17 July 2011 16:35 GMT

Dustin Johnson, one of the longest hitters in the game, opened the door to Open glory for Darren Clarke when he blocked his tee shot over the out-of-bounds fence to the right of the 14th hole at Royal St George’s. He was the closest challenger to the Irishman at that point, just two shots behind. But the seven he put on his card gave Clarke four shots of clear water.

Phil Mickelson, who briefly shared the lead with Clarke at five under earlier in the afternoon, has bogeyed four holes since his last birdie at the 10th and is now tied in third place with Thomas Bjorn at only two under after the tall Dane dropped a shot at the 15th.

Anthony Kim has moved into fifth on his own at one under, just ahead of Rickie Fowler who played the opening 13 holes in par figures only to drop a shot at the long 14th and another at the 16th. His 68 yesterday in the worst of the weather must seem like a distant memory. He now shares sixth place with Chad Campbell who has finished with a 69.