Latest news with #FirthOfForth
Telegraph
25-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Abseiling eco activists shut Forth Road Bridge to protest against Man Utd owner
Abseiling Greenpeace activists shut the Forth Road Bridge in a protest against Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe. A group of 10 activists from the environmental group abseiled beneath the bridge on Friday afternoon and unveiled banners saying, 'Plastics Treaty Now'. The protest came ahead of Donald Trump's visit to Scotland this weekend. The activists were suspended 25 metres above the Firth of Forth, with a Greenpeace rescue team on standby on the bridge and a boat monitoring them below. Greenpeace said they were attempting to block a shipment of ethane to the plastics plant at Grangemouth, near Edinburgh, which is owned by Ineos. The plant produces virgin plastics, which are used in the production of other plastic products. Greenpeace accused Sir Jim and the company of opposing its demands for a 75 per cent reduction in global plastic pollution by 2040. The group's stunt came ahead of the final negotiations for the United Nations' global plastics treaty, which is aiming to tackle plastic pollution. 'Plastic pollution has reached a crisis point: it's poisoning our land, seas, air, even our bodies,' said Amy Cameron, Greenpeace UK's programme director. 'The Global Plastics Treaty offers us a once-in-a-generation chance to tackle the problem for good, so it's no surprise Ineos and its billionaire boss, Jim Ratcliffe, are doing everything they can to stop it. 'Ratcliffe tries to distract us with sports teams and sponsorships, but we're not going to let him fill our planet with plastic, so he can fill his pockets with profit.' A spokesman for Police Scotland said: 'We were made aware of a protest on the Forth Road Bridge around 1.05pm on Friday, 25 July. Officers remain in attendance and are engaging with those involved.'
Times
19-07-2025
- Times
Rosie Walker: How Scotland's history inspired my psychological thrillers
'I need to live here,' I whispered to myself, as I stood at the top of Edinburgh's News Steps and looked out across Princes Street Gardens to the sparkling Firth of Forth. I could see the sea from the Royal Mile, and it made me want to sing. The city was the most beautiful place I had ever visited. I'd spent my first trip exploring Edinburgh's darker side: plunging underground into the creepy, dusty vaults under South Bridge; examining body parts in jars in the Surgeons' Hall Museums; and learning about body snatchers and public hangings at the National Museum of Scotland. For a wannabe novelist like me, this city was the best place to be.
Associated Press
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Rory McIlroy hitting his stride and shares Scottish Open lead with Chris Gotterup
NORTH BERWICK, Scotland (AP) — Masters champion Rory McIlroy took another step toward emerging out of the doldrums with two big shots at the end of his round Saturday that led to a 4-under 66 and gave him a share of the lead with Chris Gotterup in the Scottish Open. McIlroy kept in range of Gotterup on another gorgeous day of sunshine along the Firth of Forth and then came into everyone's view in the middle of the back nine at The Renaissance Club. Following a 15-foot birdie on the par-3 14th, his shot from a greenside pot bunker hit the pin for a tap-in par to keep his momentum. McIlroy was in trouble again on the par-5 16th; in just a horrible lie he could advance it only some 70 yards. With the wind at his back and wispy grass beneath the golf ball, he hit sand wedge from 173 yards to 10 feet for birdie. Two closing pars put him at 11-under 199. That was enough to catch Gotterup, a big athlete with big power who had gone 34 holes without a bogey until the second hole Saturday. He fell into a tie with a three-putt from 60 feet for bogey on the 14th and failed to birdie the 16th. Gotterup, who tied the course record with a 61 on Friday, had to settle for a 70. He will be in the last group with McIlroy, a daunting task given McIlroy already won at The Renaissance Club and is the biggest draw in most parts in the world, particularly in Scotland, and particularly with the British Open a week away. 'I think I'm pretty close to being back to the level I was at going into the Masters,' McIlroy said. 'I think I've had a little bit of a lull, which I feel is understandable. So I'm just getting back to the level that I know that I can play at.' Wyndham Clark had a 66 and will join McIlroy and Gotterup in the final group. Tee times are being moved up slightly to account for a forecast of heavy fog, which threatened to move in at various times Saturday but stayed offshore. Clark was at 9-under 201 along with Jake Knapp, who for the longest time was the closest challenger to Gotterup until a wild finish of birdies on the closing par 3s and bogeys on the other holes for a 68. Matt Fitzpatrick and Marco Penge also were at 201, with both English players posting a 69. Gotterup and Knapp also are in prime position to extend their stay of links golf. The leading three players not yet eligible will earn a spot at Royal Portrush next week for the British Open. McIlroy hasn't looked the same since the great day of his career that Sunday at Augusta National, where he won a playoff to finally claim the Masters green jacket and joined the exclusive group of five other players with the career Grand Slam. He has not seriously come close to winning since then. He arrived in Scotland off a two-week break and described his game at 80%. McIlroy had few complaints about it after Saturday. 