Hopefully you didn’t miss this year’s version of the Scottish Open.
It was a pure delight, you got the full experience from the nice weather at the Renaissance Club to the bone-chilling, windy, rainy survival test of a Saturday then a Sunday that ended in shocking manner when Aaron Rai took the title after watching fellow Englishman Tommy Fleetwood blow a three-footer on the first playoff hole.
If you like compelling stories, this one was your cup of tea, or, if you prefer, a glass of your favorite single malt scotch.
The weather is always the supreme factor when it comes to Scottish golf and for the first two days on the Firth of Forth, the Renaissance Club willingly yielded birdies and Aussie Lucas Herbert led the parade with rounds of 66-65 — easy peasy.
Then came Saturday — the rains came early then grew in intensity as the day progressed. Add bone-chilling temperatures and enough wind to throw the field into mayhem by the shore. Herbert went from 36-hole leader to a tie for 22nd after getting battered into an eight-over par 79 — 14 shots higher than his Friday effort. Veteran Robert Rock kept his wits about him long enough to shoot one over — 72 and that put him in the 54-hole lead at 10-under with European stalwarts Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood hanging near the top.
Sunday turned into a day of mercy and when Rock bogeyed the first hole to drop into single digits under par, he opened the door and basically sent out an invitation to no less than a dozen players to take a shot at victory.
Comeback of the tournament belonged to Herbert. After the Saturday disaster, all he did was birdie five of his first eight holes to crawl back into contention. He’d finish well ahead of the final groups. He fought on but an untimely bogey at the 17th dropped him back to nine under. “I was thinking it might take 13 (under) to win,” he said after his day’s work was finished. But he knew it was Saturday that did him in. “The scorecard didn’t look great yesterday but it was so tough out there,” he remembered. Another 65 to close earned him a share of fourth and a chance to sit back and watch, and wait.
Over the final nine, it was Rai, Rock and Fleetwood as the final survivors. Rai was a good hour and change in front and it was a week ago at the Irish open that a pair of bogeys on the final nine that kept him from victory. This time, three birdies and a great par save at the 18th got him in the house at 11-under after he posted the day’s finest effort, a seven-under par 64.
Fleetwood and Rock both birdied the par four 15th to get to 10-under with the birdie friendly par five 16 awaiting. It was there that Fleetwood gagged on a three-footer for birdie after Rock holed an unlikely 12-footer to go 11-under. After a pair of pars at 17, they came to the tricky 18th — Fleetwood needed birdie to force a playoff, Rock, just a par. Rai was on the range, anticipating extra holes.
Fleetwood hit a brilliant approach at 18, 12 feet behind the hole while Rock’s second came up just short on the fringe. Rock asked for relief as his ball stayed in its pitch mark and he got it then made a move that confused all who were watching. Looked like an easy choice — putter all the way. Instead, he took wedge, hit it poorly and ended 12 feet past the hole. Fleetwood holed his birdie then Rock missed and his bogey sent the tournament into a two-man playoff — world’s No. 254 — Rai vs. No. 17 — Fleetwood. Experience and resume in Fleetwood’s favor.
Rai’s drive on the 18th (first playoff hole) found the deep fairway bunker left while Fleetwood’s three-wood was perfect, leaving him a stock short iron. Rai played it safe and his escape from the bunker left him 30 yards short of the green. Fleetwood was just short on the fringe — easy two-putt at the worst. It was then that Rai made yet another great pitch shot and got within four feet of the cup while Fleetwood third left himself another three-footer, reminiscent of the one he blew at the 16th..
Rai, who had been so very steady, drained his then watched as Fleetwood miss the cup entirely with his effort to extend the playoff and handed Rai just his second European Tour win.
“It feels incredible,” said Rai, who will move inside the world’s top 100 for the first time. “It’s rewarding and pleasing. It’s great to have played well today and won a tournament. The conditions were a little bit easier today. I hit some really good approach shots as well, drove it well and had good opportunities. I made some good putts at the right time as well and just overall played very well.”
Fleetwood was ever the gentleman.
“I played really, really well today, especially on the back nine,” he said. “At the end of the day, I holed that one on the last to get in the playoff but putting cost me overall throughout week. It summed it up — I just pulled a straight putt on the last. It’s disappointing. Of course, you always look at the positives but I messed up on the first play-off hole and that’s that.
“It’s Aaron’s time, Aaron’s week. He played great last week. A worthy winner.”
Indeed.
