RORY MCILROY IS three shots off the lead at the midway point of the Scottish Open after a second round of 66.
McIlroy made a strong start to his defence of the title yesterday with a five-under 65, and followed it up with five birdies and one bogey on the 11th to stay in contention.
It leaves McIlroy on nine under par as he bids to bounce back from his US Open meltdown.
The four-time major winner was on the brink of victory at Pinehurst, holding a two-shot lead with five holes to play.
But he bogeyed three of the last four holes to finish a shot behind Bryson DeChambeau and miss out on his first major title since 2014
Tom McKibbin is likely to miss the three-under cut after carding a second successive 69 which leaves him on two-under. His second round included three birdies on the front nine and one on the 10th, along with three bogeys.
Pádraig Harrington is further back on one-over after a round of 71, while Seamus Power sits tied for 47th on four-under-par
Swedish rising star Ludvig Aberg powered to the top of the Scottish Open leaderboard.
Aberg carded a second successive round of 64 to move into first place with a one-shot lead over Frenchman Antoine Rozner.
The 24-year-old went bogey free and notched six birdies as he reached 12 under par at the Renaissance Club.
Rozner, who has yet to drop a shot this week, added a 64 to his opening round of 65 in the warm-up event ahead of next week’s British Open at Royal Troon.
Italy’s Matteo Manassero and South Korea’s Im Sung-jae were both on 10 under after rounds of 63 and 67 respectively.
“It’s been very nice. I felt like we’ve had a very good game plan and are executing the shots,” Aberg said.
Aberg only turned professional in June last year and won the final Ryder Cup qualifying event in Switzerland in September.
He was hailed as a “generational talent” after being given a wild card by Europe captain Luke Donald.
Aberg partnered Viktor Hovland to a thrashing of world number one Scottie Scheffler and five-time major winner Brooks Koepka as Europe regained the trophy.
Two months later, he won his first title on the PGA Tour in the RSM Classic, then finished runner-up to Scheffler at The Masters on his major championship debut in April.
Determined not to let success go to his head, Aberg added: “I wouldn’t describe myself as a superstar. All I try to do is play good golf.
“Whether these last 12 months have changed my life on the golf course, it hasn’t really changed my life off the golf course.
“I’m still me and I’m still the same personality and that’s not going to change in the future.”
First round leader Justin Thomas slumped with a two-over 72 to fall six shots off the pace.
Additional reporting by AFP
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
