Tom McKibbin will be praying to Mother Nature as he finds himself just outside the cutline ahead of the afternoon wave on day two of the Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club near North Berwick.
Calm conditions greeted the early starters on Friday morning, and playing alongside European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald and another contender for selection for a playing berth at Bethpage, Belgium’s Thomas Detry, McKibbin got off to an ideal start with an opening birdie at the par-5 10th.
But back-to-back pulled iron approaches on the par-4 11th and par-3 12th found nasty lies in the thick rough and led to bogeys on each, and a third bogey arrived on the par-5 16th which moved him to +2 for the day and +1 overall and it appeared that his race was run.
But if Luke Donald wasn’t overly impressed with the first 27 holes, his interest will have been further piqued by McKibbin’s response with his back to the wall.
The 21-year-old rolled in a 13-footer on one, then piped an approach to the par-5 third that was unlucky to find its way into the back bunker. He’d get up-and-down from there to give himself a fighting chance, and a neat up-and-down on the drivable par-4 fifth moved him to just the wrong side of the provisional cutline.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t find another birdie over the closing four holes, watching a series of putts and makeable chip shots come close but fail to drop and he’d sign for a second successive 69 and a -2 tally that, barring the wind picking up considerably, will be a shot or too too many.
Still, there are plenty of positives to take across the country to Royal Troon where he is set to make his second major appearance and Open Championship debut, and Luke Donald will continue to watch with interest over the next 12 months or so.
Seamus Power, needing to be among the top three not-already-exempt finishers to book an Open Championship spot gets his second round underway from -1 at 13:43, the same time as Rory McIlroy who begins on the other side of the course at the first and has eyes on a successful defence after an opening five-under 65.
Padraig Harrington has work to do as well when he begins round two at level par.
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