Scottish Open day one - McIlroy finishes strongly as four players share lead

BBC News

6 days ago

Update:
Date: 19:21 BST 10 July
Title: Tomorrow's tee times
Content: Here are some of the tee times to keep an eye on tomorrow...
(08:28) McIlroy, Hovland, Schauffele
(13:32) Straka, Thomas, Canter
(13:43) Scheffler, MacIntyre, Scott
(13:54) Aberg, Morikawa, Couvra
Right everyone, get your dinner and off to bed. It's another early start. See you then!
Update:
Date: 19:17 BST 10 July
Title: Quartet share clubhouse lead; McIlroy & McIntyre four back
Content: The day is wrapping up here in North Berwick, with four players all tied for the clubhouse lead - Nico Echavarria, Jake Knapp, Sepp Straka and Victor Perez - on six under.
Of the big names, Wyndham Clark and Viktor Hovland sit on four under while Scottie Scheffler and Ludvig Aberg are one shot behind that.
Grand Slam champion Rory McIlroy finished strongly after an up-and-down round to end on two under, with defending champ Bob MacIntyre also finishing on 68.
But it's Calum Hill who leads the six Scots with an impressive five under, leaving him joint fifth with Germans Marcel Siem and Matti Schmid, and Englishman Marco Penge.
We'll see you tomorrow, bright and early. Tee times to follow.
Austrian Straka set the early pace
Update:
Date: 19:09 BST 10 July
Title: Penge one off the lead
Content: Penge 65, Kim 66
Marco Penge could finish the day with a birdie, as he puts himself within 30 feet on the 18th. The putt comes up just short, and he finishes with par.
A good day for the 27-year-old, and not a bad day for playing partner Tom Kim either. He finishes with a four-under 66.
Update:
Date: 18:59 BST 10 July
Title: Post
Content: Spaun 70, Fleetwood 70
JJ Spaun, the US Open champ, finishes with a par. Tommy Fleetwood has already knocked in for par, and they walk off with Conor Syme.
There were plenty of Fleetwood fans here today, but they'd have wanted to see more from their man this afternoon. A lot to do tomorrow.
Update:
Date: 18:56 BST 10 July
Title: Scots in contention
Content: Forrest 67, Syme 68
Grant Forrest bogeys the ninth - only his second bogey of the day - to drop back to three under. That's his last hole, as he started on the tenth.
Another Scot who has put himself in contention, alongside Calum Hill.
Up at the 18th, Conor Syme has a birdie chance - albeit from quite the distance. From almost 60 feet... he grazes the lip! Still, he'd have taken two under at the start of the day.
Update:
Date: 18:51 BST 10 July
Title: Happy with that McIlroy fans?
Content: Three bogeys, but five birdies for the Masters champ and he ends the day on two-under, four shots off the current lead.
What did you make of that, Rory fans?
Thumbs up for 'yeah, I'll take that'. Thumbs down for 'no'.
McIlroy sports a new trim while shaking hands with Viktor Hovland
Update:
Date: 18:41 BST 10 July
Title: Penge one off lead with two to play
Content: Penge -5 (16), Kim -4 (16)
Another new name pops up at the bottom of our leaderboard. Englishman Marco Penge could have taken a share of the lead had he holed his ambitious eagle putt, but he has to make do with birdie.
Tom Kim then tries from about the same range, and his ball tickles the lip but stays out. He'll move to four under.
Update:
Date: 18:39 BST 10 July
Title: McIlroy finishes with birdie
Content: Hovland 66, McIlroy 68, Schauffele 68
Hovland watches his putt curve towards the hole... but not enough. It trickles by the right-hand side of the cup, before he sinks the par putt.
Rory McIlroy makes no such mistake though! He pours it in from almost 20 feet! A strong, strong finish from the Masters champion.
Xander Schauffele can't repeat the trick, just lipping out. A par for him after an up-and-down back nine.
Update:
Date: 18:34 BST 10 July
Title: McIlroy nearing end of opening round
Content: McIlroy -1, Hovland -4, Schauffele -2
The big trio of Schauffele, Hovland and McIlroy are playing into the 18th after three terrific tee shots. Their approaches aren't bad either, despite playing into the wind and ever-sinking sun.
All have a birdie chance.
Update:
Date: 18:30 BST 10 July
Title: Final groups finishing up
Content: Rose 70, Fox 66
Not the finish Justin Rose would have wanted. His par putt drifts wide and he finishes with the third bogey of his day. Thankfully for him, he has three birdies as well.
