The Scottish weather put an end to most of the birdies Saturday at the Renaissance Club and by day’s end, Robert Rock finished in the dark and at the top of the leaderboard.
Moving day at the Scottish Open meant moving backwards for most of the field as rain fell all day, the temperatures dropped and the wind showed up. As the round progressed the leaders got the worst of it.
By day’s end, Rock finished the 17th and 18th in the dark and his one-over par 72 left him alone at the top at nine-under par.
It was a day where all the leaders battled the elements and in most cases, the elements won out.
Overnight leader Lucas Herbert of Australia started the day at 12-under par but by the dismal end, his 79 dropped him to three-under, tied for 22nd.
Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter both started at nine-under in the next-to-last pairing. Poulter bogeyed the last hole, missing a five-footer for par that dropped him to seven-under and knocked him out of the final pairing with Rock. Instead, Tommy Fleetwood will be there. Fleetwood played early, shot 69 and rocketed up the leaderboard. Along with Poulter and Fleetwood, Marcus Kinhult and Wade Ormsby are at seven-under.
Westwood’s 76 dropped him back to four-under.
As the day progressed, the course became saturated. The high rough was beyond treacherous and standing water caused long rounds. The final twosome took five hours.
None of the players in the final three groups were able to match par.
