. None of the guys are going to run away with it,” he said.

“I love it. With the wind blowing like this, none of the guys are going to run away with it, so I’m right in the mix for the weekend.

“For the last four rounds I’ve played in competition, I’ve played well and I played well today.

“I just made a couple of mistakes on the front nine.”

With the sea breezes blowing in from the south-west at around 25-kph, Woods picked up his first shot at the par-five fourth, reaching the green in two and two-putting.

He then moved to three under by holing a 12-footer for birdie at the 601-yard sixth, the longest hole on the Open championship rota.

However, he lost momentum with bogeys on seven and nine, missing par putts from three and 10 feet, before reeling off nine consecutive pars.

Singh was three shots better off than Woods after a 70, one off the overnight lead which had been jointly held by Briton Paul Casey and Thomas Levet of France who were among the later starters.

“I’m playing the best I have for a long, long time,” last year’s joint-runner-up Singh said. “I’m setting up a lot of birdie chances and if I keep doing that, I’ll have a good chance on Sunday.”

Els, the pre-tournament favourite and 2002 champion, slipped to a bogey at the fifth but birdied the next after reaching the par-five green in two and stood again at two under.

Singh was joined in the clubhouse at four under by New Zealander Michael Campbell who had a 71 and American Todd Hamilton who captured the best round of the day with a 67.

One further adrift were US Open champion Retief Goosen (70), arguably the most in-form golfer in the world, 2003 US Masters winner Mike Weir of Canada (68) and American Kenny Perry (70).

The awkward gusts from the Irish Sea claimed some notable victims, though, including holder Ben Curtis of the US who could only stumble to a seven-over aggregate of 149 after a 74 and became the first defending champion since Paul Lawrie in 2000 to miss the halfway cut.

Greg Norman, the 1986 and 1993 winner, fared equally badly after a miserable 76 and three-time champion Nick Faldo also headed out of the tournament with a second-round 77 which sent him tumbling to 11 over par overall.

John Daly, who won at St Andrews in 1995, departed for home following a 78 for six over but Mark O’Meara, who triumphed in 1998, was likely just to survive the cut, three shots better off (71-74) than his fellow American.

It was the first time Norman had failed to make the cut since 1980 although he has skipped four British Opens in that time.

“My putting was just very, very pathetic and everything else too,” he told reporters. “I just couldn’t get anything going. End of story.”

He doubted that anything better than four under would lead at the end of the day and to underline his point, Casey then double-bogeyed the third after going in two bunkers to fall back to three under.

Atwal fails to make progress

India’s Arjun Atwal missed the cut after carding another three-over in Round II. He finished tied 101st with a total of 148, thereby missing the cut by a long shot. The Indian carded an identical three over par 74 in the second round.

The other Indian in the field, Jyoti Randhawa was yet to complete his second round. He had scored two over in the opening round.