While there are many international players on the Genesis Scottish Open leaderboard, two Americans are at the top of the list.
Collin Morikawa and Sahith Teegala are at 9 under after 36 holes, three strokes behind leader Ludvig Oberg, who shot a second straight 6-under 64 on Friday.
Morikawa shot a four-under 66, while Teegala shot a five-under 65.
“It was a scramble today,” Morikawa said of the second round.
“I had a feel for the driver, which has been my strength all year. I was just a little off today. I was just a little off, but that happens a lot. I made the putts and got the birdie and had a decent chance.”
Morikawa also hit the fairway on eight of 13 holes on Friday, but only one mis-shot led to a bogey — he hit his first tee shot well left of the fairway on the par-5 10th — and then birdied his first six holes before reeling off three more birdies in his next six holes to bounce back.
Meanwhile, his tee shots were a little better, hitting the short grass 10 times. But one of those three misses proved costly. On the 479-yard par-4 18th, he pushed his driver to the right of the fairway, one of the most difficult holes a PGA Tour pro will face all year. Teegala then hit his approach shot left of the green and hit his third into a bunker for a double-bogey six. He otherwise had no bogeys and recorded seven birdies.
“I really enjoy links golf,” Teegala said.
“I just have to work on my game. I think that’s the strength of my game. Not necessarily sacking a bunch of shots or hitting crazy shots. Just hitting them in the right spots. But yeah, I had a really good round today.”
Luckily for Morikawa, Teegala and the other competitors, they were spared the destructive winds and driving rain that the Scottish weather often brings.
“The last two days have been really spooky. Winds under 10 miles per hour, temperatures 65 degrees,” Teegala added.
“I took my jacket off for the first five holes of the round. You don’t get to take your jacket off once on a seven-day trip here. We’ve been really lucky with the weather and even with a little bit of weather the golf course isn’t too rough.”
The low scores so far have been due to mild weather, but that will all change over the weekend. Rain and wind are forecast for Saturday and Sunday in North Berwick, Scotland, which is likely to drive up scores and frustrations while entertaining fans around the world.
But weather is also a big equalizer, especially when the leaderboard is as concentrated as it was this time.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow For more golf articles, follow us on Twitter Jack Mirko In the same way.