'Even though I scored better yesterday (a 65), I feel like I played my best golf of the week today,' McIlroy said. He has not set foot on Royal Portrush since that Friday of the 2019 Open, where he did his best to atone for an opening 79 and wound up missing the cut by one shot. His caddie, Harry Diamond, was at the Northern Ireland links to look at some of the changes, mainly a few holes that have been lengthened. It's a big week for McIlroy, who has never won on home soil as a professional. And Sunday would be the perfect time for him to show his game is good as ever. 'When you do something that you've been dreaming your whole life to do, it was a huge moment in my life, my career,' he said of his Masters victory. 'I think I just needed that little bit of time. And to be back here for last couple weeks, and feel like I could actually digest all of it, I feel like I came to this tournament with renewed enthusiasm and excitement for the rest of the year.' Gotterup for the longest time looked collected on Saturday. After a rough start, including a bogey from a fairway bunker on the second hole, Gotterup drove into a bunker on the short par-4 fifth that led to bogey, and then nearly had a hole-in-one on the par-3 sixth with a shot that lipped out of the cup. But that was the last of his birdies. He failed to convert on the two par 5s on the back nine. He ran out of par-saving putts when he three-putted the 14th. But he's still there with a chance to add to his Myrtle Beach Classic title he won last year. 'I'm pleased, but definitely feel like I left one or two out there that would have been important,' Gotterup said. 'After 61, it doesn't feel as easy. I hung in there tough and put myself in a good spot going into tomorrow. 'I know what I'm capable of. I've won before — obviously different tournament. So I know what it takes,' he said. 'It's going to take a good round for sure, and I'm going to go give it my best.' ___ AP golf:
CTV News
11-07-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Chris Gotterup pounds his way to a 61 and leads the Scottish Open
Chris Gotterup tees off on the 13th hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) NORTH BERWICK, Scotland — The hardest task for Chris Gotterup was waking up Friday. Once he got going, he never really stopped until he tied the course record with a 9-under 61 and wound up with a two-shot lead going into the weekend at the Scottish Open. Gotterup rolled in three long putts and was long as ever off the tee, seizing on a spectacular day of sunshine and very little wind in the morning at The Renaissance Club. Harry Hall (64) was two shots behind, and a refreshed Ludvig Aberg (65) led a group that was three shots back. Aberg is coming off just the break he needed — a trip home to Sweden for the first time in a year, a chance to see friends and eat his mother's special sausage and get refreshed. He overcame a bogey-bogey start with eight birdies over his next 15 holes. That made him the only player from among the top five who played in the afternoon, when the wind kicked up along the Firth of Forth and the course became firm and bouncy enough to frustrate Scottie Scheffler and plenty of others. Scheffler, the world's No. 1 player, had a pair of three-putts and at one point after watching a putt bounce off line he extended his arm with his thumb up in mock celebration. It wasn't all that bad. He still shot 68 and was six shots behind. Gotterup, the Rutgers star who finished his final season at Oklahoma, was at 11-under 129. Rory McIlroy had five birdies on the back nine (he started on No. 10) and turned that into a 65 to join the group at 7-under 133. That group included Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., who moved up eight places after shooting 4-under 66 on Friday. Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., fell 13 spots into a tie for 27th at 4 under after a second round of 69. Corey Conners of Listowel, ont., shot 69 to make the cut at 1 under, while Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., (73) and Aaron Cockerill of Stony Mountain, Man. (71) were eliminated. Xander Schauffele, who defends his title next week in the British Open, was five shots back after a 66. Schauffele rarely gets frustrated by anything, much less a score like 66. This was different. The weather was as ideal as it can get in these parts, not so much a full blue sky and a bright sun, but only a wee breeze. 'It was there for the taking,' Schauffele said. That's exactly what Gotterup did. He's still a little jet-lagged and struggled to deal with a 5:15 a.m. alarm when he would have rather slept in. But then he saw a 45-foot birdie putt drop on the second hole. He hit it close for a few more birdies. He made a 30-footer on the tough seventh hole. And he closed out the front nine at 29 after making birdie from 20 feet. Three more birdies over the next five holes got him to 9 under. Two more birdies — one hole was a par 5 — would have allowed him to break 60. 'That didn't cross my brain at all,' Gotterup said. 'I thought 10 (under) would be cool. I think it's still my lowest round in tournament golf. I have no complaints.' Gotterup, along with leading the tournament, is leading the way to grab one of three spots available for the British Open. It would be nice to stay an extra week — he played the last two weeks and is scheduled for a flight to California on Monday to play the PGA Tour event in Lake Tahoe — but that's not why he came over. He loves coming to Scotland, even for one week, as he did last year (and missed the cut). Plus, he happened to see the forecast and it was ideal all week. The fans have picked up on it, too, as Saturday already is a sellout and Sunday tickets are going fast. 