By SAM WEINMAN
The (Westchester, N.Y.) Journal News

TROON, Scotland - The international flags that line the 18th grandstands can be spotted from every direction here. Players use them to gauge the wind. Spectators use them to navigate their way back to the clubhouse. On a clear afternoon like Friday's they cut a striking figure against a blue sky. Yet it takes a British Open like this one to remind us why they're really there.

Skip Kendall of the United States putts to make an eagle on the 16th. (AP photo)

Because here we are halfway through play at Royal Troon and there isn't a corner of the globe that won't have an investment in the events of the next two rounds.

An American is in the lead. A Frenchman, an Englishman, and a Korean are right behind. Of the first nine places on the leaderboard, in fact, eight different nations and five different continents are represented, which only underscores a greater point: Every major is a test for world-class players. But it is the Open where that holds especially true.

If the Scottish crowd here pines for one of its own to claim the claret jug, the golf course itself doesn't discriminate along national lines, nor does it care how exactly you got here.

And that might explain the presence of a relatively obscure 39-year old named Skip Kendall atop the Open leaderboard.

Fourteen years and 310 starts into his PGA Tour career, the Wisconsin native holds the distinction of winning the most money on tour without a win. Only twice before this week had he even played in an Open. And yet at 7-under par after a stellar round of 66, it is Kendall who leads a host of pursuers that includes some of the top players in the game.

France's Thomas Levet is one shot back after a 70, England's Barry Lane and Korea's K.J. Choi are two shots back, while Vijay Singh, Ernie Els and Troon's own Colin Montgomerie highlight a group of five players at 4-under.

Within reach as well is Phil Mickelson at 3-under par after Friday's 66, and Tiger Woods at 1-under.

It is an imposing group, and for an Open, typically diverse. Even with seven of the top 10 Opens going to Americans, it is this event that has long been recognized as golf's international championship, a tournament that often opens players' eyes to the depth of talent around the globe.

Maybe that's not apparent on a weekly basis. But it is once you return to a venue like Troon, where even relatively tame conditions have forced players to rely far more on creativity than sheer power.

Enter Kendall, at 5-foot-8, 150 pounds, possibly the smallest player in the field, but one who has quickly realized his game is well-suited for links-style courses. It started at last month's U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, where he finished tied for 17th, but has been taken to a greater extreme here.

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British Open photo gallery, course map

"I'm maybe getting used to using my imagination a little bit more and what you can do on certain shots, what you can't do, too," Kendall said. "Everyone has always told me that a good shot is really rewarded. And I'm finding out that that's true."

Never was that more apparent than on the par-5 16th, when Kendall reached the green in two with a 3-wood to leave himself 50 feet from the hole. When he walked to that green, Kendall had been tied with Levet. By the time he left, after rolling in the epic eagle putt, he was alone in front. Was this a sign he was ready to break through? Kendall just shrugged his shoulders, but he also maintains his first career win is only a matter of time.

"I really feel like I can win out on the PGA Tour, as well as anyplace else," Kendall said. "Hopefully this will be mine. I think if I can stay relaxed and not get caught up in what we're really doing and just play golf, I'll be fine."

Either way, Kendall needed only to take in his surroundings to see he is a healthy distance removed from the lean years prior to joining the tour. In his mid-20s and struggling to make a living as a golfer, Kendall took a job as a waiter at an Olive Garden near Orlando, Fla. to help pay the bills. Sometimes he'd work just the dinner shift. Others he'd work lunch as well. With no other chance to practice, he'd spend the time in between hitting balls in a nearby field.

"With my bow tie on. I had to keep it on because it was too hard to put back on," Kendall said. "Can you imagine these people driving by on the street looking at me? Black pants, white button-down shirt with a bow tie, hitting balls."

It was a markedly different scene as he holed out on 18 Friday. On both sides were the massive grandstands lining the hole. Off in the corner was his mother, Shirley, who Kendall flew over as part of her 80th birthday present.

Of course, either knew that part of the present was seeing Skip lead the Open. That's not something you expect when you've never won before. Then again, this is the Open, where the predictable is thrown out the window. Maybe the flags atop the grandstands are something you can count on. Everything else remains up in the air.

British Open

Friday

At Royal Troon Golf Club

Troon, Scotland

Purse: $7.44 million

Yardage: 7,175; Par: 71

Second Round

(a-amateur)

Skip Kendall, United States	69-66-135
Thomas Levet, France	66-70-136
Barry Lane, England	69-68-137
K.J. Choi, South Korea	68-69-137
M.Campbell, New Zealand	67-71-138
Vijay Singh, Fiji	68-70-138
Todd Hamilton, United States	71-67-138
Ernie Els, South Africa	69-69-138
Colin Montgomerie, Scotland	69-69-138
Mike Weir, Canada	71-68-139
Kenny Perry, United States	69-70-139
Retief Goosen, South Africa	69-70-139
Phil Mickelson, United States	73-66-139
Scott Verplank, United States	69-70-139
Rodney Pampling, Australia	72-68-140
Kim Felton, Australia	73-67-140
Gary Emerson, England	70-71-141
Darren Clarke, Northern Ireland	69-72-141
Adam Scott, Australia	73-68-141
Tiger Woods, United States	70-71-141
Gary Evans, England	68-73-141
Davis Love III, United States	72-69-141
Stuart Appleby, Australia	71-70-141
David Toms, United States	71-71-142
Marten Olander, Sweden	68-74-142
Steve Lowery, United States	69-73-142
Alastair Forsyth, Scotland	68-74-142
Brad Faxon, United States	74-68-142
Rich Beem, United States	69-73-142
Shaun Micheel, United States	70-72-142
Nick Price, Zimbabwe	71-71-142
Chris DiMarco, United States	71-71-142
Justin Leonard, United States	70-72-142
Kenneth Ferrie, England	68-74-142
Joakim Haeggman, Sweden	69-73-142
Paul Bradshaw, England	75-67-142
Ian Poulter, England	71-72-143
Rory Sabbatini, South Africa	71-72-143
a-Stuart Wilson, Scotland	68-75-143
Lee Westwood, England	72-71-143
Mark Foster, England	71-72-143
T.van der Walt, South Africa	70-73-143
Hunter Mahan, United States	74-69-143
Sandy Lyle, Scotland	70-73-143
Andrew Oldcorn, Scotland	73-70-143
Shigeki Maruyama, Japan	71-72-143
Paul Casey, England	66-77-143
Takashi Kamiyama, Japan	70-73-143
T.Immelman, South Africa	69-74-143
Stewart Cink, United States	72-71-143
Martin Erlandsson, Sweden	73-70-143
Bo Van Pelt, United States	72-71-143
Tetsuji Hiratsuka, Japan	70-74-144
Keiichiro Fukabori, Japan	73-71-144
Raphael Jacquelin, France	72-72-144
Mathias Gronberg, Sweden	70-74-144
Bob Tway, United States	76-68-144
Christian Cevaer, France	70-74-144
Jerry Kelly, United States	75-70-145
Mark O'Meara, United States	71-74-145
Steve Flesch, United States	75-70-145
Miguel Angel Jimenez, Spain	74-71-145
M.Calcavecchia, United States	72-73-145
Paul McGinley, Ireland	69-76-145
Carl Pettersson, Sweden	68-77-145
James Kingston, South Africa	73-72-145
Charles Howell, United States	75-70-145
Paul Broadhurst, England	71-74-145
Ignacio Garrido, Spain	71-74-145
Bob Estes, United States	73-72-145
Jyoti Randhawa, India	73-72-145
Paul Wesselingh, England	73-72-145
Sean Whiffin, England	73-72-145