The Open: Willett remains well in touch at Carnoustie

Willett remains well in contention in Scotland despite only managing an even par 71 from his second round.

It left him on -2 for the tournament, four shots off the lead which is shared by American duo Kevin Kisner and Zach Johnson.

Day two was characterised by rain which drastically softened up a golf course battered by sun during the summer heatwave.

Willett recovered from a double bogey six on the 12th to post back to back birdies on 14 and 15 and finish his round well.

And the Sheffield golfer was pleased with the manner in which he handled the conditions to stay in touch.

"It's good," Willett said.

"We got a little unlucky down 12 and found the only bit of bad rough down there then hit it in the bunker and had a mess around from there.

"With the conditions today, it's a nice enough knock.

"There's been some good scores out there.

"The game is pretty good. I'm hitting a lot of good golf shots, some really good golf shots.

"I had a bit of a rejig coming down the stretch and didn't really miss a golf shot after that, which gives you confidence.

"It was nice to just trust that we were making enough good swings to give ourselves chances and it's always handy when you take them earlier on."

Fellow Sheffield golfer Matt Fitzpatrick failed to make the cut after a tough day.

Fitzpatrick carded a four over par 75 to drop to +5 for the tournament, which left him in a tie for 93rd place.

Johnson, who is looking to become the first player in history to win major titles at Augusta, St Andrews and Carnoustie, added a 67 to his opening 69 to set the clubhouse target on six under par.

First-round leader Kisner looked set to surpass that with ease when he birdied the 13th and 14th to reach eight under, only to hit his second shot to the 18th into the Barry Burn and run up a double-bogey six.

That meant Tommy Fleetwood was just a shot off the lead after earlier defying miserable conditions to card the only bogey-free round of the day, his flawless 65 just two shots outside the course record he set in last year's Dunhill Links Championship.