Leishman carded a two-over 73 to finish at three-over par after 36 holes at the Scottish links course.

The 34-year-old started well but hit trouble. He was one-under after nine holes but a double bogey on the par-four 12^th halted his momentum in wet conditions around the tricky layout.

The projected cut was two-over when he finished his round with the afternoon field yet to tee off.

Leishman had made a bright start to the championship on Thursday, surging to four-under par after eight holes. Playing in the afternoon, he was only one shot off the lead at the time but he made four bogeys and a double bogey in his last 10 holes.

“Good start and bad finish. If you hit bad shots around here, you get punished. Unfortunately, I hit a couple of average shots that finished in bad positions," Leishman said after Thursday’s first round.

“You can rack up bogeys and doubles pretty quick.

“The front nine was promising. Back nine obviously wasn't what I was after.”