Ludvig Aberg has dominated this weekend at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick, keeping himself near or atop the competitive field at the 2024 Scottish Open. While that remains the case after Saturday's third round, he now has a Scotland native nipping at his heels.
Aberg carded a 5-under 65 Saturday to maintain a two-shot lead over Robert MacIntyre going into Sunday. The 24-year-old Swede has shot 65 or better in each round of the tune-up to the British Open, putting himself at 17 under for the tournament.
But the story of Saturday was MacIntyre, an Oban, Scotland native. The 27-year-old stormed up the leaderboard with a 7-under 63 in the third round, moving up to 15 under for the tournament and taking over second place outright.
MacIntyre started out hot on Saturday, tallying three birdies on the front en route to an opening-nine 30. The highlight came on the par-4 5th hole when he sank a lengthy eagle putt after driving the green to move into a tie for the lead.
A long eagle putt drops for Robert MacIntyre! 🦅
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) July 13, 2024
The Scotsman moves into a tie for the lead at the #GenesisScottishOpen. pic.twitter.com/rWOqg8DYeo
But the steady Aberg held off the run and locked into Saturday's round right away. A stellar approach into the par-4 1st set up a winding birdie putt that the 24-year-old dropped into the cup. He went on to make six more birdies and only two bogeys throughout the rest of the round.
A birdie on No. 1 gets Ludvig Aberg's day off to the perfect start. 🇸🇪#GenesisScottishOpen pic.twitter.com/q0HZswT7t1
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) July 13, 2024
Aberg has had a stellar 2024 but is still seeking his first win of the year. The former Texas Tech star finished in second at the Masters and a tie for12th in his first U.S. Open in June, which helped him skyrocket up to the No. 4 ranking in the world.
With a two-shot advantage going into Sunday's final round, Aberg will seek to end that winless drought and hoist his first trophy of 2024 before setting his sights on next week's British Open.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ludvig Åberg Holds Two-Shot Lead Over Scotland's Robert MacIntyre at Scottish Open.
