Great Scott races to the front

Writing from Castle Rock, Colorado

Friday, August 23, 2024

Adam Scott wasted no time chasing down Keegan Bradley on the BMW Championship leader board on Friday. Bradley might not even have been out of bed when Scott teed off at 7:35 a.m., and promptly birdied the first hole.

Scott, who had opened with a 4-under 68 at Castle Pines Golf Club compared to Bradley’s leading 66, would make eight more birdies before his day was done, and that 9-under 63 for a 36-hole aggregate of 13-under 131 made his lunch all the sweeter. Scott will go into Saturday’s third round with a three-stroke lead over Bradley, who was bogey-free until a mishap at the last brought him in with a 68 for 10-under 134.

In other words, Scott made his move a day before Moving Day.

“I think I took advantage of good conditions this morning and hopefully set myself up to have a real run at this thing on Sunday now,” Scott said. “Your mindset changes so much. Leaving the range, I just kind of wanted to keep moving in the right direction, grind out and shoot under par and keep going that way. Then by the middle of the round I was thinking of how many birdies can I make. It's funny how that happens.”
The answer – nine – added up to a new course record. About 3 1/2 hours later, Ludvig Aberg, a playoff rookie, matched him with a 63 of his own and sits solo third at 9-under 135.

Scott, whose first PGA Tour start came in the 2000 International, when he’d barely been a pro for a month, played Castle Pines like a member, hitting 11 fairways, 15 greens, and taking only 24 putts. He averaged 24 fewer yards off the tee on Friday – 320 compared to 344 – but hitting the ball in the right places on a Jack Nicklaus course has its benefits.

“I thought everyone would be going low, and then it played a bit tougher yesterday,” Scott said. “I think when you actually have to count your score out of the rough in the tournament, you see how thick the rough is. But there's plenty of room off the tee. The fairways are wide and the greens are receiving. After the rain yesterday, they're a bit softer. You can definitely attack. If you're on, guys should be going at pins.”

Scott, with Adam Hadwin in the second twosome off, took advantage of the half-inch rain that soaked the course during Friday’s thunderstorm delay. Others did as well – the scoring average of 70.040 was two strokes lower than the first round – but Scott made the most of every shot, considering an up-and-down on the par-3 fourth the key to his round. He missed the green on the 234-yard hole, but pitched to six feet and made the putt to save par.

Scott was more precise on the 229-yard 16th, dropping his shot to 4 feet and making birdie.

“That's one of the ones that came out pretty much how you drew it up in your head. That was a nice way to close out the round,” Scott said. “I played within myself. I picked fairly conservative targets. But it was a good day to be aggressive when you had the right number, like on 16. There were a couple other holes where I had wedges or shorter clubs where I brought it in close because the greens were soft and receiving. I didn't play overly aggressive, but I think I executed well, and I putted very well today.”

Bradley played the front nine in 1-under 35, but got going on the back, with a birdie on the 10th and three straight beginning at the 13th. But he made a dog’s breakfast of the 18th, going from the right rough to the left rough, then watching his pitch to the green roll back 20 yards. He was fortunate to finish with a bogey 5.

"I just have basically hit every shot the way I wanted this week,” Bradley said. “Even that drive on 18, I hit really well. Just the wind got it a little bit.”

He’ll be paired with Scott in Saturday’s final group, which he relishes.

“Adam is a world-class Hall-of-Fame type player,” Bradley said. “He went out and did what he does, and I'll have to play really well to hang with him this weekend.”

Aberg had made seven birdies in the first round, but finished at even par 72 thanks to a pair of double-bogeys and three bogeys. Friday, he cleaned up his card with eight birdies and an eagle, offset by a solitary bogey.

“I was still very aggressive, which I like,” Aberg said. “Yeah, I'm going to keep doing that and try to keep up and make a few birdies to catch Adam. It was just a little bit more efficient. The misses that I had were a bit tighter. I had a couple misses yesterday that were quite big. I just didn't make those two doubles that I made yesterday, and I made a few more putts.

“Adam for me is an inspiration,” Aberg, 24, said of the 44-year-old Australian. “He's been there for a long time, and what he's doing with that longevity is amazing. I look up to him a lot. It'll be fun to try to catch him this weekend.”

Alex Noren was in the day’s first pairing and went around in 4-under 68 for the second straight day to settle in color fourth at 8-under 136. Even with five 5s on his card, it was a solid effort.

“I know yesterday was firmer and more wind, so that made it a little tougher,” Noren said. “But I hit the ball better today. I hit a lot more fairways, hit the iron shots better, wedges better. Got some more chances. I'm happy."

Friday’s drama was played out without one of the leading men, Hideki Matsuyama. He withdrew before his 9:10 a.m. tee time because of lower back pain. He had finished up the first round after a 3 hour 10 minute delay, missing a two-foot birdie putt, which erased the gain from his 73-foot 11-inch birdie putt on the fourth hole on Thursday. Matsuyama’s withdrawal meant Collin Morikawa had to play alone.

Matsuyama, ranked third in the playoff standings entering the week, is in the field for next week’s Tour Championship. He also withdrew from last year’s tournament at Olympia Fields with back trouble after an opening 71.

Around Castle Pines

Notables: Collin Morikawa is tied for 10th at 4-under 140. Rory McIlroy’s 1-under 71 puts him at 3-under 141 and a tie for 15th. Xander Schauffele and defending champion Viktor Hovland are among those in 23rd at 2-under 142. Playoff and world points leader Scottie Scheffler scored even par 72 for 1-under 143 and a tie for 29th. He was flummoxed on at least one occasion by a poor approach yardage. He also couldn’t believe he missed a short putt coming in. … Keegan Bradley smiled when he heard the chant on the first tee: “U-S-A! U-S-A!” You get that when you’re the new Ryder Cup captain. … The PGA Tour stat crunchers report Adam Scott’s nine birdies bring his career total into fourth place in Tour history. He’s played 1,414 rounds on the circuit. … Castle Pines played a mere 7,960 yards on Friday. … Golf Channel’s Golf Central set is on a hillside above everything else on the grounds, matching the altitude of the Castle Pines clubhouse clock tower.

– Tim Cronin