Thomson hits back with record 65 to lead Scottish Open
Sometimes playing golf for a living is straightforward. A player works hard, finds form, grows in confidence, cards a great score: the upward curve all professionals dream of. Other times life gets in the way, tossing out all notions of momentum – and yet somehow a new perspective emerges.
Scotland’s Michele Thomson revealed she has a new appreciation of the latter process after posting a superb seven-under-par 65 to grab a two-shot first-round lead in the Women’s Scottish Open at Dumbarnie Links in Fife.
Last month, the 33-year-old’s father suffered a heart attack while caddieing for her at a Ladies European Tour event in Finland, and understandably her focus had drifted ahead of a fifth start in her national championship. “I’ve had quite a tough time and haven’t been concentrating on my golf,” she said. “But it also showed me that golf is just golf. Just get on with it and, whatever happens, that’s life.”
Father Graham was fit enough to follow her early on yesterday, albeit outside the ropes. Unfortunately, the first thing he witnessed was a dropped shot at the first. No matter. Thomson’s new-found mindset kicked in, she bounced back with an eagle three at the second, and then posted seven birdies in her final 10 holes to card a women’s course record at the new links venue designed by Clive Clark.
“I just hit restart on the second tee and smashed a great drive straight down the middle,” she said. “I thought, I’ve got adrenalin here, and it snowballed from there.”
A closing par breaker at the 18th was greeted with a fist bump from the 1999 Open champion Paul Lawrie, whose Five Star Sports Agency manages Thomson and whose sage advice has guided her reintroduction to the game after a spell pounding the streets of her home city, Aberdeen, as a policewoman.
US Open winner Yuka Saso, from the Philippines, signed for an excellent five-under 67 that left her in a three-way tie for second with Thailand’s Jasmine Suwannapura and Anne van Dam from Holland.
She then revealed that she, too, had been welcoming input from experienced links champions ahead of what is her debut in the home of golf. “The golf course is so beautiful, but it’s very different to what I’m used to,” Saso said. “I’m definitely still in the learning stage playing in Scotland. I’ve talked to many legends, though, like Justin Leonard (the 1997 Open champion) and I played a practice round with Stacy Lewis (the 2013 Women’s Open winner). They gave me good advice. I’m learning something new every day, and it’s really fun.”
Lewis reiterated her seaside golfing skills by winning this title last year at The Renaissance Club and she began her defence with a solid enough 71, a score matched by both England’s Georgia Hall and the Women’s Open champion, Germany’s Sophia Popov.