Immelman will give up telly gig to reach Open
SCOTTISH OPEN
BY EUAN McLEAN TREVOR IMMELMAN might have to make an awkward phone call to his Golf Channel bosses to cancel his commentary stint at the Open – after putting himself in the frame to play.
The 2008 Masters champion rolled back the years with a cracking 64.
But from the high of holding off Tiger Woods in his prime to win at Augusta, the last 10 years have seen him plummet from 12th to 1200th in world rankings.
The South African blames a mix of injuries and bad decisions and considers himself more of a TV analyst than a full-time Tour pro.
But if he can build on his eight-under total he could clinch one of three Open spots up for grabs to highest non-exempt finishers.
Immelman said: “I’m probably a little better at holding the microphone than the golf club!
“I’ve got such a long way to go but if I’m on the 18th tee on Sunday with a chance of qualifying for The Open it might cross my mind.
“For now I’m just going to go enjoy this 64 – the best round I’ve shot in a long time.” LEADERBOARD R Rock 64 63. T Hatton 65 64, J Dantorp (Swe) 64 65.
E Pepperell 67 63, R Fowler (USA) 64 66. –H Li (Chn) 66 65, A Bjork (Swe) 67 64, S Fernandez (Spa) 64 67, L Westwood 64 67.
L List (USA) 63 69, S Horsfield 67 65, T Immelman (Rsa) 68 64, D Frittelli (Rsa) 65 67, A Rai 69 63.
S Brown 69 64, S Kjeldsen (Den) 66 67, C Hoffman (USA) 67 66, G Fernandez-Castano (Spa) 67 66, H Tanihara (Jpn) 72 61, T Jaidee (Tha) 68 65, M Siem (Ger) 66 67, J Rose 67 66, 71 62, I Poulter 66 67, 66 67. M Pavon (Fra) 67 67, B Stone (Rsa) 70 64, J Campillo (Spa) 69 65, J Guerrier (Fra) 65 69, D Willett 66 68, J Morrison 69 65, K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 69 65,
70 64, J Smith 67 67, B Hebert (Fra) 69 65, A Levy (Fra) 68 66, M Fitzpatrick 68 66, P Reed (USA) 65 69, O Farr 69 65. BY EUAN McLEAN BLEARY-EYED Connor Syme trudged 20 paces from his digs to the range before dawn, then shot the round of his dreams to set a new course record at Gullane.
The rising star from Kirkcaldy only made it into the Scottish Open field on Monday when Tommy Fleetwood withdrew from the tournament.
So to get a prime spot to stay for the week directly across the road from the first tee was a success in itself given the short notice of his booking.
But to then go out on day two and steal the show from a superstar field with an eight-under 62 was remarkable for the rookie – even though Japan’s Hideto Tanihara topped that late in the day with a sensational 61.
Syme was half asleep when his earlymorning round started.
Now very much in the title mix on seven under he said: “My alarm went off at 4.45am but fortunately I’m really close to the course.
“I had been staying with my girlfriend in Edinburgh but David Morgan – the club secretary – put me in touch with a couple who have been happy to host us.
“It’s close. When I was standing on the 18th tee today I was actually aiming at the house. It’s literally right there.
“It’s a great feeling to have broken the course record but to do it in a field of this quality makes it even more special.
“I did briefly think about a possible 59 as I was walking down the 10th but I knew shooting 30 on the back nine would have taken some going.
“My only real target was just to make the cut so to get into contention is very much an added bonus.”
Another potential extra bonus could be a place in the Open field at Carnoustie next week, with three spots available to the highest finishing players in the top 10 who haven’t already qualified.
That would certainly cap what is an already memorable birthday week having turned 23 on Wednesday.
Having turned professional after last year’s Walker Cup and quickly winning his European Tour card at Qualifying School, Syme was snapped up by the management company run by pop star Niall Horan.
The boyband icon makes records, now Syme breaks them – and having already racked up a runner-up finish at the Shot Clock Masters last month it seems his career is heading in One Direction.
He said: “It’s no secret I’d love to qualify for Carnoustie but the focus now is this weekend. I’ve nothing to lose so I am going to go out and give it a good go.”
Three hours later another home hero was out there dreaming as Russell Knox admitted he was away with the fairies as he pulled up beside Syme as joint top Scot on seven under par.
He’s running on empty at his home tournament as the hangover from his big Irish Open success last week continues to take its toll on his body.
So to ignore the aches and give his weary mind a break he let himself drift CONNOR SYME away to think about anything and everything – but mostly just food and sleep – in between shots to get him through the day.
So to eventually trudge off with a 67 was his most pleasing round of an impressive 2018 season given the circumstances.
Knox said: “That was probably my best round of the year.
“After about three holes I felt like I’d got hit by a bus and I couldn’t focus all day. It was kinda weird.
“My whole body aches from head to toe and that’s the first day that’s happened so I’ll be going to the physio after this. I’d said at the start of the week that at some point I would crash and burn and that might have just happened. So I was proud of myself the way I hung in there.
“I made a mess of a few holes but managed to make a few nice par putts.
“I still hit some good shots but my body feels so much heavier so to battle away to a three-under score is pretty pleasing.
“I’ve been doing this for a while so I know what to do. Everyone is tired at times so you’ve just got to dig in and hit enough good shots to make pars.
“I tried to just completely check out