Scottish Open 2016: Saturday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights
Alex Noren will take a two-shot lead into the final day of the 2016 Scottish Open after another solid round at Castle Stuart.
The man from Sweden shot 68 on Saturday to move to 12 under par for the tournament. Trailing him are English player Tyrrell Hatton—who finished with a flourish to shoot 66—and Italian Matteo Manassero, both of whom are 10 under after 56 holes.
Both Manassero and Hatton will be vying for the title on Day 4, but they’ll also be acutely aware of the fact they can guarantee a spot in the field for the Open Championship next week with a top-four finish. Here is how things are shaping up ahead of what should be a fascinating final day and a look back at Saturday’s key moments.
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| 1 | Noren, Alexander | -12 | 68 |
| T2 | Hatton, Tyrrell | -10 | 66 |
| T2 | Manassero, Matteo | -10 | 68 |
| T4 | Lee, Danny | -9 | 70 |
| T4 | Walters, Justin | -9 | 65 |
| T6 | McDowell, Graeme | -8 | 69 |
| T6 | Sullivan, Andy | -8 | 68 |
| 8 | Wattel, Romain | -7 | 65 |
| T9 | Bland, Richard | -6 | 72 |
| T9 | Campillo, Jorge | -6 | 72 |
Full leaderboard available on the European Tour website.
Noren Doubles Advantage
The one-shot lead Noren had at the halfway point could have quickly disappeared in difficult conditions on Saturday, as the wind and rain whipped around the Castle Stuart course. But the leader maintained his composure, as he has done for much of the week.
A birdie at the second settled him down, and while he dropped a shot at the seventh, Noren remained an unflappable presence as the poor conditions rolled in.
Indeed, on the back nine, when the wind was at its worst, was where he really impressed. A bogey at No. 12 was the only blemish on the second section of his card, with shots picked up at Nos. 10 and 14 before consecutive birdies on the final two holes.
His effort on 17, as we can see here courtesy of the European Tour Twitter feed, was especially impressive:
“I have learnt that when you lead on this tour it's not certain you are going to win but it would be a huge win for me,” said Noren afterward, per Martin Dowden of BBC Sport. “I would love to get a little higher in the rankings so I can get into the bigger tournaments so the scheduling is easier.”
There’s a determined and classy cast in fast pursuit of Noren, though. Hatton is the man who will be alongside the leader in the final group on Sunday and will be buoyed by a brilliant finish to his round.
Like Noren, he struck two birdies to round off the day and will take a lot of momentum into the last segment of the week. He will begin with confidence, too, having started the first three holes birdie-eagle-birdie on Saturday.
Although Manassero also began well, he was undoubtedly disappointed once the mistakes crept in. Had it not been for errors and subsequent bogeys at Nos. 7, 10 and 17, he could have been very close to Noren on Day 4. As noted by BBC Scotland Sport’s Tom English, the Italian is capable of stringing devastating runs together:
Here is a look at the putt that temporarily put Manassero at the head of the field before the late surge from the aforementioned pair:
There are men on the first page of the leaderboard capable of putting together a very low round on Sunday. One is South African Justin Walters, who produced a brilliant, bogey-free seven-under-par effort of 65 on Day 3. The experienced Graeme McDowell and European Tour star Andy Sullivan are also in the hunt at eight under par.
Noren will be confident of keeping his lead intact. There was pressure on him to perform on Saturday, and he could have easily unravelled with the poor weather late in the day. The Swede held it together wonderfully, though, and provided he continues to operate with such a clear mind, it’ll take a special effort to get the better of him.
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