​NORTH BERWICK, Scotland — The notorious Scottish haar off the North Sea caused two delays on Saturday, leaving Matt Fitzpatrick and Michael Thorbjornsen at the top of the leaderboard with a long final day ahead to finish the Scottish Open and then head south to England for the year’s final major. Thorbjornsen birdied his last two holes to reach 11-under through 13, while Fitzpatrick failed to save par after missing the green on the 8th as play was halted.
On Sunday, Thorbjornsen and perhaps a dozen others were chasing one of the three remaining Open Championship spots for leading finishers not yet exempt. The plan for the third round was to resume at 7 a.m., followed by the final round with threesomes starting off the first tee. With the extended summer daylight, finishing isn’t expected to be an issue. Yet sorting out the contenders proved as unpredictable as the weather.
Fifteen players were separated by three shots in a group that did not include Rory McIlroy. He bucked the trend with bogeys caused by a missed tap-in par, a duffed wedge off the tee at a par-3, and a difficult scramble after missing the fairway on the par-5 seventh. McIlroy needed a 20-foot par putt on the 8th, his final hole, to stay 3 over for the round and five off the co-leaders. He began the round tied for the lead.
Johnny Keefer was among the fortunate finishers, posting a 64 to reach 10-under 200. “I think I had the mindset this week that anything can change,” Keefer said. “I knew it was going to be a little colder, so I could prep a little bit. Yeah, the wind has picked up. It’s switched directions three times in the week we’ve been here.” Keefer would love to apply that mindset next week at Royal Birkdale. He is the third alternate for the Open Championship.
Also at 10 under with the third round still in progress were defending champion Chris Gotterup (through 10 holes), U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark (15 holes), Min Woo Lee (8 holes), Jordan Smith (7 holes), and Kevin Roy, who bogeyed the 16th on his final hole. Of that group, Roy is not yet qualified for the Open and is eager to earn a spot. “I know there are some spots to get into The Open, so I’ve got really nothing to lose,” Roy said. “Gotta go out there and keep making birdies and see where we end up.”
Karl Vilips stood at 8 under through 12 holes and emerged as a sentimental favorite to at least secure one of The Open spots. Vilips has been a high-profile story, traveling from Kentucky for the opposite-field ISCO Championship on Monday when a spot at The Renaissance Club opened up for him. Nine players ahead of him on the Scottish Open alternate list chose to stay in Kentucky, leaving Vilips to make a quick and uncertain trip. It’s a large undertaking on short notice with no guarantees, but Vilips viewed the upside clearly: a spot in The Open next week.