Ryan Fox then knocks in from close range for a rare par. An odd day for him, but he finished with a four-under 66. You take those all day long.
Update:
Date: 18:25 BST 10 July
Title: Birdie for McIlroy
Content: McIlroy -1, Hovland -4, Schauffele -2 (17)
A beautifully-judged putt from Rory McIlroy at 17 finds the bottom of the cup - a birdie two that takes him under par.
Xander Schauffele three-putts for bogey, but Viktor Hovland makes a solid par.
A two, a three and a four. To 18 they go.
Update:
Date: 18:21 BST 10 July
Title: Scot squad
Content: Forrest -4 (15), Ferguson -2 (68), Syme -1 (15)
It's been a decent day for the Scots out here.
After Calum Hill set the pace with a five-under sixty-five, Ewen Ferguson and Grant Forrest have done their best to keep pace.
A win for any Scot other than Bob MacIntyre (68) would be a huge shock, but it would delight an already patriotic crowd.
The other Scot in the field, Richie Ramsay, finished level par.
Update:
Date: 18:16 BST 10 July
Title: Knapp 'rolls with the punches' to share lead
Content: Knapp -6 (64)
Jake Knapp called the Renaissance Club "challenging" but admitted he found it "pretty easy for the most part" as he ended day one with a share of the clubhouse lead.
The Californian hasn't played much links golf but didn't let that stop him in a fine opening round.
"It's a challenging course," he said. "You have to drive it well and you have to strike iron shots properly and be able to judge the wind.
"It tests a little bit of everything - you can hit what you think is a decent shot and it can bounce somewhere and go somewhere funky. You have to be able to roll with the punches."
"I haven't played a ton of links golf but I feel like it fits my
game pretty well. I like to be creative and hit different
shots and just fits my eye."
Update:
Date: 18:13 BST 10 July
Title: Flying Fox falls back
Content: Fox -4 (16)
It's been a rollercoaster of a day for Ryan Fox.
The Kiwi has just bogeyed his fifth of the day, but only falls to four under after seven birdies and an eagle at the second.
The last bogey on the 17th was a three foot putt, that he pulled wide.
Update:
Date: 18:12 BST 10 July
Title: Post
Content: McIlroy E, Hovland -4, Schauffele -3 (16)
Rory McIlroy's eagle try is just wide, but he gets back to level par with a tap-in birdie.
Viktor Hovland has a good chance to reach five under par, but pulls his effort past the hole.
Xander Schauffele also gains a shot as this trio head to the par-three 17th.
Update:
Date: 18:05 BST 10 July
Title: Post
Content: McIlroy +1, Hovland -4, Schauffele -2 (15)
All three players in this star-studded group hit the fairway on the scoreable par-five 16th and Rory McIlroy finds the putting surface with his second shot.
A long eagle try coming up - how he could do with that.
Update:
Date: 17:55 BST 10 July
Title: Thrill for Hill near the top
Content: Hill -5 (65)
Scotland's Callum Hill is thrilled after his five-under 65 puts him joint-second.
"That was really good fun," said the 30-year-old.
"It's nice to come
in here, probably the biggest event of the year for Scottish
people, and have a good start. It's great.
"It's always nice to
have family and friends around watching.
"I think my game
feels quite good.
So I came in a bit more relaxed this year, and it's nice just
to put a good round together."
Update:
Date: 17:54 BST 10 July
Title: Damage limitation for McIlroy
Content: McIlroy +1, Hovland -4, Schauffele -2 (15)
Rory McIlroy holes a fine putt from just off the green to drop just the one shot, while his playing partners Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland both make par.
Update:
Date: 17:52 BST 10 July
Title: Scot Syme gets under par
Content: Syme -1, Fleetwood +1, Spaun +2 (14)
Scotland's Connor Syme moves into the black after a terrific tee shot and a kick-in for birdie.
Terrific stuff from the 29-year-old.
A par each for Tommy Fleetwood and JJ Spaun.
Update:
Date: 17:45 BST 10 July
Title: Bunker trouble for McIlroy
Content: McIlroy E (14)
Rory McIlroy draws a horrible lie in a fairway bunker after he pushes his drive way right.
He hammers it straight into the lip and is then forced to chip out into the fairway with his third shot.
The Northern Irishman looks so frustrated with himself - after so much hard work, he'll do well to make bogey.