Like a siren singing on a rocky outcrop, the lure of an Open Championship place can be a major distraction.
Three places for next week’s Sandwich showpiece are up for grabs in the last chance saloon of the abrdn Scottish Open but Connor Syme is not getting his head turned by this particular temptation.
After a four-under 67 at The Renaissance, the same score as fellow Scots David Law, Grant Forrest and Richie Ramsay, Syme is simply focusing on the task in hand.
Asked if those Open spots were a big incentive this week, Syme, who played in the 2017 and 2019 championships, said: “Not really. I know how special it is to play The Open. But it’s so up on the air. I’m just trying to have a good week here and see where that ends up.”
With an $8 million purse and some of the world’s best competing alongside him, the home comforts of the Scottish Open certainly stir the senses. “This is like a major for us lads,” added Syme, who has posted a third and a fifth on the European Tour this season.
Some of the other tartan lads made a decent fist of it, too, with Forrest, Law and Ramsay all sitting in the upper echelons on that four-under mark.
Robert MacIntyre, meanwhile, finished a stroke further back at 3-under after an eventful round. The world No. 51 began his campaign with back-to-back birdies on his first two holes but was level-par again by the turn.
The Oban left-hander finished with a flourish, though, and birdied three of his closing five holes which included a delightfully executed flop-shot on his final hole which trundled in for a two.
from Golfweek https://ift.tt/3xs7HDJ