TROON (SCOTLAND), July 18: There was no tempest at Troon and no stopping Darren Clarke today in the second round of the British Open.

With only a wisp of breeze off the Firth of Clyde, the 28-year-old from northern Ireland went around in 5-under-par 66 to take a three-stroke lead over Jesper Parnevik.

Clarke, a rising star who is fourth in Ryder Cup points for Europe, was 9-under-par over two days with a 133, tying the 36-hole record for British Opens played at Royal Troon. Bobby Clampett shot a 133 in 1982 when the course played to a par 72.

That wasn't nearly the case Friday, and Clarke took advantage.He birdied three of the first three holes and got to 8 under at the turn enough to put distance between Jim Furyk, who shared the first-round lead with Clarke at 67, and enough to drop Tiger Woods out of the picture.

Parnevik, the only player to break par on the back nine of Royal Troon in the first round, managed a 136 total to stay slightly behind Clarke.

Furyk shot a 72 and was at 139, six strokes behind. Jay Haas was also at 3-under for the tournament with six holes left to play in the second round.

Greg Norman, Fred Couples and Justin Leonard, who shot 69 on Thursday, started their rounds after lunch. The wind began to pick up slightly, giving a clear advantage to the early starters.

Don't remind Woods. He three-putted twice for bogeys and two-putted twice for birdies, but then fell apart trying to take off more than he could handle.

At the US Open last month, Woods double-bogeyed three times trying to hit out of a dense, mangled rough, and that kind of attack cost him again Friday as he had trouble hitting out of the brambles.

He wound up with a quadruple-bogey 8 on the 10th, then parred the next seven holes before closing with a birdie for a 3-over 74. That put him at 146, 13 strokes behind.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.