There was no wind and good weather conditions along the Scottish coastline two days before the 2024 Scottish Open, providing ideal scoring conditions for players. Unprepared at the Renaissance Club, Ludwig Oberg was unstoppable in the first 36 holes, opening with a 6-under 64 and then another on Friday to enter the weekend at 12 under, one shot ahead of French player Antoine Rozner.
“It felt really good,” Oberg said. “I felt like our game plan and our hitting was really good. We tried not to force anything. We tried to be very receptive when we played, make sure we took good swings and gave ourselves plenty of opportunities, and I felt like we did that really well.”
The young Swede got off to a fast start in the second round, hitting four birdies in the first eight holes to climb to the top of the leaderboard. He added two more birdies and no bogeys in the second nine holes of the day, further enhancing Aberg’s reputation while Rozner also made some gains of his own.
Still, Oberg, who is only 14 months into his career, is gaining important lessons every week. Having led after 36 holes at last month’s U.S. Open, he is in the same position again this time around and will surely put the lessons he learned at Pinehurst No. 2 into practice this weekend in Scotland, where a host of big-name players will be waiting to see him.
A host of DP World Tour players, including Rozner, Matteo Manassero and Rasmus Hogaard, were firmly in Oberg’s wake, but the bigger competition came from the PGA Tour. Im Sung-jae lost his putting mojo in the first round but was still able to effectively shoot a 10-under 70.
The South Korean finished one stroke better than Sahith Theegala, Collin Morikawa and defending champion Rory McIlroy over 36 holes. The Northern Irishman methodically played through 18 holes on Friday and is once again ready for the weekend’s National Open.
leader
1. Ludwig Oberg (-12)
Oberg’s statistics were about what you’d expect. He ranked in the top five in strokes gained off the tee, hit 31 greens in 36 pars and had a fair number of putts. What can’t be measured, however, is his ability to handle bad situations. He had one on the par-5 3rd hole on Friday, when the robotic right-hander hit his tee shot into the fairway.
To the naked eye, everything seemed fine, but Aberg’s golf ball landed downhill, then uphill, making it nearly impossible to get over the ground in front of him. His second shot ended up hitting the uphill in front of him, causing his golf ball to veer slightly off course and land in a lateral bunker 45 yards from the green. Aberg smiled, brushed the ball away, and proceeded to hit his third shot to within 5 feet and make birdie.
“I think [a bad bounce is] “Everybody’s going to be in that situation at some point, and whenever it happens, you have to deal with it the best you can,” Oberg said. “All I can do is try to make the best play possible, and then hope that the decision we make is the right one, and when we find it, try to make another play.”
Other competitors
2. Antoine Rozner (-11)
T3. Sungjae Im, Matteo Manassero (-10)
T5. Collin Morikawa, Rory McIlroy, Sassis Segara, Rasmus Hojgaard, Alex Noren, Alejandro Del Rey (-9)
Another week, and another chance for Morikawa to get to the winner’s circle for the first time in 2024. The two-time major champion was one of the best players to not win this season, but it wasn’t for lack of opportunity. He opened with a 65 but finished with a 66 that included a few miscues and missed chances, as well as a bit of a lazy approach with his driver. A small improvement in his use of the driver (which has been very good this year) could pay big dividends for Morikawa on the weekend.
“It’s awesome. Learning about the sport, you don’t adjust, you make little improvements, which is pretty exciting,” Morikawa said. “It doesn’t mean I’m hoping and waiting for those days to come because you can still win tournaments without it. But I know I’ve played those tournaments in the past and been in those tournaments, and I know it’s going to happen eventually.”
Rory’s main preparations
As of this week, McIlroy has played in seven pre-major tournaments since the start of 2019. In those seven tournaments, the 35-year-old has won four times, including last year’s Scottish Open and this year’s Wells Fargo Championship. After rounds of 65-66, he was just a few shots behind the 36-hole leader and looked like he was on track to compete for a fifth.
Spieth’s season suspended
Well, the links golf guru had a rough week. Jordan Spieth missed the cut by a few shots, missing out on the Scottish Open for the second straight season, and he entered the Open Championship with his game in doubt. The three-time major champion arrived in Scotland with his iron game trending in the right direction for the first time this season; however, that never quite panned out across the Atlantic. He began his Open career with 10 straight cuts, but at Royal Troon his form could be in serious jeopardy.
Updated odds and picks for the 2024 Scottish Open
- Ludwig Aberg: 7/4
- Rory McIlroy: 5-1
- Ren Chengcai: 9-1
- Colin Morikawa: 10-1
- Alex Nolen: 16-1
- Sassis Tigala: 20-1
- Antoine Rozner: 22-1
- Rasmus Hoijgaard: 25-1
Morikawa is 10-1, not far off his pre-tournament odds, and his performance shows no signs that his good form won’t carry over into the weekend. Even if his cue isn’t cooperating on Friday, he’s been able to create plenty of scoring opportunities for himself, and that will be the theme of the tournament from now on. If it’s not Morikawa, then darts should be looking to potential breakout candidates including Tommy Fleetwood (45-1) and Justin Thomas (100-1).