Tag: Scottish Open

In first event since winning U.S. Open, Jon Rahm co-leads at Scottish Open

An odd incident just prior to the opening tee shot of the day didn’t throw Jon Rahm off his game, as he fired a second-round 65.

Three weeks ago, Jon Rahm stormed the back nine at Torrey Pines and claimed his first major championship at the U.S. Open.

He hasn’t teed it up since but so far, so good at the abrdn Scottish Open this week.

Rahm shot a second-round 65 and is tied with Thomas Detry after 36 holes at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland. Those two have matched each other both days so far, shooting 66s on Thursday and 65s on Friday.

Rahm played the back nine first and threw six birdies on his score card to make the turn in 29.

“I think we were fortunate the first seven, eight holes, really no wind at all. So when you play an a links golf course with no wind, you can make some birdies,” Rahm said after his round.

There was a weird incident on the 10th tee box, his first of the day. As he and playing partners Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas were chatting before teeing off, a man walked on the tee box, took a club and head cover out of McIlroy’s golf bag and set up as if he was going to hit the head cover. As the golfers looked on in bewilderment, security approached the man and without incident, escorted him off the property.

abrdn Scottish Open: Leaderboard | Photos

The tournament has a stacked field and the big names are gathering near the top of the leaderboard, with Thomas, Matt Fitzpatrick, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter all in the top 10 so far. McIlroy, however, is 1 under and is in a tie for 91st, 10 shots off the lead.

The 149th Open Championship is next week at Royal St. George’s in England.

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Security! Fan strolls onto tee, grabs Rory McIlroy’s headcover, iron at abrdn Scottish Open

A fan strolls onto a tee as if to hit Rory McIlroy’s headcover with an iron while McIlroy, Jon Rahm look on at abrdn Scottish Open.

A weird lapse in security appeared to have occurred at the abrdn Scottish Open on Friday when what appears to be a random fan walked onto the 10th tee box, grabbed Rory McIlroy’s dog-shaped driver headcover and an iron. He then set up as if he planned to hit the headcover off the tee with the iron.

McIlroy, playing companion and World No. 1 Jon Rahm, caddie Harry Diamond and several officials stood there apparently flummoxed for several seconds. It was the opening hole of the second round for McIlroy and Rahm, the recent U.S. Open champion who is the early leader at 11 under in the abrdn Scottish Open. Also in the pairing but not on the video was Justin Thomas.

McIlroy and Rahm were casually chatting when the fan confidently strolled onto the tee box and grabbed the iron and headcover as if he was supposed to be there. It took a second for McIlroy and Rahm to even notice anything strange was happening, and when the realization struck that something very odd was occurring, they remained calm and appeared to be looking around for security.

Several people on Twitter posted videos of the event, including this one from @deep_fried_egg.

The man placed the headcover on the tee and set up as if he planned to give it a whack with the iron. An official then spoke calmly with the man, and after a few more seconds somebody called for security. The man was then escorted off the tee, handing back the iron but trying to keep the headcover before a plainclothes and burly security officer grabbed the man by the arm and led him off the tee.

It was all very calm and very odd. McIlroy went on to make par on the hole en route to a second-round 71. He trails Rahm, who shot 65, by 10 shots after two rounds.

Sky Sports reports that police addressed the situation thusly: “Officers were alerted to a man causing a disturbance within the grounds of the Renaissance Club in East Lothian, around 8am on Friday, July 9. The 35-year-old man has been taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and enquiries are ongoing.”

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Scottish Open: Connor Syme’s head not turned despite lure of Open Championship place

Like a siren singing on a rocky outcrop, the lure of an Open Championship place can be a major distraction.

Like a siren singing on a rocky outcrop, the lure of an Open Championship place can be a major distraction.

Three places for next week’s Sandwich showpiece are up for grabs in the last chance saloon of the abrdn Scottish Open but Connor Syme is not getting his head turned by this particular temptation.

After a four-under 67 at The Renaissance, the same score as fellow Scots David Law, Grant Forrest and Richie Ramsay, Syme is simply focusing on the task in hand.

Asked if those Open spots were a big incentive this week, Syme, who played in the 2017 and 2019 championships, said: “Not really. I know how special it is to play The Open. But it’s so up on the air. I’m just trying to have a good week here and see where that ends up.”

With an $8 million purse and some of the world’s best competing alongside him, the home comforts of the Scottish Open certainly stir the senses. “This is like a major for us lads,” added Syme, who has posted a third and a fifth on the European Tour this season.

Some of the other tartan lads made a decent fist of it, too, with Forrest, Law and Ramsay all sitting in the upper echelons on that four-under mark.

