Lee Westwood knew he caught a break on the first day of the Scottish Open when he got up early Thursday, opened the curtains of his room and took a look at the weather in North Berwick.
It was cold, windy and rainy and that’s what the early starters at the Renaissance Club dealt with in the morning.
“I opened the curtains this morning and thought, ‘ooh, that looks rough’,” said the 47-year-old Westwood, who won the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond back in 1998.
“But that was the forecast, chilly and damp and then clearing up as the day went on. You’ve still got to make hay while the sun shines or the wind drops and I did that. You’ve got to be patient. If you’re not three or four under early you can start chasing and getting aggressive. You have to break it down and play the course on its merits.
“That’s how I’ve been playing for a few weeks, starting on the tee, trying to hit in the right place on the fairway. Playing the US Open taught me a lot. My game has been disciplined the last few weeks,” said the European Tour stalwart, who finished just outside the top 10 at Winged Foot.
Westwood, playing with fellow Englishman Ian Poulter and emerging Danish star Rasmus Hojgaard, set himself up with a dream start. With his son Sam on the bag, Westwood hit a three-wood second into the par five third that scared the hole for an albatross but stopped just three feet from the cup — easy eagle three. After a birdie at the fifth, he reached the seventh in two and holed a 25-footer for his second eagle on the outward nine.
Coming home, Westwood made three straight starting at the 12th then at the par five 16th, he hit a solid three-wood from a good lie in the rough that left him pin-high, right of the green. He pitched to four feet and made it to go nine-under for his round and he’d signed for 62 — his best effort of the season on the European Tour.
As good as Westwood’s 62 was, he was only a shot clear of Sweden’s Alexander Bjork and Dutchman Joost Luiten.
Bork also played in the afternoon wave and started on the back nine. After a par at the 10th, he birdied five straight and was looking at a 30 on the inward nine until he bogeyed the par three 17th. Four more birdies on the outward nine and he posted his 63. “It was kind of a bit of a weird round,” was how Bjork described his day. “I started like a flyer with five birdies in a row the first six holes, and then I missed a couple of short putts. Then all of a sudden I made two really long ones, and then I was back in. But overall it was a very solid round.”
Scotland’s Scott Jamieson was two back of Westwood with a 64. Defending champion Bernd Weisberger opened his defense with a one-under par 70.
Editor’s Note: Friday was a total dream day for weather — bright, sunny, little to no wind and all was calm on the Firth of Forth. Still, Lee Westwood wasn’t as on point as he was on day one. Westy struggled and finished at even par 71, in the house at nine-under along with playing partner Ian Poulter, who added a sparkling 66 to his first day 67. Both are nine under and in great position going into the weekend. Aussie Lucas Herbert is the 36-hole leader after rounds of 66-65, he’s 11-under. Robert Rock (65-67) was in at minus 10.
Scotland’s Paul Lawrie Announces His Retirement:
Paul Lawrie is one of Scotland’s favorite golfing sons. He won the Open Championship at Carnoustie in 1999 and was part of the European Ryder Cup team in 2012 that pulled of “The Miracle At Medinah.”
The 51-year-old winner of eight European Tour events, announced on Thursday at the Scottish Open that he’s calling it a day. He’s been bothered by back problems and can’t practice like he once did.
“There are a lot of factors behind the decision, the main one being that I don’t feel I can be competitive week in, week out at this level,” Lawrie said after an opening two-over-par 73 at The Renaissance Club. “My back is not very good, I’ve got a herniated disc and I struggle to practice enough. I’m not able to hit the amount of balls I need. I’m not particularly talented so I lose my game quite quickly. I need to hit hundreds of balls but if I hit 50 or 60 now I have to go and sit down and come back in the afternoon. I’m also very busy off the course and I enjoy that more than the golf these days.”
Lawrie has a charitable foundation based in his hometown of Aberdeen along with a golf center.
He’ll continue to play in the Open Championship, where he’s exempt until age 60 and he’ll play in the senior events in Europe.
Lexi Thompson Four Back At Shoprite:
Defending Lexi Thompson’s opening round 67 was a good start but she found herself four shots back of the co-leaders at the Shoprite Classic.
American Lauren Stephenson and South Korea’s Mi Hyang Lee were the day one leaders with eight-under par 63s at the Seaview course outside Atlantic City.
Ryan O’Toole and world’s No. 8, Nasa Hataoka of Japan were a shot back with 64s.
World’s No. 2 Nelly Korda’s 68 kept her in the hunt while No. 4 Brooke Henderson from Canada finished with 68.
Open champion Sophia Popov was back in action and shot 68.
