Even without the wind, it is still the British Open and it is still Royal Troon.
Perhaps the gentle summer breezes that caressed the course on Friday and embraced a bunch of low scores will hang around for the weekend.But any player lulled into thinking the second-round birdie barrage will continue in Saturday's third round may be in for a rude awakening.
"I was a little bit surprised to see the wind lay down like it did," Justin Leonard said after shooting a 66 to get to 7-under-par 135, two strokes behind midway leader Darren Clarke.
Then Leonard paused and considered the Royal Troon links, with its demanding back nine.
"It's still a hard golf course," he said. "We've seen the two extremes."
After a blustery opening round that blew scores sky high, Day Two of the British Open brought a change of seasons at Royal Troon. The wind was down and so were the scores.
Any player not taking advantage of the conditions fell behind.
Clarke, Leonard, Jesper Parnevik, Fred Couples and unknown David Tapping all shot in the 60s to separate themselves from all but a few in the field.
Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Nick Faldo and Jim Furyk were among those who let a golden scoring opportunity slip away on a suddenly tranquil day on the west coast of Scotland.
Clarke warmed the balmy day with a hot putter to shoot a 66 and get to 9-under-par 133.
"We were hitting 3-, 4- and 5-irons into the par-4s on the back nine today," he said of the gentler conditions at Troon. "Yesterday we were hitting 3-woods in."
Only 11 players bettered par Thursday, while 46 shot 70 or below in the second round.
"Yesterday was the toughest Open course ever and today it was easier, with birdie opportunities on the back nine," Parnevik said after also shooting a 66 to trail Clarke by three strokes.
Couples, with a 68, was four back along with Tapping, a 22-year-old pro from England playing in his first British Open.
"Even if there is not a whole lot of wind, I don't think the scores are going to be low," Couples said of Saturday's round. "A lot of 70, 71, 72s."
Clarke, a 28-year-old rising star from Northern Ireland seeking his first victory in a major championship, looked forward to the weekend challenge.
"It's only Friday," Clarke said. "But if I do get into contention on Sunday afternoon, I believe I can give it a go."
He will have plenty of company. Leonard, Parnevik, Couples and Tapping all played as brilliantly as Clarke in the second round.
Some big names were not able to keep pace.
Furyk, the co-leader with Clarke after the first round, shot a 72 to fall six strokes behind at 139, a number matched by Tom Kite, who climbed back into contention on the strength of a 67.
Others were not as fortunate.
Norman managed only a 73 and was at 142. Faldo's mediocre 73 put him at 144 along with U.S. Open champion Ernie Els. Defending champion Tom Lehman had a 72 to be at 146 along with Woods, who shot a 74 marred by a quadruple bogey.
"Obviously, if you don't shoot a good number today, you feel like you didn't accomplish what you wanted to," Woods said.
Hometown favorite Colin Montgomerie, perhaps the best player in the world without a major victory, shot a 69, but that wasn't good enough to make up for a 75 in the first round. He was also at 144.
Getting off to a good start is the key to Royal Troon. The first six holes include three par-4s that are 391 yards or less and two par-5s that can be easily reached in two strokes.
Clarke played the course the way it needs to be played - attacking the front nine with six birdies and two bogeys. He began the back side with a bogey on No. 10 but managed two birdies in three holes starting at No. 14.
Clarke's fine round came on solid putting. Five of his eight birdies were from 20 feet out.
"The past few weeks I've had a lot of lip outs," Clarke said. "But the last two days I've made up for the last few weeks."
Leonard, who had a chance to shoot the lowest round of the tournament until he had a three-putt bogey on No. 18, made eagles on both of the par-5s on the front nine as he shot a 31.
Couples started his round with a birdie and ended with a birdie. At one point, he made 13 consecutive pars.
"I tried to be aggressive," Couples said. "I hit driver and drove it very well, solid, long and straight."
Parnevik, second to Nick Price in the 1994 British Open at Turnberry when he bogeyed the final hole after failing to check the scoreboard and see he was leading, played a nearly flawless round.
His only bogey came on the first hole when he three-putted from 30 feet using a putter he switched to overnight after making three good birdie putts on the closing holes of the first round.
"My putting felt terrible all day yesterday," Parnevik said. "It was just incredible how I could shoot one-under par on the back nine."
He continued his mastery there Friday with a 33.
For the second straight day, Woods ran into trouble early on the back nine. On Thursday, it was a triple bogey on No. 11. On Friday, the Masters champion made a quadruple bogey on No. 10.
After driving into the left rough, his second shot flew over the green into heavy rough near a thorny gorse bush. He swung at the ball but went right under it without moving it.
Woods then hacked it about six yards into more nasty stuff and finally chipped to just off the front of the green. From there he chipped to 12 feet and two-putted for an eight.
"If you take away those two bad holes," Woods said of Nos. 10 and 11, "I am three-under par and not playing that badly. Hopefully, I will get off to a good start tomorrow."