Robert MacIntyre, meanwhile, finished a stroke further back at 3-under after an eventful round. The world No. 51 began his campaign with back-to-back birdies on his first two holes but was level-par again by the turn.

The Oban left-hander finished with a flourish, though, and birdied three of his closing five holes which included a delightfully executed flop-shot on his final hole which trundled in for a two.

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Watch: Using a 90-foot eagle putt, Justin Thomas near the top at Scottish Open

With a number of big names in the field, Justin Thomas needed a big putt to get near the top of the leaderboard at the Scottish Open.

With a number of big names in the field, Justin Thomas needed a big putt to get near the top of the leaderboard during the first round of the abrdn Scottish Open.

Thomas holed a 90-foot eagle putt en route to a 65 in North Berwick, Scotland, and he sits a single stroke off the pace after the opening day of action.

On the par-5 7th hole, Thomas hit a long, winding putt that dropped, helping him fire a 32 on the front at a surprisingly forgiving Renaissance Club. Thomas closed out the round with birdies on two of the final two holes and trails only Jack Senior, who opened with a 64.

Thomas said he felt the course was even more there for the taking, but he enjoyed a relatively calm opening day.

“Bogey-free made it pretty stress-free. I was a little upset or disappointed with some of the iron shots I hit, felt I could have hit them closer, ” he said. “But it’s nice to play that last hole as well as I did to hopefully generate some momentum.”

The Rolex Series tournament, which features larger purses than many of the European Tour events, has attracted a number of top names. Lee Westwood is also at 6 under while Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Fitzpatrick, Ian Poulter and Ryan Palmer are among a thick pack two off the lead. Others in solid position after the opening round include Xander Schauffele (4 under), and Tyrrell Hatton (2 under). Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa and Billy Horschel all shot 70 and sit six off the lead.

The wind was not much of a factor during the first round but it’s expected to pick up as the week progresses.

While Thomas hasn’t been slumping, it’s been an unusually lukewarm stretch for the player who sits third in the Official World Golf Ranking and No. 6 in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. He hasn’t cracked the top 10 in any of his last eight starts since winning The Players Championship, and he missed the cut at the PGA Championship on Kiawah Island, shooting a pair of 75s in the process.

When asked if he was hoping to face tougher conditions in preparation for next week’s British Open at Royal St. George’s, Thomas insisted he wasn’t thinking about next week.

“I don’t care,” Thomas said. “As long as I’m holding the trophy at the end of the week, I’m pretty pleased with that preparation for The Open.”

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Robert MacIntyre opens up on lifestyle changes after COVID isolation ahead of Scottish Open

It’s a meaty time of the season and, as Scotland’s leading player on the world order, MacIntyre will be carrying the weight of expectation.

After a year of COVID-related warnings about doing this, not doing that and certainly avoiding a bit of the other, Robert MacIntyre’s own message of caution could’ve been delivered from a lectern with a professor of virology nodding along beside him.

“Don’t travel with anyone, don’t be around anyone and don’t do something stupid,” MacIntyre said in preparation for this week’s abrdn Scottish Open, which will welcome a power-packed field in advance of next week’s British Open. Four of the world’s top five players will be on hand.

“Once you get hit with a bit of bad luck, you’re always on your guard.”

That dollop of bad luck visited MacIntyre the other week when he was tracked, traced and identified as a contact of somebody who had tested positive for Coronavirus on the transatlantic flight the Scot took home from the U.S. Open.

That forced MacIntyre to withdraw from last week’s Irish Open and plunged him into a period of self-isolation ahead of this week’s $8 million event at The Renaissance.

MacIntyre, of course, is quite happy to keep himself to himself. As long as he has his trusty Playstation games console, the 24-year-old can easily settle into a life of solitude that would make the Hermit of Gully Lake look like Keith Moon.

An enforced week off has hampered MacIntyre’s preparations for the domestic showpiece but the World No. 51, who did return a negative test, has taken it all with shrugging acceptance.

“The beach was too busy to hit balls off the balcony,” he joked of a makeshift driving range from his apartment in Oban, a resort town on the country’s west coast. “We just had to take it on the chin.”

With a huge week coming up on home soil, though, and The Open Championship looming on the horizon, MacIntyre’s brush with the menace of Covid has sharpened the senses.

“I was obviously disappointed not to play last week, it would have been a good warm-up, but I have to take no risks now,” he added. “I’ll not be around anyone, just my family and my team. I’ll drive down to The Open myself. I was meant to go on the charter flight, but I’m not even doing that.

