

The 36-hole lead at the 2025 Scottish Open belongs to Chris Gotterup, who fired a second-round 61 to tie the course record at the Renaissance Club and take a two-shot advantage into the weekend at 11 under. As he looks back down the board, however, some significant names are hot on his tail as Ludvig Åberg, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele all put together strong Friday performances to move into contention entering the weekend.
All three players hit a lull after the Masters — Schauffele has yet to truly get going in 2025 — but they are nevertheless looking to make one last push going into the final major of the year at Royal Portrush. Given their play across two days in Scotland, all three should feel as if progress has been made.
Åberg was one of few golfers to go low in the afternoon wave that faced stiffer winds, producing a 65 despite opening his round with back-to-back bogeys. After that early stumble, Åberg caught fire with eight birdies across his next 14 holes to reach 9 under, as he put his prodigious talents as a ball-striker on full display. A bogey on the 18th dropped him back to 8 under, but he should be brimming with confidence as he heads into the weekend just three shots off the lead.
McIlroy, Schauffele and Gotterup were part of the morning wave that took advantage of spectacular conditions to post low scores. McIlroy birdied five of his first seven holes but could not keep that pace up for the rest of the day, posting a 65 to move into a tie for 6th at 7 under, four back of the lead. Even so, the 2023 Scottish Open champion seems to be rounding back into form, and he knows how to navigate the firm, fast conditions at the Renaissance Club as well as anyone — especially when the winds lay down.
“I got off to a bit of a flyer. The conditions were so benign this morning, hardly any wind,” McIlroy said. “And the wind started to pick up a little bit on the back nine for us but still very, very manageable. I started to struggle a little bit, hit a couple of wayward drives but did well to scramble for pars. Disappointing to drop one coming in there, but overall, it’s a really good score and puts me right into the thick of things going into the weekend.”
Schauffele has spent all season trying to find the form that made him a two-time major champion last year, but as he prepares for his Open Championship defense next week, he seems to be finding comfort back on the links of Scotland. A solid 66 moved Schauffele five back of Gotterup, securing his 68th consecutive made cut on the PGA Tour.
Many expected Scottie Scheffler to be among the stars to make a big move Friday, but he got off to a sluggish start in the afternoon, closing with two late birdies to post 68 and sit six back at 5 under. Viktor Hovland had one of the best rounds of Thursday only to stumble backwards with a 72 on Friday to fall to 2 under, well off the pace. He at least will make it to the weekend, which can’t be said of Collin Morikawa, who shot a rather shocking 76 to fall to 4 over and miss the cut by five shots.
The leader
1. Chris Gotterup (-11): Gotterup doesn’t have much of a links golf background, but he is thoroughly enjoying his time in Scotland and the creativity links golf affords that some PGA Tour courses do not.
“I think it’s fun. We went over to North Berwick on Tuesday, and it’s not TPC Deere Run where it’s point-and-shoot and you have to be on,” Gotterup said. “I like working the ball, and I think I’m creative in some aspects. When you get a little wind and some bouncing, it just makes it fun. Doesn’t make it any easier. You’ve got to be on and hit some good shots. I think it’s definitely a change of pace and it’s a nice change of pace.”
Last year, Gotterup missed the cut after shooting a 77 on Friday, but he improved on that by 16 shots in this year’s second round to put himself at the top of the leaderboard. We’ll see how he handles the pressure of a late tee time on the weekend with a star-studded leaderboard, but his 61 was proof that he can excel across the pond.
Contenders
2. Harry Hall (-9)
T3. Ludvig Åberg, Matt Fitzpatrick, Marco Penge (-8)
T6. Rory McIlroy, Sepp Straka, Jake Knapp and three others (-7)
T12. Xander Schauffele, Brian Harman and seven others (-6)
T21. Scottie Scheffler and five others (-5)
Hall produced one of the best rounds of the day with a 64 to jump into second alone at 9 under, as the Englishman unsurprisingly looks quite comfortable so far this week. Joining Åberg at 8 under is Matt Fitzpatrick, who has been finding a bit of form recently himself. He fired a 63 that was tied for the second best rounds of Friday to get off the cut line and into contention. Straka and Knapp were among the 18-hole co-leaders but had to battle the tougher afternoon conditions and could only improve their standing by one shot.
Harman knows his way around links courses, and the 2023 Open champion produced a strong Friday 65 to get into the mix alongside Schauffele and others in a tie for 12th. Scheffler, meanwhile, will have some work to do on the weekend, but he had a vintage Scottie round where he didn’t look to be on his A-game but still scratched out a 68 to keep moving forward on the leaderboard and stay close enough to the leader to be a threat.
Notable players to miss the cut
- Sungjae Im (E)
- J.J. Spaun (+2)
- Tom Hoge (+2)
- Aldrich Potgieter (+2)
- Denny McCarthy (+3)
- Collin Morikawa (+4)
Spaun continues to find it a bit difficult to reclaim the form that won him the U.S. Open, while Morikawa’s rough year continues with a missed cut in his first event with his fourth caddie of the year. He will get an early jump on Royal Portrush prep as he can hop across to Northern Ireland this evening in hopes of finding something that brings him out of his slump.
Corey Conners makes the cut in style
A handful of players dodged the cut line narrowly on Friday, including Justin Thomas and reigning champion Robert MacIntyre, who fought their way to 1 under to find the weekend. Corey Conners is also part of that group at 1 under, and he got there in incredible fashion as a near-ace on the par-4 5th hole set up an eagle to move Conners from 1 over to 1 under and inside the cut line.
Conners played even par golf the rest of the way in, but that one near-perfect swing with a driver put him into the weekend.
2025 Scottish Open updated odds, picks
Odds via BetMGM
- Chris Gotterup (5-1)
- Rory McIlroy (6-1)
- Ludvig Åberg (15/2)
- Scottie Scheffler (17/2)
- Harry Hall (9-1)
- Matt Fitzpatrick (10-1)
- Xander Schauffele (18-1)
- Marco Penge (18-1)
- Sepp Straka (20-1)
Value-wise, Hall is the play at 9-1 just two off the lead. He’s in great form of late, placing in the top 25 in each of his last six starts, including a pair of top 10s, and is very comfortable with links golf. I also like Åberg at 15/2 given how well he played in the tougher conditions on Friday afternoon. That bodes well for him going into the weekend compared to guys like McIlroy and Schauffele, who did much of their damage in calmer conditions.
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