Scottish Open: Ludvig Åberg earns halfway lead with Rory McIlroy in contention

Ludvig Åberg leads on 12 under after back-to-back rounds of 64, with defending champion Rory McIlroy three shots behind; watch continued coverage of the Genesis Scottish Open ahead of the 152nd Open at Royal Troon next week, both live on Sky Sports Golf

Ludvig Åberg earned a one-stroke lead on 12 under at the halfway point of the Scottish Open, with defending champion Rory McIlroy in contention just three shots off the pace.

Åberg delivered the best 36-hole score (128) of the 24-year-old’s fledgling career with back-to-back rounds of 64 to establish the scoring record through two rounds at The Renaissance Club in events when par is 70.

France’s Antoine Rozner, who has yet to drop a shot this week, is second on 11 under, while Italy’s Matteo Manassero and South Korea’s Sungjae Im are 10 under after rounds of 63 and 67 respectively.

Then comes McIlroy, who after a second-round 66 is in a large grouping that includes 2021 Open champion Collin Morikawa that are three shots off the lead, while overnight leader Justin Thomas has fallen back to six under after a disappointing two-over round of 72.

Spain’s Alejandro del Rey – a late call-up after the withdrawal of Sebastian Soderberg – is one of those tied with McIlroy at nine under after starting his second round of 62 with six straight birdies.

Åberg only turned professional in June last year but won the final Ryder Cup qualifying event in Switzerland at the start of September and was hailed as a “generational talent” when given a wild card by Europe captain Luke Donald.

He partnered Viktor Hovland to a record 9&7 thrashing of world number one Scottie Scheffler and five-time major winner Brooks Koepka in Rome as Europe regained the trophy, and two months later won his first title on the PGA Tour.

Aberg then finished runner-up to Scheffler in April’s Masters on his major championship debut and held the halfway lead in last month’s US Open, but is determined not to let success go to his head.

“I wouldn’t describe myself as a superstar. All I try to do is play good golf,” he said after his second round.

“Whether these last 12 months have changed my life on the golf course, it hasn’t really changed my life off the golf course. I’m still me and I’m still the same personality and that’s not going to change in the future.”

Home favourite Robert MacIntyre, who was denied victory 12 months ago by McIlroy’s brilliant birdie, birdie finish, added a flawless 65 to his opening 67 to lie four shots off the lead at eight under

The left-hander’s birdie on the “stadium” par-three sixth was greeted with a deafening roar and MacIntyre admitted: “I’m trying to stay as even-keeled as I can but it’s hard at times.

“The crowd is going wild and chanting me all the way up to the green and when I holed the putt it was almost a relief for me, but also a goosebump moment when the crowd erupted.”

McIlroy in the hunt in his first appearance since his disastrous finish to the US Open last month, said: “I’m probably standing here feeling like I should be sort of around Ludvig’s score if not a little bit better after the last couple of days but I’m still in a good position.

“It’s another weekend where I’m right in the mix of a golf tournament and that’s a nice position to be in after the last three weeks that I’ve had.”

Watch round three of the Genesis Scottish Open, live on Sky Sports Golf from 3pm on Saturday, before the 152nd Open at Royal Troon from July 18-21. Stream the PGA Tour, majors and more with NOW.