Kapur survives; Lahiri misses cut

Edited by Anand Datla

July 11, 2015: There was a marked improvement in the performances of the Indian trio at the Scottish Open. All three men were par or better in the second round of the event in Gullane, but only Shiv Kapur managed to secure himself for the weekend. Anirban Lahiri shot a 68 on Friday to go 1-under, but that mark was right underneath the cut line. Jeev Milkha too went under par in the second round, but at three over he was way below the midway marker for survival. Kapur only needed an even par 70 to remain at two under, nudging his card into the weekend stakes.

A week after making the cut for the first time in five months, England’s Daniel Brooks surged into a commanding halfway lead at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open. The 28 year old won the Madeira Islands Open last season, but followed that breakthrough with 14 consecutive missed cuts before picking up another cheque.

After playing the weekend in Dubai at the end of January, Brooks missed 13 cuts in a row this term, but finished tied for 20th in France last week to stop the rot. An opening 64 at Gullane suggested that was more than a temporary return to form, and a second round 65 put Brooks 11 under par and three shots clear.

“I played really solid and I’ve not missed many shots at all,” said Brooks, who after an eagle on the long second had one bogey and four birdies, including an effort from 25 feet on the last.

“The last three weeks now; Germany, I started playing nicely, just missed the cut there but played some nice golf. France, I had a load of silly mistakes, bogeys. Cutting them out this week and it’s worked out nicely so far. It’s hard to miss that many cuts. It does get you down. It only takes one good week out here and hopefully that’s what I’ll have. I’ve been there, done it, hopefully can have a good weekend and see what happens.”

Defending champion Justin Rose and his Ryder Cup team-mate Graeme McDowell were among those sharing second on eight under, along with Swede Johan Carlsson, Ireland’s Shane Lowry, American Ryan Palmer and Englishman Matthew Nixon. Rose rated his game at just 50 per cent despite carding a second consecutive 66.

The former US Open Champion recovered from a bogey on the first with five birdies in the next seven holes, but could only manage nine straight pars on the back nine. The closing stretch was not without incident however, with Rose’s tee shot on the 16th hitting an elderly spectator on the head.

“You can’t quite see where the spectator line is on that hole and when I saw the ball bounce up I was hoping it had maybe hit one of the white stakes,” Rose said. “I was pretty concerned walking up there and seeing there was someone on the ground, but he took it like a trooper and was talking to me so that was slightly reassuring. He told me had been coming to tournaments for years and years and had never got hit before.”

Speaking about his round, Rose said his game was “running at 50 per cent”, adding: “There are still a couple of loose shots that I am getting away with on this course that I wouldn’t on other courses. But I feel like I have managed my game well, played the hard holes well and kept it clean.”

Playing partner Phil Mickelson, who won the 2013 Open a mile down the road at Muirfield, was in danger of missing the halfway cut when he bogeyed the 11th and 12th, but responded in style with a hat-trick of birdies from the 14th to finish three under – the cut eventually fell at two under with a bumper 83 players through to the weekend.

Lowry, who was in contention for the US Open last month before finishing ninth, also carded his second successive 66 and credited his recent good form to a settled home life.

“I’ve settled down a lot and matured a lot,” said Lowry, who won the 2009 Irish Open while still an amateur. “Everything in my life is a lot more stable and my golf is reaping the benefits.”

Carlsson went round in a 67 which included four birdies against a single bogey. “For me it was just pretty solid,” he said. “I continued to putt good, made some saves. I did have a few chances, though, but I made a few good par putts as well.”

Chile’s Felipe Aguilar was alongside Mickelson on three under after a 64 which featured birdies at the first and second and a hole-in-one on the third, where he holed out from 170 yards with an eight iron.

The 40 year old has a habit of brilliant bursts of scoring, winning his second European Tour title in Singapore last year with a final round of 62 at Laguna National, holing his second shot to the 18th to complete the back nine in just 28 shots.

But the best round of the day belonged to Dutchman Joost Luiten, who produced a flawless 63 to match Thorbjørn Olesen’s opening effort. Luiten will be hoping for a better follow-up than the Dane on Saturday – Olesen fired a 77 to miss the cut on level par.

Follow Us: Twitter.com/GolfingIndian

Join Us: Facebook.com/GolfingIndian

Download Our APP Here

Source: European Tour