Wiesberger Ties Lead At Halfway Point of Scottish Open With Record 61

Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger shot his best ever round on the European Tour to tie for the lead at the halfway point of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open.

Wiesberger shot a 61 on Day 2 at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick, his first-ever round of ten-under-par, and it has brought the Austrian right into the hunt for his first Rolex Series event title.

Wiesberger finished his round on the front nine and birdied his last five holes to follow his opening-round of 67 up with a 61, and he now sits at -14 after 36 holes.

Two others sit at -14, as both Erik van Rooyen and Lee Slattery doubled up with a pair of 64s over the opening two days to tie for the lead at the halfway point.

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Former Open Champion, Henrik Stenson, is alongside Nino Bertasio, one of five Italians inside the top 20 on Friday evening, with the pair sitting two shots back at -12.

Lorenzo Gagli and Guido Migliozzi are two of the other Italians towards the head of the field. They are in the group at -11, along with Ryder Cup star Justin Thomas, Spain’s Adrian Otaegui and Finland’s Kalle Samooja.

Eight more Englishman are inside the top 40, with both Matthew Fitzpatrick and Ian Poulter sat at -10, with the trio of Andy Sullivan, David Horsey and Oliver Wilson a further shot back, five behind the leaders.

Another trio is at -8, with Matt Wallace, Andrew Johnston, and Eddie Pepperell all safely through to the weekend’s action in North Berwick. Alongside them is Rory McIlroy, also at -8.

Two Welshman through to Saturday’s action also caught the eye on Friday, as they took the number of hole-in-ones this week up to four already.

Thursday saw South Africa’s Trevor Immelman hit an ace, while Kalle Samooja shot his second hole-in-one on the European Tour.

Both of those came on 15, just like Stuart Manley’s ace on Friday afternoon. However, it was Bradley Dredge who caught the eye, as he aced the par-3 17th to take home a brand new BMW X7.

The pair finished Friday’s action at -6, eight shots off the lead. Also in that group are Tyrrell Hatton, Nicolas Colsaerts and George Coetzee among others.

Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, and Christiaan Bezuidenhout all sneaked in on the cut line at five-under-par. The 137 accumulative score ties the record for the lowest ever cut line on the European Tour.

There were plenty of big names who failed to make the cut, including home favourite Russell Knox, and Irish legend Padraig Harrington.

South Africa’s Branden Grace and Zander Lombard, along with England’s Robert Rock, Chris Wood and Matthew Southgate all failed to make it through to the weekend’s play.

Former major champions Graeme McDowell and Paul Lawrie also failed to reach -5, along with the American duo of Kevin Kisner and Jimmy Walker, while European Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn retired after just four holes of his second round.

The action gets underway on Saturday morning at 09:05, with an all-English pairing of Oliver Fisher and Ashley Chesters getting things going.

Almost seven hours later, Lee Slattery and Erik van Rooyen will tee off in the last pairing of the day, as they get their rounds underway at 15:50.

Leaderboard after Round 2:

• -14: Bernd Wiesberger (AUT), Erik van Rooyen (RSA), Lee Slattery (ENG)
• -12: Henrik Stenson (SWE), Nino Bertasio (ITA)
• -11: Lorenzo Gagli (ITA), Kalle Samooja (FIN), Guido Migliori (ITA), Justin Thomas (USA), Adrian Otaegui (ESP)
• -10: Sean Crocker (USA), Calum Hill (SCO), Romain Langasque (FRA), Brandon Stone (RSA), Renato Paratore (ITA), Edoardo Molinari (ITA), Thomas Pieters (BEL), Matthew Fitzpatrick (ENG), Ian Poulter (ENG)

Selected Others:

• -9: Matt Kuchar (USA), Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP), Jamie Donaldson (WAL), Andy Sullivan (ENG)
• -8: Matt Wallace (ENG), Eddie Pepperell (ENG), Rory McIlroy (NIR)
• -7: Richie Ramsay (SCO), Grant Forrest (SCO), Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)
• -6: Tyrrell Hatton (ENG), Bradley Dredge (WAL), George Coetzee (RSA), Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL)
• -5: Lee Westwood (ENG), Martin Kaymer (GER), Trevor Immelman (RSA), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (RSA)

Missed Cut:

• -4: Lucas Bjerregard (DEN), Haotong Li (CHI)
• -3: Padraig Harrington (IRL), Thongchai Jaidee (THA), Branden Grace (RSA)
• -2: Chris Wood (ENG), Matthew Southgate (ENG), Russell Knox (SCO)
• -1: Justing Harding (RSA), Kevin Kisner (USA), Robert Rock (ENG)
• E: Paul Lawrie (SCO), Graeme McDowell (NIR)
• +2: Jimmy Walker (USA), Zander Lombard (RSA)