LIV rebel Talor Gooch attains commanding position at British Open

LIV Golf rebel Talor Gooch climbed into a strong position at the halfway stage of the British Open after a second-round of 69 on Friday left him at seven under par for the championship. That put Gooch, one of 24 players in this week's line-up who have joined the breakaway Saudi-backed LIV series, a single shot behind the overnight leader, Cameron Young of the United States.

Gooch, the American world number 40, followed his opening 68 with a round that featured four birdies and just one dropped shot. His only bogey came at 16, but he erased the damage caused by that with a birdie at the last after driving the green.

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Gooch, who is making just his second Open start, already has two top-20 results in majors this year, at the Masters and at the PGA Championship. Young tees off at at 1:26 pm (1226 GMT) in his second round on Friday.