Skip Kendall revealed his path from restaurant waiter to friend of royalty after taking a surprise halfway lead in the Open championship.

Kendall, still seeking a maiden victory in his 311th tournament, holed a bunker shot on the third and eagled the 16th to card a second round 66 for a one-shot lead over France's Thomas Levet.

The 39-year-old from Milwaukee put himself in pole position to follow in the footsteps of last year's shock winner Ben Curtis and claim the £720,000 first prize, a far cry from his days waiting tables in the Olive Garden restaurant in Orlando, Florida.

"I started out playing mini tours in Orlando and couldn't quite make it so was working as a waiter in the Olive Garden," revealed Kendall, the world number 90.

"In between shifts I'd go to a field close to the restaurant to hit balls with my uniform on - bow tie, white shirt, black pants - because it was too hard to get the bow tie back on if I took it off.

"Can you imagine what people thought driving by?"

Kendall also revealed how he met Prince Andrew, captain of the R&A, during his first round on Thursday.

"I'd never met anyone like that before and on the 12th tee yesterday the official with our match said Prince Andrew was standing right behind the 11th green," added Kendall, who lost a play-off to Phil Mickelson in the Bob Hope Classic earlier this season.

"I said 'Wow, I'd like to meet him', and they told me the protocol and I went and shook his hand and talked to him briefly."

Kendall missed four weeks of last season after slicing off part of his left index finger while cutting a frozen bagel - "I didn't have a microwave!" he explained - but bounced back with a fourth place in the Buick Classic.

And he sees no reason why he cannot copy Curtis and make the 133rd Open his first tournament victory on Sunday.

"I feel I can win on tour, I think it's just a matter of time," he added.

"Hopefully this is mine. If I can stay relaxed and not get caught up in what we are really doing and just play golf I will be fine.

"I know there is a long way to go, this has only been one day. This is certainly the highest I've been in a major, I've not been in that many to begin with. I've just got to stay relaxed."