Not much can raise expectations and predictions for Rory McIlroy ahead of the 2023 Open at Royal Liverpool – where he won the Open in 2014. However, a win at the Tournament. tennis Scotland Open 2023 will qualify. After opening with an excellent 6-under 64 record, McIlroy seemed to be on his way to compete at The Renaissance Club as he trailed first-round leader Byeong Hun An by three points.
“I’m so excited. I’ve only just returned to a major venue I’ve won the season since, which was Kiawah a few years ago…Yes, it would be great. It would be great to be filmed. back there,” McIlroy said. “So I think playing affiliate golf this week too, definitely just helps me adapt to the conditions, the grass and everything else. There’s a lot of golf to play before going down to Liverpool, and I want to play. good next time three days.”
McIlroy may be the only major champion in the top 10 of the leaderboard, but he’s not the only threat to An. Two-time PGA Tour winner Tom Kim rediscovered some form at the venue that has put him on the radar of golf fans near and far. The young Korean tennis player stands at 4 points below with Max Homa with Sam Burns and Rickie Fowler one place behind.
A logjam comes with a touch and adds points behind An with a score of 2 under. Scottish Open 2021 Min Woo Lee has made a fantastic recovery from his opening brace and finds himself among an all-star cast that includes Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Matt Fitzpatrick and Justin Thomas.
Leader
1. Byeong Hun An (-9)
Starting his day at number 9, An will find his chance with four consecutive birdies from numbers 13-16. Returning to the bottom 5, the former DP World Tour member clinched another birdie in the early part of the second ninth before connecting from distance in the final game to set a course record.
An’s summer start has been lackluster as he missed two of his three tackles, but overall the season has been a success. Reclaiming his foothold on the PGA Tour, the former U.S. Amateur champion looked to a new brush-style putter to complement his incredible length and masterful teeing play. Following the advice of Adam Scott and Si Woo Kim, An’s full range of shots and talents were on display on Thursday.
“I love it [links golf],” said Ann. “I started taking an affiliate course playing The Challenge Tour and playing The Open many times. I love link golf. It’s different from the courts we play in the US. You just need to put it at different points. I really like it and as long as the weather is nice, and I prefer warmer weather, but (on) an associate course, I’m comfortable. It can make shots difficult to get in but I think I did well today.”
other candidates
2. Davis Riley (-7)
T3. Rory McIlroy, Thomas Detry (-6)
T5. Yannik Paul, KH Lee (-5)
T7. Julien Brun, Max Homa, Will Gordon, Ewen Ferguson, Oliver Bekker, David Lingmerth, Ross Fisher, Tom Kim, Sami Valimaki (-4)
McIlroy’s Open win nine years ago began a period not seen since. Winning the Claret Jug at Hoylake, the WGC Bridgestone Invitational and the PGA Championship in three protracted tournaments, McIlroy enjoyed one of the best summers in recent history. Could a win at the Scottish Open produce something similar? I’m not going to take that into account because he’s one of the best people to get on in development, and a win leading to The Open could be just what the doctor ordered to break the big drought. his.
“I think the putt was more than anything — I had a great start, a very quick start, five-under to seven and made some really good putts,” McIlroy said. “Probably the only thing I wasn’t nervous about going into today. But rather I was wondering, it seems I didn’t have enough time to adapt to the greens, and I didn’t hit the mark. the ball was good in Pro-Am yesterday. But I had my eye on it early and it was great to see.”
Could Scheffler’s record be in jeopardy?
The world No. 1 not only did not miss a spot this year, but also did not finish outside the top 12. After nine holes at The Renaissance Club, Scheffler found himself superior and still had a lot of work to do to continue his streak of success. his accumulation. 18 finishers in the top 12 as of October 2022. Three nine-point birdies later sent Scheffler into the top 30 with a two-under, but the batter continued to be uncooperative. He sits outside the top 120 in strokes on Thursday and will need to see how that club behaves if his historic streak continues.
Justin Thomas makes a putt
The two-time PGA champion entering the week has missed 3/4 of the cut and 4/8 of the cut since the Masters. He’s tried everything to improve his putting, and now he’s changed his grip. Going low left-handed (or what some might call a forehand), Thomas looks for this change to power up his season as he battles for a spot in the Qualifiers. FedEx Cup and on the US Ryder Cup Team.
“I feel like there are definitely a couple of putts that I can make,” Thomas told the audience. PGA . Tournament. “My putt was terribly late today, that was the biggest question mark for me. I felt like my hand was something I could use to my advantage, and I changed that. , trying to put putts from 60, 70, 80 feet, I’m not sure if I’m going the usual way.”
Despite what it might feel like, Thomas was still outside the top 100 for strokes hit on Thursday.
Scotland Open 2023 Odds and Selection Updates
Odds via Caesars Sportsbook
- Rory McIlroy: 14/5
- Byeong Hun An: 11/2
- Scottie Scheffler: 9-1
- Max Homa: 14-1
- Rickie Fowler: 16-1
- Davis Riley: 16-1
- Thomas Detry: 18-1
- Tom Kim: 25-1
- Tommy Fleetwood: 30-1
- Wyndham Clark: 35-1
- Matt Fitzpatrick: 35-1
The 2022 Scottish Open begins with a player shooting a 9 under 61 only to score a victory of 7 under. With the weather and winds blowing into North Berwick, expect this ranking to be even denser.
With this in mind, 35-1 Wyndham Clark might be worth a try. The US Open winner excelled from tee to green in Round 1, especially with his iron, and scored three birdies ahead of a bogey. He is four points behind McIlroy and will enjoy calmer conditions on Friday. He will need to get better with the putter (ranked 127th in putt hit) but will be able to recalibrate his pace with 18 holes below his belt. Padraig Harrington at 90-1 could also be interesting because he has similar stats.
