The hardest task for Chris Gotterup was waking up Friday. Once he got going, he never really stopped until he tied the course record with a 9-under 61 and wound up with a two-shot lead going into the weekend at the Scottish Open.
Gotterup rolled in three long putts and was long as ever off the tee, seizing on a spectacular day of sunshine and very little wind in the morning at The Renaissance Club.
Harry Hall 64 was two shots behind, and a refreshed Ludvig Aberg 65 led a group that was three shots back.
Aberg is coming off just the break he needed - a trip home to Sweden for the first time in a year, a chance to see friends and eat his mother's special sausage and get refreshed.
He overcame a bogey-bogey start with eight birdies over his next 15 holes. That made him the only player from among the top five who played in the afternoon, when the wind kicked up along the Firth of Forth and the course became firm and bouncy enough to frustrate Scottie Scheffler and plenty of others.