Home hero Robert MacIntyre shared the lead with Richard Sterne after two rounds of the weather-affected 2025 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship after he shot a sensational 66 in brutal conditions at Kingsbarns Golf Links.
When early starter Sterne put the finishing touches to his bogey-free 67 at The Old Course, St Andrews to set the clubhouse target at 12 under par, it looked like no-one would be able to catch him, with strong winds and heavy rain battering all three courses across Friday afternoon.
But up stepped Scottish Ryder Cup star Robert MacIntyre, who made seven birdies and a solitary bogey in the worst of the weather to join Sterne at the summit before play was suspended due to unplayable courses at 16.14 local time.
Play resumed on Saturday morning but no-one was able to trouble the co-leaders.
Sterne's countryman Louis Oosthuizen was one shot off the lead after carding a 68 at Kingsbarns, one ahead of the large group containing home favourite Scott Jamieson.
MacIntyre began his second round at the tenth tee at Kingsbarns on Friday and made a bright start, picking up birdies on the 11th, 12th and 14th before parring his way to the turn.
The World Number Nine picked up another shot at the first after sending his approach to five feet but bogeyed the short second.
He bounced back in style, though, firing birdies at the third and fifth - from around 20 feet - before tapping in for another from close range on the ninth to move alongside Sterne at the top.
MacIntyre said: "It was almost a perfect round of golf, especially once the weather came in, just a lovely round.
"It's difficult when it gets this windy. It's hard to hit the ball good with the wind.
"So I was having to try and fight the wind on certain holes and wasn't comfortable. But I made some beautiful shots. Yeah, putted solidly in the wind."
Sterne, who started his round in more benign conditions, turned in 34 thanks to birdies at the 11th and 14th on The Old Course before making three birdies in four holes from the second, holing two 16-foot putts along the way as the weather began to worsen.
The six-time DP World Tour winner said: "Yeah, good day. I got the right draw I think for the day, so that helped. After all the years of playing here, sometimes you get good draws, sometimes you get bad draws and today I got a good draw. Pretty happy with that.
"But I'm playing well, and you can see that from the scoring.
"The weather was pretty good for the first nine, ten holes and then started to come in and I think it's pretty tough now. The wind is picking up and obviously with the rain it's not ideal. It's Scotland and that's what you expect."
There was a four-way tie at the top of the team standings, with Wenyi Ding and David MacFarlane, Harrison Crowe and Cian Foley, Jack Senior and Dery Desmond and Alejandro Del Rey and Matthew Goode all on 24 under par.
