Scott, the World No.7, and Leishman, No.54, were the red-hot favourites to win this title before a shot was struck. Now only the most foolhardy punter will touch them.

The most experienced pairing at Kingston Heath is floundering. Admittedly ‘The Heath’ has rarely looked so green, and both players have confessed to being beaten, thus far, by the softer bounce.

Having carded two over in the opening day foursomes (alternate shot), the duo were keen on adopting an aggressive strategy for the fourball best ball round.

Leishman opened strongly with a birdie at the opening hole after a lovely pitch to close range. He became the lead man over the next few holes as Scott battled with his ball-striking.

The Queenslander had a chance to add another birdie at the short par-4 4th hole but his putt skirted the edge of the cup. He was right on song at the next though, when his approach nestled seven-feet from the hole and he converted the birdie without any fuss.

That birdie put the Australians back to even par but they suffered a major setback when they dropped a shot at the 7th hole. Scott was forced to take a drop from an unplayable lie and Leishman was unable to get up and down from a bunker right of the green. Bogey was the best score they could muster.

Scott plays out of a bunker during the second round at Kingston Heath. PHOTO: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images.

The pair gained some momentum with back-to-back birdies on the 8th and 9th holes. Scott’s birdie at the turn from 25-feet seemed to lift their spirits.

But one near miss followed another over the next few holes and they did not register another birdie until the par-3 15th. Sadly, they handed that gained shot right back at the 16th.

Thankfully, Leishman’s approach to the 18th was pinpoint and he rolled in the birdie from three feet for Australia to card a 68.

It was a real battle for Scott and Leishman to get on a roll during the second round. On the eve of the tournament, much was made of their experience around Kingston Heath but they have been caught out several times by the gusting wind and the softer bounces of their approach shots.

“I have played here so many times when its firm,” said Leishman in reference to how soft Kingston Heath is playing and what that has done to their home advantage. “But we should be able to adjust.

“It’s just hard when you’re so used to landing it short on certain holes and bouncing it up and then all of a sudden you’re landing it short and it’s spinning backwards." – Marc Leishman

“I guess it’s a little frustrating in that respect, but we’re professional golfers and we need to adjust to that sort of thing.”

Other teams, some lesser-experienced players at ‘The Heath’ have taken the course on face value and adapted better to the conditions. That tale is being told on the leaderboard.

All that said, the Scott and Leishman remain hopeful of making a run at the trophy over the weekend but they will now need some of the leading teams to fall over to aid their charge.

Leishman says the plan over the weekend for the Australians is a simple one – hit the ball closer to the hole.

“You can hit bad shots and finish in good positions,” he said. “Sometimes you hit good putts or good shots that don’t finish in great spots.

“You can’t let that get to you as hard as it is.

“We just need to maybe hit the ball a little bit closer, and to get it close, we’ve got to judge the bounces better.

Leishman chips close from deep rough midway through the second round. PHOTO: Paul Crock/AFP/Getty Images. 

“Our strategy won’t change for the foursomes … we just need to do things a little better. I think we’ll hit off the same tees … we’ll do what we did (on day one) and hopefully have about five or ten shots less.”

Scott added: “We’ve just got to have a good weekend. We’re going to be a fair way back but tomorrow’s a good day to close a lot of shots and give ourselves a chance on Sunday.

“We need to sharpen up a bit and we need to get something going. It would be nice to get off to a good start tomorrow and have a bit of a run at the board. You never know … it’s (foursomes) a tough format.”
They will start the third round – back in the more difficult-to-score-low foursomes format – 10 strokes behind 36-hole leader Denmark (Soren Kjeldsen and Thorbjorn Olesen) and three shots out of the top ten.