Michael Thorbjornsen and England’s Matt Fitzpatrick are tied at 11 under through a partial third round of the fog-hampered Genesis Scottish Open after play was suspended Saturday in North Berwick, Scotland.
That sets up a potentially long day of play Sunday at The Renaissance Club.
Johnny Keefer shot a 6-under-par 64 to become the leader in the clubhouse at 10 under. Others at 10 under are Kevin Roy (through 16 holes), Wyndham Clark (through 15), defending champion Chris Gotterup (through 10), Australia’s Min Woo Lee (through eight) and England’s Jordan Smith (through seven).
Smith was the second-round co-leader along with South Korea’s Tom Kim, who sits tied for 9th place through seven holes, and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, who is tied for 25th through eight holes after struggling Saturday. McIlroy made three bogeys to fall back to 6 under for the tournament.
A fog delay of about 2 1/2 hours in the morning shortly after play began put the round off schedule and caused most of the field to have revised tee times.
Mac Meissner shot 64 and moved to within one stroke of the lead at 8 under before many of the groups even began their third rounds.
Play was halted again in the early evening because of fog and wasn’t resumed. Tournament officials have set 7 a.m. local time Sunday as the targeted time to resume the third round.
For many golfers, the Scottish Open is merely a pit stop on the way to next week’s Open Championship.
On Saturday, Thorbjornsen is at 5 under for his round and Fitzpatrick holds a 3-under score as he approaches the midway mark.
No golfer has won the Scottish Open in back-to-back years. Gotterup is also attempting to become the first golfer on the PGA Tour to win in back-to-back weeks this year after capturing the John Deere Classic last weekend.
