Cameron Tringale shot a 2-over-par 72 Friday but held onto a three-shot lead after the second round of the Genesis Scottish Open in North Berwick, Scotland.
Thanks to Tringale’s opening-round 61, he still stands at 7 under through two rounds at The Renaissance Club, comfortably ahead of Gary Woodland (72 Friday) and Doug Ghim (69) at 4 under.
Xander Schauffele shot the low round of the day, a 5-under 65, and U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick of England was close behind with a 66. Their rounds got them to 3 under for the tournament, in a tie for fourth with Kurt Kitayama (71) and England’s Jordan Smith (69).
Scores came back down toward par as the wind was more of a factor than in the first round. Tringale started on the back nine and made six bogeys — including four in a row from the 16th hole to the first — to go with four birdies.
“I can’t speak for everyone but my group struggled,” Tringale said. “Long putts, it’s so tough to judge how much the wind is going to hurt, and then you get a putt that’s where the wind is going sideways, and I mean, it might be a ball, two, a cup, even as close as seven, eight feet.
“I mean, the course I think is still gettable, honestly, even in the wind,” he added. “I just need to play the par 5s a little better, and you know, work on those into the wind shots and I should be alright.”
Tringale, 34, is in position to make a run at his first PGA Tour victory. It is his 332nd career start, the most starts without a win for any player on tour since 2009.
Ghim managed his 69 thanks to four birdies he made in a five-hole stretch at Nos. 2-6.
“It’s been a blast,” said Ghim, ranked No. 204 in the world. “I was just telling my caddie that I think this is my favorite place in the world to play golf. It makes you think. There are some shots that you have to play like in America, and some shots that I would never consider playing back there.”
Woodland started his round on the back nine and bogeyed five times in six holes from No. 14 to No. 1, before recovering somewhat with three straight birdies at the third through fifth.
Schauffele made sure all eyes stayed on him after winning the Travelers Championship June 26 and the JP McManus Pro-Am in Ireland earlier this week. He also began Friday’s round on No. 10 and carded an eagle 3 after landing his second shot inside 14 feet of the pin.
He made two birdies and two bogeys before making the turn and added birdies at Nos. 3, 7 and 9, avoiding bogey the rest of the way.
“The start definitely helps,” Schauffele said. “(The second shot at No. 10) was an 8-iron from 200-something yards we are trying to fly about 165 yards and for it to roll within 15 feet is always a bonus.”
Fitzpatrick could have finished the day at 5 under, alone in second place, but after 16 holes of bogey-free golf he wrapped up with bogeys at the eighth and ninth.
Smith rolled in a hole-in-one at the par-3 17th hole, winning new cars for both himself and his caddie as a bonus.
The Scottish Open, a popular spot for players to tune up the week before the Open Championship, was co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour for the first time this year. Fourteen of the top 15 players in the Official World Golf Ranking were in the field.
Among those who missed the cut of 3-over 143 were world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, defending Open champion Collin Morikawa, Will Zalatoris and Billy Horschel all at 5 over; Hideki Matsuyama of Japan and Viktor Hovland of Norway at 7 over; and Justin Thomas at 10 over.
Mito Pereira of Chile was tied for fourth after an opening-round 66, but posted an 81 Friday and fell to 7 over, missing the cut.
–Field Level Media