A year after missing the cut in the Genesis Scottish Open in just his fifth start as a professional, Ludvig Åberg cruised into the halfway lead in the £7million event in pursuit of the biggest win of his young career.
The 24-year-old Swede exploited ideal conditions at the Renaissance Club to card a second successive 64 for a halfway total of 12 under par, one shot ahead of France’s Antoine Rozner.
Rozner, who has yet to drop a shot this week, added a 64 to his opening 65 while Italy’s Matteo Manassero and South Korea’s Sungjae Im were on 10 under after rounds of 63 and 67 respectively.
Defending champion Rory McIlroy lies three shots off the lead after a 66, with Spain’s Alejandro del Rey – a late call-up after the withdrawal of Sebastian Söderberg – also on nine under after starting his second round of 62 with six straight birdies.
“It’s been very nice,” Åberg said with typical understatement. “I felt like we’ve had a very good game plan and are executing the shots.
“We try not to force anything. We try to have a lot of acceptance when we play and make sure that we put good swings on it, and give ourselves plenty of chances, which I felt like we’ve done very well.
“There’s, what, 150-something players in the field? No-one is going to play perfect golf for 72 holes.
“I think things like a bad bounce are going to happen to everyone at some point and, whenever that happens, you’ve just got to try to deal with it the best you can.”
Åberg only turned professional in June last year but won the final Ryder Cup qualifying event in Switzerland at the start of September and was hailed as a “generational talent” when given a wild card by Europe captain Luke Donald.
He partnered Viktor Hovland to a record 9&7 thrashing of world number one Scottie Scheffler and five-time major winner Brooks Koepka in Rome as Europe regained the trophy, and two months later won his first title on the PGA Tour.
Åberg then finished runner-up to Scheffler in April’s Masters on his major championship debut and held the halfway lead in last month’s US Open, but is determined not to let success go to his head.
“I wouldn’t describe myself as a superstar. All I try to do is play good golf,” Åberg said.
“Whether these last 12 months have changed my life on the golf course, it hasn’t really changed my life off the golf course. I’m still me and I’m still the same personality and that’s not going to change in the future.”
Manassero was 13th in the 2009 Open as a 16-year-old amateur and the following year became the youngest winner in European Tour history, but the Italian struggled with his game after trying to become a longer hitter and slumped to 1,805th in the world before battling back.
Asked if he found it easier to put things in perspective after his struggles, Manassero, 31, said: “Yes, and I also know much more about me on the golf course.
“I think I can handle myself a lot better, and yeah, you can enjoy more the good things that come, and I guess be a little more prepared for the future.”
Home favourite Robert MacIntyre, who was denied victory 12 months ago by McIlroy’s brilliant birdie, birdie finish, added a flawless 65 to his opening 67 to lie four shots off the lead.
The left-hander’s birdie on the “stadium” par-three sixth was greeted with a deafening roar and MacIntyre admitted: “I’m trying to stay as even-keeled as I can but it’s hard at times.
“The crowd is going wild and chanting me all the way up to the green and when I holed the putt it was almost a relief for me, but also a goosebump moment when the crowd erupted.”
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