Jake Knapp Leads the Scottish Open with a Standout Performance
Golfer Jake Knapp is enjoying links golf so much that he’d like to extend his stay by another week. He took a significant step toward that goal on Thursday, with a round of 64 strokes, six under par, which put him in a four-way tie at the top of the leaderboard in the first round of the Scottish Open. The windy conditions at The Renaissance Club weren’t enough to stop more than half of the 156 participating players from finishing at par or better. Rory McIlroy, for his part, had to get birdies on his last three holes, including a 25-foot bogey putt on the 15th hole, to sign a card of 68. Sepp Straka also shone with eight birdies in his round of 64, joining Knapp at the top of the leaderboard, along with Nico Echavarria and Victor Perez. Another four players were one stroke behind, while Scottie Scheffler settled for a 67, finishing three strokes behind the leader. Knapp is among those who have not yet qualified for next week’s British Open at Royal Portrush. The Open offers places to the top three players at The Renaissance Club who are not yet qualified. Your current itinerary is to leave on Monday for Boston and then return to your home in California.Perez’s participation in Portrush is also not assured. He birdied three of his last four holes, finishing with a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole, which was played against the wind. Scheffler, who missed last year’s Scottish Open to spend more time at home with his newborn son, played in the morning and started with a 30-foot eagle putt. He had several opportunities during the rest of the round, but failed to sink enough birdie putts within 10 feet. There were some errors, but otherwise, little stress.“For now,” said Knapp. “I hope I can change that.”
Jake Knapp
McIlroy estimated that he was at 80% of where he wanted to be before returning home to Northern Ireland next week. He struggled against the wind, especially off the tee, hitting only four of 13 fairways.“I feel like I could have gotten a little more out of my round,” Scheffler commented. “I did some good things that weren’t rewarded after my start. But three under par, I wish I had a couple less bogeys, but overall it wasn’t too bad.”
Scottie Scheffler
A tee shot landed just short of a wall on the 5th hole, forcing him to play sideways back into the fairway. Another found a bunker on the 15th hole. McIlroy tried a 9-iron to get over a steep edge and missed, the ball rolling into a depression caused by the swing. He managed to chip out the next one, hit a wedge that rolled over the back of the green, and made a 25-foot bogey putt to limit the damage.
He birdied the last three holes: a two-putt on the par-5 16th, a 25-foot putt on the 17th, and a final 20-foot birdie to salvage a reasonable score. Also with 68 strokes was Xander Schauffele, the current champion of the British Open, who played alongside him.Knapp missed the Scottish Open last year as a rookie. He won the Mexico Open in February and played more golf than usual, which caused fatigue and a body that needed rest. So this is his first trip to Scotland, and he started having fun from the moment he arrived.“It was a great finish,” McIlroy said. “I felt the rough was a little inconsistent, a bit rusty after taking a couple of weeks off. But I found my rhythm and started hitting better shots down the stretch. It’s the type of golf course and the type of conditions where I feel the group will be pretty bunched up.
Rory McIlroy
Following Rickie Fowler’s advice, he landed on Monday and headed to North Berwick, a course just outside the Firth of Forth that has been around for almost two centuries. He played with his father and his caddie, with his mother and girlfriend walking alongside him. Scheffler had a large crowd, not all for him. He played alongside Robert MacIntyre, who last year became the first Scot in 25 years to win his national open. He had a very different start to Scheffler, failing to birdie on the 10th hole and then hitting a shot on the 12th that he feared was out of bounds.“I haven’t played a lot of links golf, but I feel like it suits my game pretty well,” Knapp said. “I like to be creative and hit different shots and it just fits my eye.”
Jake Knapp
Finished with 68 strokes, right in the middle of the competition, along with almost everyone else.“Fortunately, I didn’t listen to the marshals,” he said. “I managed to find it a yard and a half inside the boundaries, got the drop and made bogey. From there, I went back to basics.”
Robert MacIntyre
