HOYLAKE, United Kingdom: Rory McIlroy was holding onto his British Open lead on Friday as breezy conditions thwarted early second round starters with designs in replacing him.

The 25-year-old form Northern Ireland, chasing his first Open title after two major wins in the United States, was enjoying a restful morning ahead of a mid-afternoon tee-off time.

His opening salvo of six-under 66 gave him a one shot lead over the 155-strong field and set the target for Friday morning.

World No.1 Adam Scott, who started the day two back of McIlroy, had been determined to close the gap on the Irishman before he got started.

But two missed short-putts at the second and third sent him reeling and, despite a birdie at the fifth, two more dropped shots followed at the 12th and 13th, dropping him to one under.

He got one of those back at the next to move back to two under.

South African George Coetzee briefly threatened the McIlroy lead when he got to six under after 15 holes, but he promptly bogeyed the next two holes and eventually came in with a 69 for five under.

“Obviously six-under (by McIlroy) was a hell of a score yesterday,” he said.

“And I didn’t think it was doable today to get to that number, but when I made birdie on 13 I was like — well, all right, now I’m pretty close.

“I think I’m the top 10, and then the next one and the next one and I realized quite quickly.” After Coetzee came in, the breeze stiffened over the Royal Liverpool links, making gap-closing birdies a much-harder prospect.

American Brooks Koepka and Italian trio, Francesco and Edoardo Molinari and Matteo Manssero, who were among seven golfers grouped at four under overnight, all dropped shots early on as the watchfull McIlroy stayed ahead.

Defending champion Phil Mickelson (70) and US Open winner Martin Kaymer (72) stayed in touch for the weekend at level par and one over respectively, while top home hope Justin Rose was at one under after 16 holes.

The cut was projected to fall at two over.

Tiger Woods, playing in just his second tournament since undergoing back surgery in late March also had a mid-afternoon tee-off time after shooting a morale-boosting 69 on Thursday.

The 38-year-old American was energized by his opening efforts, which saw him wrack up five birdies down the back nine after a bogey-bogey start.

“I felt good about a lot of things that I did out there today,” he said.

“Especially coming back after that start I had (two bogeys in first two holes), to fight myself back into the championship. I feel pretty good about it.”

Asian Tour star Thongchai Jaidee survived blustery winds to shoot a second straight even par 72.

The 44-year-old Thai got off to a stunning start with three birdies in his first five holes at Royal Liverpool before his charge veered slightly off course as the famed links course finally bared its teeth.

Thongchai dropped five bogeys against two more birdies for a two-day total of 144 in the year’s third major to lie alongside the likes of title holder Phil Mickelson five shots off the lead.

“I started really well on the front but struggled on the back nine. It was difficult to adjust as it got windy. Even the par fives, it was tough to play those holes. Anyway, it’s a good round. Even par for both rounds, I’m happy to make the cut. That’s the important thing,” said Thongchai.

The world number 34, who won in Sweden for his second title on European soil last month, was delighted with the quality of his ball striking after struggling with his iron play in the opening round.

He is confident of closing the gap at the top as he seeks to extend his rich vein of form which includes two other top-five finishes in Germany and France recently.

“My performance was better than yesterday. In the wind, you just have to keep the ball in play which is quite difficult. It was very tough,” said Thongchai, who enjoyed a chip-in birdie on his opening hole.