“If my friends are inviting me out to dinner right now, I have to say ‘no’. I’m not risking what I can gain from my job just to have a meal out in a restaurant. I’d rather have someone round for a meal. I’m not the best cook … but it’s hard to burn a steak.”

It’s a meaty time of the season and, as Scotland’s leading player on the world order, MacIntyre will be carrying the weight of expectation. Not that he’s bothered.

“What you guys put on me is what you guys put on me, so why worry about it?” he said of us in the golf writing business. “My biggest critic is my dad. No matter what I do this week, he’s going to criticize something, but that’s just normal. I’ve been off for two weeks but I’m as prepared as I can be. It’s been a bit of a mad scramble the last couple of days trying to get myself ready.”

MacIntyre has been grouped with Lee Westwood and World No. 4 Collin Morikawa for the opening two days in East Lothian. A limited number of spectators have been allowed into The Renaissance – the first time crowds have been at a tour event on Scottish soil since the Dunhill Links in 2019 – and MacIntyre is determined to revel in the atmosphere.

“There shouldn’t be many against you this week,” he said with a smile.

After a delightful spell of weather recently, Edinburgh and the Lothians was hit by the kind of biblical torrents that would have had Noah digging out the sou’wester and brolly. The deluge has certainly softened up The Renaissance course but the changes that have been made to the host venue over the last few months have been met with MacIntyre’s approval.

“There’s a lot more definition on the course,” he said. “You’re standing on some tees and it does look more daunting. I think that’s a great thing because you know you’re not standing there smashing driver like you could before.”

As well as chasing the prestige and considerable prize pot of the Scottish Open title, MacIntyre and his fellow Scots will also be playing for the Jock MacVicar Memorial Trophy, a new award dedicated to the dearly departed Doyen of Scottish golf writing. It will be a fitting tribute.

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Tommy Fleetwood forces playoff with dramatic putt, but Aaron Rai takes Scottish Open

Tommy Fleetwood pulled off some late Sunday drama at the Scottish Open, but ultimately Aaron Rai had the last word.

Tommy Fleetwood pulled some late Sunday drama at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, but ultimately Aaron Rai had the last word. When Fleetwood, the European Ryder Cupper, holed a 20-footer for birdie at the closing hole to catch Rai at 11 under, it meant a playoff between the two Englishmen.

Fleetwood fell to Rai on the first playoff hole. Even though Rai hit it in a bunker off the tee to give Fleetwood the early advantage, Fleetwood three-putted from just off the green to give Rai the title.

For Rai, it’s a bit of redemption after finishing runner-up at last week’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open. His win at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland, also moves him inside the top five in the Race to Dubai Rankings and into the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Scores: Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open

“It’s incredible,” he said. “I played a lot in Scotland growing up, dreamed of playing in a European Tour event in Scotland. To be able to play in it was incredible a couple of years ago and to be able to go still further is an incredible feeling.

“I didn’t really see many leaderboards all the way around. I knew we had to play well and knew we had to cope pushing forwards but luckily I had a good couple of breaks and also played very well, so I’m very pleased.”

Rai moved up the leaderboard on the strength of a final-round 64. It followed previous rounds of 70-69-70. Fleetwood was under 70 all week (69-68-69-67) and was one of only two players to do that. The other was Marc Warren, who finished in a tie for fourth with Lucas Herbert at 9 under.

Robert Rock, another Englishman, was alone in third at 10 under.

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The Scottish Open looks downright miserable — but there are some big names at the top

Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Tommy Fleetwood are all near the top at the Scottish Open, where cold, windy conditions are the big story.

The names are familiar. So is the weather — if you’re Scottish.

While the PGA Tour is enjoying near-perfect weather conditions at the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi, the climes aren’t quite as inviting at this week’s Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, one of the legs of the European Tour’s Rolex Series.

The third round from the Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland, included a healthy dose of rain and temperatures in the low 50s.

This didn’t come as a surprise, however. Ian Poulter, who now lives in Florida, told the Irish Times on Friday that he was expecting nasty conditions for the weekend.

Scottish Open: Leaderboard

“The weather forecast looks horrific, 20 mph winds and a couple of inches of rain. You can be blown off the course easily, but we’re at the right end of the leaderboard to try and batten down the hatches, dig in deep and hold strong as much as you possibly can,” Poulter said.

The weather hasn’t slowed Poulter, however. He was in the lead at the turn in the third round, tied with fellow Brit Robert Rock at 11 under. Others in contention included Lee Westwood and Tommy Fleetwood, who were all within striking distance. Here’s the leaderboard.

The weather isn’t expected to clear up for Sunday’s final round — the forecast includes more wind, more rain and a high temperature somewhere in the 50s.

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