Pádraig Harrington fired a five-under 67 at Kingsbarns to make a big move up the leaderboard on day two of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
The two-time winner of the event returned to the site of his maiden Open Championship win in round one, shooting a respectable one-under 71 at Carnoustie, and then made his way to nearby Kingsbarns for round two.
Starting on the 10th, he birdied three of his first five holes, but a dropped shot on 18 left him at -2 for the day at the turn and -3 overall.
Birdies on three and five got him moving back in the right direction again, and though he dropped a shot on the par-4 seventh, he finished with back-to-back birdies on the par-3 eighth and par-5 ninth to move to -6 overall, just five off the lead, and into a share of 37th place – a 41-place rise on the leaderboard.
The three-time major winner now moved over to the Old Course at St Andrews for the third round, after which the field will be cut to the leading
Casey Jarvis was also playing Kingsbarns and he too made a closing birdie but his gave him the outright lead.
The South African finished in style, his gain at the last one of seven he mixed with two bogeys to sign for a 67 and move to 11-under-par, one clear of compatriot MJ Daffue, Spain’s Rocco Repetto Taylor and Englishman Matt Jordan.
Jarvis, having opened his round on the 10th, dropped a shot at the 11th before producing a stellar stretch of six birdies across the next seven holes to power up the leaderboard.
The 23-year-old, who has twice enjoyed success on the 2026 Race to Dubai, made a second bogey at the par-5 third, his birdie at the last ending a run of five straight pars to edge one shot clear after 36 holes of the unique tournament staged across three links courses.
Fellow South African Daffue overcame an opening-hole bogey at St Andrews to sign for a 68, his round featuring two birdies on the front and a further three on the back.
The 37-year-old, making his third Alfred Dunhill Links Championship appearance, combined with amateur Paul Harris to reach 21-under-par in the team event, level at the summit with Daniel Hillier and partner Craig Heatley.
Repetto Taylor, playing at Kingsbarns, fired an eight under par 64, the round of seven birdies, an eagle and a bogey the best of the day. It also marked the Spaniard’s equal lowest of the year to date, in what is his first season since graduating from the HotelPlanner Tour.
England’s Jordan came out on top at Carnoustie, following up yesterday’s 69 on The Old Course with a seven under 65. The 30-year-old, making an eighth appearance at the Dunhill, showed off his links prowess with six birdies and an eagle, a closing bogey at the par-4 ninth his only blemish.
Fellow Englishman Sam Bairstow sits a further shot back alongside Spain’s Ivan Cantero, Dane Niklas Nørgaard and Ollie Schniederjans from the United States, while defending champion Robert MacIntyre leads a group at eight-under-par.
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