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Els struggles at Scottish Open

Inverness - Ernie Els will likely head into his Open Championship title defence on the back of a missed cut after another frustrating round at the Scottish Open left him 10 shots off early second-round leader Chris Doak on Friday.

With the Castle Stuart links course there for the taking on another glorious day in the Highlands, Els shot a 2-under 70 to follow his level-par first round.

"I had no idea on these greens - I'm glad I'm leaving," Els said. "I just didn't quite get the run of the course."

Full scorecard

The last Scot to win his home event was Colin Montgomerie in 1999 - but Doak has a chance to end that barren run after shooting a second straight 66 to move to 12 under. Peter Uihlein is a shot adrift in second place after recovering from an early double bogey to shoot a 66.

Overnight leader John Parry (8 under) was among the afternoon starters, along with eighth-ranked Phil Mickelson (6 under).

Els was a late entrant into the tournament as he sought some links practice ahead of Muirfield - where he won the Open Championship in 2002 and where he will defend the title captured last year at Lytham.

Off the tee, Els has played solidly this week but his game has floundered on the greens and his approach shots haven't been up to his usual standard. He doesn't, however, see this as a problem ahead of next week and his shot at a third claret jug.

"These courses are so different - Muirfield is a lot more traditional links," Els said. "I got a lot of awkward bounces this week but I feel I'm swinging well, striking the ball well.

"I think my game is where I want it."

Midway through the second round, the projected cut was 4 under, leaving Els to accept he would be spending the weekend with his family rather than at Castle Stuart.

Doak, who wears a flat cap in honour of his idol Ben Hogan, thrilled the locals on a sunny, calm morning by making three birdies in the first six holes and then adding two more as well as an eagle 3 at No 12 to finish a stroke clear of Uihlein.

The 35-year-old Doak has flitted between the European Tour and second-tier Challenge Tour and is currently ranked No 341, but his resume is littered with triumphs on the Highlands links in his younger days. And he gained confidence by qualifying for last month's US Open.

"That experience all in all was great and spurs you on to get back there," said Doak, one of 19 Scots in the 156-man field.

Phil Mickelson led the US charge on the opening day - the four-time major was an afternoon starter and heads out on 6 under - but it was taken up 24 hours later by Uihlein, who is acting as something of a trailblazer for Americans by playing in Europe.

With his European Tour card secured after a win in Portugal in May, the softly spoken 23-year-old is playing without pressure and he found his putting range on his second nine after making 7 at No 12 - his third hole. He made eight birdies in all.

Henrik Stenson of Sweden is a shot further back on 10 under after a superb 64 - equalling the best round of the week - while Francesco Molinari was alone in the clubhouse on 8 under as the Italian looks to make up for losing in a playoff to Jeev Milkha Singh last year.

"I didn't feel like I was playing fantastic, so it was a bit of weird one to shoot 64," said Stenson, who is ranked No 32 after being as low as No 230 last year.

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