Two-time major champion Justin Thomas shot a bogey-free 62 to build a one-shot lead on the first day of the Scottish Open on Thursday, but he was mad at himself for missing a chance to make golf history.
The American player shot eight under on the 13th hole of the Renaissance Club's Shore Course east of Edinburgh and is on course to create only the second score of 59 in DP World (European) Tour history.
But Thomas, a two-time PGA champion, shot par on the final five holes.
“I thought par was 71, then I looked up and it was 70, and I thought, 'I just need a couple more shots.' [birdies] “I could shoot 59,” Thomas said.
“Then, shockingly, I shot five pars in a row… I definitely wanted 59, maybe even a little bit lower, so we all know what happens when you get ahead of yourself.
“But a good start is always good, a perfect start is even better. I feel like I'm in good control.”
Thomas wasn't the only player to finish low in the first round of the tournament, which serves as a warm-up for next week's British Open, golf's oldest major championship, which will be held at Troon on Scotland's west coast.
South Korea's Sung-jae Im was just one shot behind, Ludwig Arbery was six under and defending Scottish Open champion Rory McIlroy was one of several players at five under.
McIlroy was playing his first tournament since his disastrous finish at the U.S. Open last month, when the 35-year-old Northern Irishman collapsed on the final holes at Pinehurst in North Carolina and missed out on a fifth major title.
But he got his Scottish Open title defense off to a good start with an eagle on the third hole, his 12th of the day, while also making five birdies during the round.
“I hit a few shots on the first few holes that I hadn’t seen in the last 10 days of practice, and it kind of reminded me that golf isn’t as simple as I sometimes think it is,” McIlroy said with a smile.
“But then I really started to feel good. Especially on the front nine and back nine, I started to hit some good tee shots and iron shots.”
He added: “It was a good start overall, especially after the chaotic start in the first six or seven holes.”
McIlroy led by two shots with five holes to play in the U.S. Open but had triple bogeys in his final four holes, missing the 16th by two feet, six inches and the final hole by three feet, nine inches, to finish one shot behind Bryson DeChambeau.
“I’m not going to let three or four holes affect my judgment of how well I played,” McIlroy insisted.
South Africans Dylan Frittelli and Erik van Rooyen both shot three-under 67, with compatriots Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Louis de Jager two shots back.
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Photo: Andrew Reddington/Getty Images
