Elliott Heath
The weather at the Open Championship is always one of the biggest stories during the week as it shapes the conditions and scoring at the world's oldest golf Major.
There's often two sides of the draw where one half of the field faces the more challenging conditions, and we very much saw that at Royal Troon last time when Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson finished 14 and 11 strokes ahead of the third-placed finisher JB Holmes.
It's been a wet summer so far throughout the UK, so Royal Troon isn't baked out and brown like we've seen in past Opens, and it doesn't look like it's going to get much firmer and faster this week.
Rain showers and wind of varying strengths featured heavily during the opening round on Thursday, while Friday was slightly brighter but with stronger winds taking over as the dominant factor for players to consider as they battle to make the cut at The Open.
While the wind was generally blowing at between 13-19mph for much of Friday, gusts of up to 28mph were predicted in the morning before marginally calming down to around 26mph before 6pm local time.
Brian Harman acknowledges the crowd at Royal Liverpool in front of a backdrop littered with umbrellas
As far as the weekend at the Open Championship goes, the early outlook is that Saturday will generally be quite wet, with the potential for heavy downpours.
The Met Office is saying that an "erratic band of rain" will move in from the west and bring the chance of an extended period of heavier rain at some point in the day - likely the afternoon. Mercifully for the players, winds are expected to drop to between 5-13mph and temperatures are expected to reach 17C (63F).
Meanwhile, the final round on Sunday is predicted to be played in much drier and brighter conditions. A few light and brief showers could pop up, but wind is expected to return as the dominant force in the player's minds as they charge towards the Claret Jug at Royal Troon.
Starting at between 7-10mph with gusts of 12-15mph, winds could increase to 15-18mph with gusts of between 22-25mph during the middle of the day as the leaders tee off. The high temperature in Troon is predicted to be 18C (64F).
Open championship weather forecast:
Friday: Overcast start to Friday with a chance of drizzly outbreaks still. Turning drier, with the potential to see some brighter spells at times into the afternoon. (Rainfall: 0-Trace mm). Winds: S or SSE 9-12mph gusting 13-18mph to start Friday, becoming S to SSW 14-17mph gusting 22-27mph by late morning. Chance of seeing gusts up to 28-32mph during the afternoon. High: 20C (68F).
Saturday: An erratic band of rain moving in from the west bringing the chance of an extended period of heavier rain to develop during the day, timings remain uncertain, although likely to be during the afternoon. Rainfall (most likely): 10-15mm. Winds: S to SSE 5-8mph gusts 8-12mph at first, a chance of becoming variable 3-5mph at times during the afternoon before likely switching W or NW 5- 8mph, gust 9-13mph in the evening. High: 17C (63F).
Sunday: High confidence for a drier, brighter day to finish the Championship. Still the chance for a few light showers, but good dry interludes are expected between any that do develop. Rainfall: 0mm, 30% up to 1mm. Winds: W to SW 7-10mph gusts 12-15mph, increasing W to SW 15-18mph gusts 22-25mph during the middle of the day. Likely easing SW 5-10mph gusts 10-15mph by late afternoon or early evening. High: 18C (64F).
