Scottish Open: No. 1 Jon Rahm rises to the top at the Renaissance Club
Spaniard US Open champ is joined in lead in Scotland by Thomas Detry and Jack Senior
Jon Rahm continued his imperious form as he moved into a share of the lead after a six-under par second round at the Scottish Open, the second Rolex Series event on the 2021 Race to Dubai calendar.
The world No. 1, who won his maiden Major three weeks ago at the US Open, made the turn in just 29 with six birdies and recovered from dropped shots with two further gains as he signed for an 11-under par total at the Renaissance Club.
Rahm shares the 36-hole lead with Belgian Thomas Detry, who has four runner-up finishes on the European Tour, including the European Open last month, and Jack Senior, also chasing a maiden victory.
Reigning Race to Dubai No. 1 Lee Westwood shares fourth with compatriot, and two-time Rolex Series winner, Matt Fitzpatrick, plus South African George Coetzee on 10-under.
Two strokes further back in a share of eighth place are former world No. 1 Justin Thomas, 12-time European Tour winner Ian Poulter, Spaniard Alvaro Quiros — who is seeking an eighth European Tour win — and the leading Scotsman, David Law.
“I think we were fortunate the first seven, eight holes, really no wind at all,” said Rahm after a damp round. “So when you play a links golf course with no wind, you can make some birdies.
“I was enjoying some really good iron play, hitting it close, and as hard as it is to believe, seven-under through 10, I could have made a couple more putts because they were not long.
“But you’re always going to struggle through a couple holes and I tried to minimise as much as possible. I would say through the whole tournament yesterday and today, maybe short game needs to be a little bit better.
Detry added: “I really love the golf course. I’ve got great vibes coming into this week. I think I shot the lowest round last time, in October last year, joint lowest-round with Aaron Rai who obviously won.
“Got off to a great start this morning, same yesterday, as well. It’s all very nice and hopefully I can keep it going.”