SOUTHPORT, England (AP) - Paul Casey and Lee Westwood each took a double-bogey six at the opening hole and the players who just made the cut at 9-over at the British Open struggled to get back into contention.

Strong, gusting winds threatened the third day at Royal Birkdale after two days of high scoring and K.J Choi, the only player under par after 36 holes, was due to go out later one shot ahead of two-time champion Greg Norman.

But those who only just made it to the third round also found conditions difficult even though championship organizers moved the tees forward at three holes, the sixth, 11th and 16th, to make it easier to find the fairways.

No Englishman has won the Open since Nick Faldo in 1992 at Muirfield. Casey and Westwood were considered two of the biggest hopes to capture the title on home turf. Ernie Els, winner at Muirfield in 2002, also went out 9-over - 10 off the lead - and dropped shots at the opening and fourth holes to slip back to 11 over.

Choi's 3-under 67 on Friday enabled him to leapfrog Norman, who has made two even par 70s. The Australian, who married tennis great Chris Evert last month, says he plays golf on a part-time basis these days and is back at the Open for the first time since 2005.

Two strokes off the lead is Colombia's Camilo Villegas, who has made the best score so far of 5-under 65 on his Open debut. In a group behind him are two former champions, David Duval and last year's winner Padraig Harrington, who has defied a wrist injury to score 74 and 68 on the tough Birkdale links, finishing Friday's round with an eagle and a birdie.