Hatton motivated to win for his Mum
“l’m going to try my best to be up there”
SIX years after beating Tiger Woods head-tohead, England’s Robert Rock achieved another personal milestone to claim the halfway lead in the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open.
Rock added a second round of 63 to his opening 64 at a defenceless Gullane for a halfway total of 13 under par and two-shot lead over compatriot Tyrrell Hatton and Sweden’s Jens Dantorp, with Eddie Pepperell and Rickie Fowler another stroke back.
Lee Westwood was part of a four-strong group on nine under, with former Masters champion Trevor Immelman on eight under par alongside first-round leader Luke List.
Rock, 41, has not dropped a shot over the first 36 holes for the first time in his career and is in pole position to secure one of the three qualifying places on offer for next week’s Open Championship, although he will be in Carnoustie anyway in his role as coach to a number of fellow players.
‘I’ve started well in a few tournaments recently but it’s all about putting four rounds together and that’s the challenge,’ said Rock, whose last European Tour title came in Abu Dhabi in 2012, where he played the final round alongside Woods and outscored the world number one by two, with Rory McIlroy finishing runner-up and Woods in a tie for third.
Hatton won the Dunhill Links in 2016 and 2017 and revealed another victory here would be a welcome boost for his mother Karen, who lives near Inverness and is recovering at home after surgery to remove a tumour in her lung.
‘It was lucky they caught it early,’ Hatton said. ‘She will be watching on TV and I’ll try my best to be up there come Sunday.’
Despite adding a bogey-free 64 to his opening 65, Hatton was far from satisfied with his ball-striking.
‘On some shots I literally didn’t even hit grooves,’ he said. ‘I was so far out of the toe I’m surprised it went forward to be honest.
‘Me and the driving range aren’t friends so I’ll stay away from that, have the afternoon off and hopefully wake up with a good swing tomorrow.’
Pepperell finished fourth when the Scottish Open was last staged at Gullane in 2015 and needs another top-10 this week to have the chance of securing a second Open appearance.
‘The two similarities between 2015 and now is that I haven’t played a practise round and stayed in Edinburgh both times,’ Pepperell said.
‘That seems to be the secret for me, just go out and have nice meals in Edinburgh and drink a bit of wine and come up here and play for four hours.’
Scotland’s Connor Syme set a new course record of 62 early in the day which was broken shortly before 8pm by Japan’s Hideto Tanihara, who recorded an eagle and seven birdies in his first 15 to threaten the first 59 in European Tour history before eventually signing for a 61.
Five-time major winner Phil Mickelson missed the cut after finishing one under par. Paul Dunne and Padraig Harrington also had their weekends cut short after shooting 70 and 71 respectively.
Grame McDowell fared better, beating the cut by two but his round of 66 was a real roller-coaster containing nine birdies and six bogeys before signing off on five under par.