Royal Birkdale struck back today with a bizarre mixture of rain, sunshine and blasts of wind off the Irish Sea that battered the leaders and forced a brief suspension of play.

Watts, an Oklahoman who makes his living on the Japanese tour, overcame a start as wild as the weather -- three birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey on the first seven holes -- for a 1-under-par 69 that put him at 137.

He took a one-stroke lead over yet another amateur to make an impact in a major championship -- Rose, a rising amateur from Hampshire who thrilled the gallery with a 4-under 66 that tied the Open record for an amateur. It was also the low round of the day by two strokes.

"That's one of my best rounds, and to play it in these circumstances is fantastic," Rose said.

Joining him at 138 were Woods and Price, who were thrilled to get off Royal Birkdale in one piece on a day that made players long for the warmth and light winds of the first round.

Woods, who started the second round tied for the lead with John Huston at 5-under 65, was 5-over for the day until birdies on the last two holes salvaged a 73.

"I was getting blown over," Woods said. "It was hard to stay steady. Temperatures were going up and down. You really had to keep your patience."

Price tried to keep his composure as he lost strokes in the bunkers and mangled rough that covers the sand hills surrounding the greens. He finally broke through with a 6-foot eagle putt on No. 17 and wound up with a 72.

"I don't want to listen to any of those guys who complained about the conditions this morning," Price said. "There's just so many crosswinds blowing. I'm grateful to have gotten off the course two strokes over par."

Thomas Bjorn of Denmark was the only other player under par at the end of two rounds after a 1-over 71 left him at 139.

Fred Couples, who started the day one back of Woods and Huston, didn't make a birdie until the 18th hole for a 74 and was at even-par 140. He was joined by PGA champion Davis Love III, Masters champion Mark O'Meara, Jim Furyk, Stephen Ames, and Jesper Parnevik, who tied for second at last year's Open at Troon.

David Duval, U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen, Tom Kite, Vijay Singh, and Brad Faxon were among a group of 10 players at 1-over 141.

"The weather can change on a dime," said O'Meara, who played in the final pairing at Birkdale in 1991 and put himself in position to be there again with a 68. "It obviously tests the players' ability with their golf swing. And it really tests your composure."

Huston was among those who lost it -- a 77 that left him five strokes back at 142. A year ago, Huston shot a 5-under 67 to lead The Masters after the first round but followed up with a 77.

And talk about losing patience -- John Daly took five shots to get out of the greenside bunker on the 18th, taking a 10 and missing the cut by five shots. Earlier this year, Daly hit six 3-woods into the water in the final round of the Bay Hill Invitational and took an 18 on one hole.

The stark change in conditions was noticeable in the scoring as 27 players broke par in benign conditions on Thursday, but only seven players escaped the wrath of Royal Birkdale and its capricious nature in the second round.

And it could be seen on the faces, from the exuberance of Rose to the exasperation of Woods.

"It was so hard out there," said Woods, who time and again turned to caddie Fluff Cowan with a perplexed look when the putts wouldn't fall. He was 4-over on 38 for the first nne hole taking 18 putts  compared with 10 the day before.

At about 5:30 p.m. local time, play was suspended for 30 minutes by the Royal & Ancient because it was "not sensible in the conditions."

But then, when does the British weather ever make sense?

Couples and Love were among those who started the day in a cold rain that blew sideways. Within 30 minutes, the wind shifted direction, brought out the sunshine -- and then really started to blow.

"This is much more British Open golf today," Watts said. "The front nine, we had the rain for the first five holes and a steady wind, but the back nine it really picked up strong.

"I can't say I enjoyed playing in it, but I deal with it as it comes."

It's not surprising that an American is leading the Open -- they have won the last three. But Watts is not a typical American golfer.

He grew up in Texas and has lived the past 10 years in Oklahoma. He won the NCAA championship at Oklahoma State. But when the 32-year-old couldn't qualify for the PGA Tour, he took his trade to Japan and has won 11 times over the past five years.

"Ideally, the American tour is probably the dream," he said.

Rose is living his dream out right now. He'll be in the final pairing Saturday with Watts, a far cry from when he was upset in the first round of the British Amateur last month and missed the cut last week at Loch Lomond.

His 66, highlighted by an eagle-birdie finish and applause he's never heard walking up the 18th, tied the Open record by an amateur that was first set by Frank Stranahan at Royal Troon in 1950 and matched two years ago by Woods at Royal Lytham.

"I have never met Justin Rose, but to have an amateur up there is great," said Colin Montgomerie, who missed the cut by one stroke.

These days, it's becoming common. Rose is the third amateur to make an impact in a major championship this year. Matt Kuchar was in contention until Saturday afternoon at the U.S. Open, and Jenny Chuasiriporn lost the U.S. Women's Open in a 20-hole playoff to Se Ri Pak.

And Rose is not ruling himself out in his bid to become the first amateur to win the Open since Bobby Jones in 1930. He recalled seeing the sign on the scoreboard at Troon that said, "Well done, Justin," after Justin Leonard won the Open.

"That's something that's stayed in my mind every since," Rose said.

Kuchar missed his first cut in a major this year with another round of 75, but he was in good company. Tom Lehman, the 1996 Open champion and five-time champion Tom Watson also missed the cut, which was 147.

Leonard thought he was out after his second straight round of 73 put him at 146. As the winds kept blowing harder and the scores kept getting higher, he was on the putting green late in the afternoon.

At nine strokes back, anything is possible. Especially at the Open Championship.

Completed Second Round Scores