Shane Lowry of Ireland throws his ball into the stands Friday after completing his second round at the British Open in Troon, Scotland. Lowry was at 7 under overall, two strokes ahead of Justin Rose and Daniel Brown. Scott Heppell/Associated Press

TROON, Scotland — Shane Lowry was a surprising model of calm amid all the calamity in the British Open on Friday.

Lowry was not immune from the endless punishment Royal Troon dished out on a day when Tiger Woods missed another cut, along with nine of the top 20 players in the world – including Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg and Bryson DeChambeau.

Lowry was close to losing his cool with a photographer who distracted him. He hit a shot into a gorse bush, then a beautiful provisional shot to the 11th green that didn’t count because his lost ball became found, leading to a double bogey that wiped out his two-shot lead.

He steadied himself with two birdies on the last three holes for a 2-under 69, leaving him in a familiar position as he chases the silver claret jug he first won at Royal Portrush five years ago. He had a two-shot lead over Justin Rose and Daniel Brown going into the weekend.

“I was in control of my ball, did all the right things for a lot of the round. Then when I got in a bit of trouble, I feel like I really finished the round well,” Lowry said. “I’m pretty happy with the day. To be leading this tournament after two days, it’s why you come here. It’s why we’re here.”

The shocker at Royal Troon – there were a lot of them Friday – was how many of the top players were leaving.

DeChambeau, the U.S Open champion with top 10s in all the majors this year, managed only one birdie in a round of 75. McIlroy would have needed anything under par, but those hopes ended with a triple bogey 8 on his fourth hole. He shot 75.

“I’d much rather have a disappointing Sunday than going home on Friday,” said McIlroy, who was coming off a late collapse that cost him the U.S. Open.

Woods had a 77 to miss the cut in his third straight major, this one by eight shots. His 36-hole score of 156 matched his highest as a pro.

Lowry was at 7-under 135, and only nine other players remained under par after two days of havoc-wreaking wind off the Irish Sea.

Brown, playing in his first major championship, held it together for a 72 that puts him in the final group with Lowry.

Rose wasn’t even sure he would be at Troon until he went through 36-hole qualifying at the start of the month. He went 29 holes before finally making a bogey, and then finished strong for a 68.

Masters champion Scottie Scheffler found a pot bunker off the tee at the downwind 18th and made bogey, but otherwise was solid as ever for another 70. He was tied for fourth, just five shots behind, along with Billy Horschel (68) and Dean Burmester (69).

“I know tomorrow is going to be a long day, but I’ve done it before,” Lowry said. “For me, it’s just about going out and playing my own game, shooting the best score I can. Try not to worry about what other people are doing and just trying to take care of your own personal stuff.”

It was best to keep blinders on at Royal Troon. There were some harrowing scenes.

Justin Thomas, who opened with a 68 to get himself in the mix, shot a 45 on the front nine and played his best golf from there to salvage a 78 and make sure he at least was inside the cut line.

Robert MacIntyre had an even tougher start. Scotland’s biggest star after winning his national Open last week, MacIntyre was stuck in pot bunkers and high grass. He was 8 over for his round through four holes, and then was 4 under the rest of the way to make the cut, which was at 6 over.

Aguri Iwasaki took a 9 on consecutive holes and shot 52 on the back nine for a 91. One of those 9s was on the par-3 14th, where he needed four shots out of two bunkers and once had to go backward toward the fairway.

McIlroy, who started with a 78 on Thursday, quickly erased any hope of making the cut by taking a triple bogey on the par-5 fourth. He barely moved the ball from high grass, then pulled another shot into the rough, chipped into a bunker, and ended the sad tale by missing a 4-foot putt. He also bogeyed the next two holes on his way to a 75 that left him at 11 over.

“Once I made the 8 on the fourth hole, that was it – 22 holes into the event and I’m thinking about where I’m going to go on vacation next week,” McIlroy said.

PGA champion Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay were in the group at 1-under 141.

Joaquin Niemann of Chile managed another even-par 71 despite taking a quintuple-bogey 8 on the par-3 eighth hole – the Postage Stamp – that measures a mere 123 yards. He was in three bunkers around the tiny green and three-putted when he finally got out of them. Niemann also made six birdies in a most remarkable round.

There was so much chaos across the century-old links, and for a brief moment, Lowry was involved. It took so long to play the 11th hole that Jordan Spieth in the group behind him walked over to the side of the fairway and sat down near a gorse bush to wait.

Lowry at least kept his ball in play, though it was in the rough to the right. He was distracted by a photographer and angry at himself for not backing off a shot that he tugged left toward a clump of gorse.

Figuring it would be lost in the prickly mess, Lowry hit a provisional for a lost ball onto the green, a terrific shot. One problem: Someone found his ball. It was no longer lost, so the provisional ball was not in play.

Lowry took a penalty drop from the bush, going back to find a place where he had a swing, put it short of the green, chipped on, and salvaged a double bogey 6.

“To be honest, I was happy enough leaving there with a 6. It wasn’t a disaster. I was still leading the tournament,” Lowry said.

He made five birdies, and yet nothing felt better than a par on the 12th, one of the toughest holes into the wind. He hit driver and 4-iron to 30 feet, and needed two putts for a most beautiful, calming par.

“The best shots I’ve hit all week,” Lowry said. “From then on, it was playing quite difficult, but I felt like you could give yourself chances on the way in, and that’s what I did.”

And now comes a big opportunity for Lowry to reclaim that claret jug. He’s not alone in the chase, especially with Troon’s ability to make anyone look silly. Scheffler has quietly avoided some of those moments.

And so many others are very much in the mix, starting with Scheffler, golf’s best player.

“I’ve played two solid rounds and it put me five shots back, and I’ll continue to try to execute and just continue to try to hit good shots and hit good putts,” Scheffler said, making it all sound so simple on a day when nothing felt easy.