'There's probably not too many better places to be,' Gotterup said, not making it clear if he was speaking entirely about Scotland or his spot on the leaderboard. He won the Myrtle Beach Classic last year, an opposite-field event. He looks and plays like a pure athlete, and that comes form 12 years playing lacrosse as a kid in New Jersey before he decided to invest more time in golf. 'Lacrosse helps with my speed. It's a similarish motion,' he said. 'When you're shooting lacrosse, I try to rip it as hard as I can. When I grew up, I hit the ball as hard as I could. It's just how I grew up playing. Maybe if I grew up here, it would be different.' He's not aware of the rough-and-tumble Scottish game of shinty, the favorite sport of defending champion Robert MacIntyre. By the look of Gotterup, he would fit right in. MacIntyre was simply happy to make it to the weekend. The wind blew hard enough in the afternoon, and the sun baked the greens and turned them bouncy, that good scores were hard to find. The cut settled on 1-under 139. MacIntyre made a late birdie, and Justin Thomas made a 6-foot birdie on the 18th hole to make it on the number. Doug Ferguson, The Associated Press
Al Arabiya
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Al Arabiya
Chris Gotterup pounds his way to a 61 and leads the scottish open
The hardest task for Chris Gotterup was waking up Friday. Once he got going he never really stopped until he tied the course record with a 9-under 61 and wound up with a two-shot lead going into the weekend at the Scottish Open. Gotterup rolled in three long putts and was long as ever off the tee seizing on a spectacular day of sunshine and very little wind in the morning at The Renaissance Club. Harry Hall (64) was two shots behind and a refreshed Ludvig Aberg (65) led a group that was three shots back. Aberg is coming off just the break he needed – a trip home to Sweden for the first time in a year a chance to see friends and eat his mothers special sausage and get refreshed. He overcame a bogey-bogey start with eight birdies over his next 15 holes. That made him the only player from among the top five who played in the afternoon when the wind kicked up along the Firth of Forth and the course became firm and bouncy enough to frustrate Scottie Scheffler and plenty of others. Scheffler the world's No. 1 player had a pair of three-putts and at one point after watching a putt bounce off line he extended his arm with his thumb up in mock celebration. It wasn't all that bad. He still shot 68 and was six shots behind. Gotterup the Rutgers star who finished his final season at Oklahoma was at 11-under 129. Rory McIlroy had five birdies on the back nine (he started on No. 10) and turned that into a 65 to join the group at 7-under 133. Xander Schauffele who defends his title next week in the British Open was five shots back after a 66. Schauffele rarely gets frustrated by anything much less a score like 66. This was different. The weather was as ideal as it can get in these parts not so much a full blue sky and a bright sun but only a wee breeze. It was there for the taking Schauffele said. That's exactly what Gotterup did. He's still a little jet-lagged and struggled to deal with a 5:15 a.m. alarm when he would have rather slept in. But then he saw a 45-foot birdie putt drop on the second hole. He hit it close for a few more birdies. He made a 30-footer on the tough seventh hole. And he closed out the front nine at 29 after making birdie from 20 feet. Three more birdies over the next five holes got him to 9 under. Two more birdies – one hole was a par 5 – would have allowed him to break 60. That didn't cross my brain at all Gotterup said. I thought 10 (under) would be cool. I think it's still my lowest round in tournament golf. I have no complaints. Gotterup along with leading the tournament is leading the way to grab one of three spots available for the British Open. It would be nice to stay an extra week – he played the last two weeks and is scheduled for a flight to California on Monday to play the PGA Tour event in Lake Tahoe – but that's not why he came over. He loves coming to Scotland even for one week as he did last year (and missed the cut). Plus he happened to see the forecast and it was ideal all week. The fans have picked up on it too as Saturday already is a sellout and Sunday tickets are going fast. There's probably not too many better places to be Gotterup said not making it clear if he was speaking entirely about Scotland or his spot on the leaderboard. He won the Myrtle Beach Classic last year an opposite-field event. He looks and plays like a pure athlete and that comes form 12 years playing lacrosse as a kid in New Jersey before he decided to invest more time in golf. Lacrosse helps with my speed. It's a similarish motion he said. When you're shooting lacrosse I try to rip it as hard as I can. When I grew up I hit the ball as hard as I could. It's just how I grew up playing. Maybe if I grew up here it would be different. He's not aware of the rough-and-tumble Scottish game of shinty the favorite sport of defending champion Robert MacIntyre. By the look of Gotterup he would fit right in. MacIntyre was simply happy to make it to the weekend. The wind blew hard enough in the afternoon and the sun baked the greens and turned them bouncy that good scores were hard to find. The cut settled on 1-under 139. MacIntyre made a late birdie and Justin Thomas made a 6-foot birdie on the 18th hole to make it on the number.
