07/11/26 05:32:00
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07/11 15:30 CDT Fitzpatrick and Thorbjornsen atop leaderboard when fog delays
Scottish Open
Fitzpatrick and Thorbjornsen atop leaderboard when fog delays Scottish Open
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
NORTH BERWICK, Scotland (AP) --- The notorious Scottish haar off the North Sea
brought two fog delays Saturday, leaving Matt Fitzpatrick and Michael
Thorbjornsen atop the leaderboard with a long final day ahead to finish the
Scottish Open and move south to England for the final major of the year.
Thorbjornsen birdied his last two holes to reach 11-under par through 13 holes,
while Fitzpatrick missed the green on No. 8 and failed to save par before play
was stopped.
At stake Sunday for Thorbjornsen and perhaps a dozen other players is getting
one of three spots left for the British Open for leading finishers not already
exempt.
The third round was scheduled to resume at 7 a.m., followed by the final round
of threesomes off the first tee. Given the extended summer daylight, finishing
is not expected to be an issue.
Sorting out the contenders, however, was as unpredictable as the weather.
Fifteen players were separated by three shots, a group that did not include
Rory McIlroy. He went the opposite direction with bogeys by missing a tap-in
par, duffing a wedge off the tee at a par 3 and hacking only a few feet out of
a bush when he missed the fairway on the par-5 seventh.
McIlroy had to make a 20-foot par putt on No. 8, his final hole, to stay 3 over
for his round and five shots behind the co-leaders. He began the round with a
share of the lead.
Johnny Keefer was among the fortunate who finished his round of 64, posting at
10-under 200.
"I think I had the mindset this week that anything can change," Keefer said. "I
knew that it was going to be a little colder, so I could kind of prep a little
bit. Yeah, the wind has gotten up. It's switched directions three times in the
week that we've been here."
He would love to put that to practice next week at Royal Birkdale. Keefer is
the third alternate for the British Open.
Also at 10 under with the third round to complete were defending champion Chris
Gotterup (through 10 holes), U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark (15 holes), Min
Woo Lee (8 holes), Jordan Smith (7 holes) and Kevin Roy, whose final hole was a
bogey on the 16th.
Of those players, Roy is not in the British Open and is eager to get a spot.
"I know there's some spots to get into The Open, so I've got really nothing to
lose," Roy said. "Got to go out there and keep trying to make a bunch of
birdies and see where we end up."
Karl Vilips was at 8 under through 12 holes and suddenly a sentimental favorite
to at least get one of The Open spots. Vilips was in Kentucky for the
opposite-field ISCO Championship on Monday when he received notice there was a
spot for him at The Renaissance Club. Nine players ahead of him on the Scottish
Open alternate list chose to stay in Kentucky.
It's a big trip on short notice with no guarantees.
"The upside here is a spot in The Open next week. That's really what I'm
playing for. I would love to play in The Open next week," Vilips said. "A good
week here goes a long way for my season, as well, considering it's coming to an
end pretty soon."
Robert MacIntyre of Scotland had a pair of birdies and was two shots behind.
Tom Kim, who shared the 36-hole lead with McIlroy and Smith, had all pars on
the seven holes he played and was two shots behind.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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