Back nine strikes again at Royal Aberdeen
THE back nine at Royal Aberdeen continued to pose problems for the field in yesterday’s third round of the Scottish Open.
But David Drysdale’s inward half of 33 en route to a two-under-par 69 left the Edinburgh native more than satisfied.
“It was tough out there with the wind coming in from the left which is never good for a right-handed golfer,” he said.
“And when you go in either the rough or the bunkers, it becomes difficult to make par so it is a real grind.”
But Paul Lawrie was one player who was not complaining about conditions, he was just glad to be there after going home on Friday in the firm belief he had missed the cut!
“When I finished, I was in 89th place, and it is unusual for 20- odd guys to drop back in the afternoon, and that just shows you how good the back nine is.”
Lawrie shot a solid par 71, but was left once more to lament a bad day on the greens. “I had two single putts, one of two feet, and the other from eight feet.
De f e n d i n g champion Phil Mickelson confessed disappointment with his one- under- par 70 which left him too far behind the leaders.
“I think a low score is out there, but I’d need an eight or nine-under par. But I will be off early enough to make some noise,” he insisted.
Robert Karlsson made more than just noise when his drive from the fifth tee hit a spectator. “We had no chance to see anything when we got there because of the fog, so we waited for about thirty minutes.
“When I drove, it was not very successful because I almost killed a spectator,” he said.
“I hit it left, and hit him on the shoulder from where it bounced on to the sixth tee to give me a good lie for the pitch.
“I gave him the ball, and he seemed pretty happy.”
It did not upset the Swede either. He birdied from there then eagled the next hole to go on and finish with a 67.