Scottish Open 2024 scores, results: Ludvig Åberg leads after Round 2; Jordan Spieth fails to qualify
Ideal scoring conditions were presented to golfers on the first two days of the 2024 Scottish Open with the wind and weather absent on the Scottish coast. With The Renaissance Club defenceless, Ludvig Åberg sealed his opening 36 holes, backing up a 6-under opening 64 with another on Friday to head into the weekend 12 under par and one stroke ahead of Frenchman Antoine Rozner.
“It was great,” Åberg said. “I felt like we had a really good game plan and executed shots. We tried not to force anything. We tried to be a lot more accepting when we played and made sure we made good shots and created a lot of opportunities, which I felt like we did a really good job of.”
The young Swede started his second round in style, making four birdies in the first eight holes to climb to the top of the leaderboard. A few more bogey-free holes on the second nine on the day sent Åberg even higher before Rozner made his own splash.
Still, just 14 months into his professional career, Åberg is gaining important experience week by week. The 36-hole leader at last month’s US Open, Åberg finds himself in the same position again and will no doubt be putting the lessons learned at Pinehurst No. 2 into practice this weekend in Scotland, where a host of big names are breathing down his neck.
A big group from the DP World Tour, including Rozner, Matteo Manassero and Rasmus Højgaard, are certainly on Åberg’s radar, but the bigger targets come from the PGA Tour. Sungjae Im lost the magic in his putting from Round 1 but was still able to navigate effectively to shoot a par 70 and reach 10 under.
The South Korean got the better of Sahith Theegala, Collin Morikawa and eventual champion Rory McIlroy over 36 holes. The Northern Irishman methodically completed 18 holes on Friday to once again position himself for a weekend run at the National Open.
Leader
1. Ludvig Åberg (-12)
Åberg’s physical stats are what you’d expect. He’s top five in strokes gained off the tee, hitting 31 of 36 greens in regulation and holding some decent putts. What’s not measurable, however, is his ability to deal with a bad shot. One came on the par-5 third on Friday, when the robotic right-hander split the fairway off the tee.
To the naked eye, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but Åberg’s golf ball had fallen downhill just before the uphill, making it nearly impossible for him to clear the ground in front of him. His second shot ended up clipping the slope in front of him and sending his golf ball slightly off course, landing in a cross-bunker 45 yards from the green. Åberg laughed, brushed it off, and went on to hit his third shot to within five feet for birdie.
“I think [a bad bounce is] “It happens to everybody at some point, and whenever it happens, you just try to deal with it as best you can,” Åberg said. “And all I can do is try to make good shots, and then hope the decision we make is the right one and try to hit it back when we find it.”
Other candidates
2. Antoine Rozner (-11)
T3. Sungjae Im, Matteo Manassero (-10)
T5. Collin Morikawa, Rory McIlroy, Sahith Theegala, Rasmus Højgaard, Alex Noren, Alejandro Del Ray (-9)
Another week and another chance for Morikawa to enter the winner’s circle for the first time in 2024. The two-time major champion is one of the best players not to win this season, but not for lack of opportunity. He backed up his opening 65 with a 66 with a couple of bad breaks and missed chances, plus a somewhat sluggish performance with the putter. A slight improvement with that putter — which has been excellent this year — could pay big dividends for Morikawa on the weekend.
“It’s cool. Knowing that the game, you’re not tweaking but you’re making small improvements, it’s exciting,” Morikawa said. “It’s not like I’m going to hope and wait for those days to come because you can still win tournaments without it. But knowing that I’ve had those rounds in the past and had those tournaments, I know it’s going to happen at some point.”
Rory’s main preparations
Coming into this week, McIlroy had played the tournament immediately preceding a major championship seven times since the start of 2019. The 35-year-old has won four of those seven starts, including last year’s Scottish Open and this year’s Wells Fargo Championship. He looked to be on track to compete for a fifth of those titles after rounds of 65-66 left him just off the 36-hole pace.
Spieth’s season postponed
Well, the links master hasn’t looked the part this week. Jordan Spieth has been eliminated from the Scottish Open for the second straight season after failing to qualify by just a few shots, and he heads into The Open with plenty of questions surrounding his game. The three-time major champion arrived in Scotland with his iron game on track for the first time all season; however, that hasn’t been the case on the other side of the pond. He started his Open career with a straight 10-over cut, but that could be in serious jeopardy at Royal Troon.
Updated Odds and Picks for Scottish Open 2024
- Ludvig Åberg: 7/4
- Rory McIlroy: 5-1
- Sungjae Im: 9-1
- Collin Morikawa: 10-1
- Alex Noren: 16-1
- Sahith Theegala: 20-1
- Antoine Rozner: 22-1
- Rasmus Hojgaard: 25-1
Morikawa at 10-1 isn’t far off his pre-tournament price, and he’s done nothing to suggest his good play won’t continue into the weekend. Even without a driver to partner him on Friday, he can still create plenty of scoring opportunities for himself, which will be the name of the game from here on out. If not Morikawa, then throw darts down the board for potential breakout candidates including Tommy Fleetwood (45-1) and Justin Thomas (100-1).
