Cameron Tringale starts at 61, leading the Scottish Open

North Berwick (AP), Scotland — Cameron Tringale has played 331 times on the PGA Tour but has not won. His career best round, 9 Under 61, may help him change that in tournaments run by the European Tour.

Tringale ran off six straight birdies to start his back nine at the Renaissance Club on Thursday, winning a three-shot lead at the Scottish Open, the first European event co-authorized by the PGA Tour.

Former US Open Champion Gary Woodland saw Phil Kennion pay off in 64 rounds, the only round close to Tringale.

“I have never won a professional victory myself. This place is special because Scotland is clearly the beginning of golf,” Tringale said.

And it was relatively benign, at least for Tringale. That wasn’t the case when the average score was three or more shots higher on Thursday afternoon.

The flag was crackling with a gust of 30 mph that was felt even stronger along the coast of the North Sea. This is the condition best described by the club used.

Some players, if they reached the fairway on the 16th of par 5, barely reached it.

Patrick Cantlay had 231 yards for a second shot at the 483 yard closing hole. He hit three woods, but that wasn’t enough. Cantlay finished well with three straight pars that were premium. He had a hard earned 70.

US Open Champion Matt Fitzpatrick kicked off at 71, with PGA Champion Justin Thomas holding up as much as possible. Thomas bogey three of his last five holes for 73.

The low score from the afternoon was 66-year-old Kurt Kitayama, and only five other players who faced the afternoon wind managed to beat the par.

Tringale had the lowest score in his PGA Tour career, consistent with the course record set by Bernd Wiesberger when the Renaissance played at Par 71 three years ago.

It distracted from early candidate Justin Harding. South Africa won a temporary stay against a European tour that suspended him by playing a Saudi-sponsored LIV golf event outside London without asking for a release, adding to the field of 156 people4 I was one of the players.

Harding joined the first group as a duo with Adrian Otegi of Spain. This is another LIV golf player who requested a stay on the court.

“I’m doing my best to play golf and put food on the table,” said Harding, the world’s No. 114 player who earned just over $ 1.1 million in two LIV events. He said he had no contract with LIV Golf and was invited through the rankings.

“I was a little angry because I was told I couldn’t play. I’ve been supporting the European Tour for a long time and I’m happy to continue to support it,” Harding said. “Sometimes it’s a little uncomfortable, but we have to take care of ourselves.”

Jordan Spieth set a fast pace by escaping five straight birdies, but dropped three shots in the last ten holes of 68. Based on his knowledge of the course, he called it a two-nine story.

“The nine games I’ve never seen before worked really well, and the nine games I played yesterday didn’t work,” said Spieth, who has been playing for the first time since 2015, a week before the British Open. Andrews.

It makes sense that the PGA Tour co-sanctioned the tournament for the first time this year. This makes it 14 of the top 15 in the world in the Renaissance. This course looks like one and is fast enough without a true link.

Tringale, who has reached the Tour Championship only once in the last 12 years on the PGA Tour, is having one of his better years. He missed the Torrey Pines playoffs in one shot and was a runner far from Hideki Matsuyama at the Zozo Championship last fall.

The conditions along the North Sea would not have been ideal for him anymore. There was only a breeze and a deep blue sky in the morning. Tringale utilized one major club in his bag.

“Golf is more fun when putts are in, and they were for me today,” he said.

He made a pair of birdie putts from a range of 40 feet, and only four of his nine birdies were in six feet. Equally important were some of the midrange parpats he first made.

For Masters Champion Scottie Scheffler, it was a tough time to make a double bogey from the 18th fairway from rough to rough and lose more ground on the front nine at 73.

The Scottish accusation was led by Ewen Ferguson (67) and Russell Knox (68), who listened to strong advice from his wife, a former tennis pro. When Knox was persuaded to try a long putter, he wrestled with his putter.

“My wife said,’You’ve been playing professional golf for 15 years and it’s scary to put. Try something different,'” Knox said. “The best putt in my life was a par of 3 feet on the first hole, because if that didn’t work, we had a long day.”