North Berwick, Scotland – Jake Knapp loves golf so much. He wants to extend his stay another week. He took a step towards that Thursday with a 6-under 64, which made him the lead four-way share at 6-under 64 after the opening round of the Scotland opening.
Rory McIlroy had to birdie through his final three holes, but he had to make a 15-foot bogey putt for 68, but for 68 it wasn’t enough to keep more than half of the 156 field on par.
Sepp Straka scored eight birdies in 64 rounds, with Nico Echavarria and Victor Perez joining the leaderboard alongside Knapp. Four other players were one shot behind, but Scotty Schaeffler had to settle for 67, with three returns.
Knapp is one of those who are not eligible for the British Open at the Royal Portrush next week. The Open offers spots to three major players in the Renaissance Club who are not yet on-site.
His current itinerary is to leave for Boston on Monday before returning to California.
“For now,” he said. “Hopefully I can change that.”
Perez is not a Portrush configuration either. He birded three of the last four holes, finishing with a birdie putt from 25 feet on hole 18.
Schaeffler, who missed the Scotland opening last year and to spend more time at home with his newborn son, played in the morning and started off with a 30-foot Eagle Putt. He gave him plenty of chances the rest of the way, but failed to drill enough birdie putts within 10 feet.
There were a few mistakes, but there was little other stress.
“I think I could have gotten a little more from my round,” Schaeffler said. “It felt like I did some good things that didn’t pay off since the start, but I wish I could get back some 3 unders and some bogeys, but overall it wasn’t that bad.”
McIlroy thought it was about 80% of places he wanted to go further than he returned to Northern Ireland next week. He suffered from the wind, especially from the tee, hitting only four of his 13 fairways.
One tee shot was forced to play sideways up to the fairway as he stepped into the wall of No. 5. Another found the bunker on the 15th. McIlroy tried 9 iron to clean his sudden lips and failed, and the ball returned to depression caused by the swing. He grabbed the next one, rolled behind Green and hit a wedge that drilled a 25-foot bogie putt to limit damage.
He birded the final three holes – two putts in 16th place, 25 footers on the 17th, and a final birdie from 20 feet – saved a reasonable score. Also at the age of 68 was Xander Shaufele, the British Open champion who played with him.
“It was a great finish,” McIlroy said. “Ruff stopped by a bit and felt a bit rusty there. I took a few weeks off, but I found my rhythm and started hitting better shots along the way.
“So, I still feel like I have the best before me, as only four are behind after the first day.
Knapp skipped the Scotland opening last year as a rookie. He won the Mexico Open in February, playing more golf than usual, leading to a body that needed fatigue and rest. So this was his first trip to Scotland and he began to explode from the time he arrived.
“I haven’t played a lot of Link Golf, but I feel it’s pretty good for the game,” Knap said. “I’m creative and I like to hit different shots, and it only fits my eyes.”
On Ricky Fowler’s advice, he landed on Monday and headed for North Berwick, the fourth and first course of nearly two centuries. He played with his father and his caddy, his mother and girlfriend walking along.
“It was amazing,” he said.
Schaeffler had a big gallery, but not everything was for him. He played with Robert McIntyre. Robert McIntyre became Scott’s first Scott in 25 years last year, winning the national opening. He had a totally opposite start to Schaeffler, failing a birdie in par 5 10th place in the start and hitting a shot on the 12th made him wonder if he wasn’t tied up.
“Thankfully, I didn’t listen to the ex,” he said. “I managed to find it as Yard Abu Half’s inbound and fell off and got a bogey. From there I got back to basics.”
He, along with most others, has now reached 68 within its thickness.