John pots black and Greene on way to 147
BY NEIL GOULDING JOHN HIGGINS hit top form at the Scottish Open with a memorable 147 break – his first maximum for two years.
Even a broken rib couldn’t prevent the Wishaw star giving the home supporters plenty to smile about at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena.
A ninth career maximum saw the four-times world champion cruise into the third round with a 4-0 whitewash of Northern Ireland’s Gerard Greene.
Higgins, who threatened to quit the sport earlier this week, said: “You can’t get better than that.
“I got a great ovation from the fans at the end. That’s the first time this year I’ve had a buzz since the World Final.
“I’ve not been feeling great but to get the maximum is a great feeling.
“Thankfully I feel a lot better about my game which is great.”
Edinburgh potter Ross Muir came from 2-1 down to send defending champ Neil Robertson packing with a shock 4-2 win.
But the Aussie blasted the young Scot for slow play with six frames taking over two and a half hours.
Robertson said: “It was a bit of a farce. The referee should have stepped in midway through and told Ross to pick up the pace.
“It’s an absolute joke. It sounds like sour grapes but I feel bad for the crowd.”
But Muir said: “I’ve got a medical issue with my right eye. It’s really deteriorated a lot this season so it slows me down.”
Former world champion Graeme Dott hammered Scott Donaldson 4-1.
Veteran Alan McManus crashed out 4-2 to Belgian Luca Brecel and fellow Scot Eden Sharav lost 4-2 to England’s Stuart Carrington. BY ALAN ROBERTSON ROBERT MacINTYRE wasn’t born when Ernie Els won the first of his four Major titles.
But the 22-year-old from Oban had watched enough of the South African’s highlight reel since to know the significance of last Saturday.
Sharing the first tee at Randpark Golf Club in Johannesburg, the fresh-faced European Tour rookie was left scrambling for the composure needed to tee his ball up.
Adding 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel to the South African Open group a day later would be enough to turn the sweetest of drives into a shank.
And yet, despite being one over through 11 holes both days, MacIntyre wound up the week just two shots off a qualifying spot for The Open.
Els got the better of one Scot, Colin Montgomerie, in a three-way play-off to claim a 1994 US Open crown.
MacIntyre, the youngest of four Scots to graduate from the Challenge Tour last month, wasn’t alive to see that – but he finished alongside the five-time South African Open winner on eight under, having achieved a top-15 finish in only his third Tour event.
Speaking to Record Sport from Leopard Creek in South Africa, where he’ll tee up in the Alfred Dunhill Championship today, he said: “I was right in the mix for a good top five, even a top-two finish I could have got there. But for my third event, I’d have taken that.
“It has sunk in now after last week. Me and my caddie were saying before we even played the first event that it doesn’t feel any different here and until we played with one of the big boys, the likes of Ernie and Charl, it wasn’t going to kick in.
“Playing with those two guys with their Major wins it’s made me realise, ‘Right, you’re on the European Tour playing against the big boys, the best, the best in the world almost’.
“The first day I could hardly tee the ball up. Luckily I was third to go so I had a bit of time to calm myself down. But it was great, he’s such a nice guy and so relaxed that after a couple of holes it was free-flowing – until the last couple when the crowds start building then you start realising, ‘Right I’m playing with Ernie Els in South Africa at a tournament he’s hosting’. “The Sunday was even cooler with him and Charl. If I thought Saturday was nerve-racking, Sunday tee-off was worse.
“It was just general chat with Ernie, nothing out of the ordinary. He gave me advice and a bit of encouragement.
“Just little things like, ‘Your game’s in good shape’, things I like to keep to myself. It was simple but stuff I’ll remember. I’ll probably remember those two days for the rest of my life.
“I’ve watched both of them win Majors so to get the draw on the Saturday then on the Sunday, it was a bit of a shock.
“But that’s why we play the game because of thrills like that. You’re always learning from those guys.
“Last week made me realise I can compete out here. I feel like I can compete so as long as I believe I can then I don’t see why not. It’s put me in a good place going forward.”
Even the Oban course he grew up playing, Glencruitten