After 54 holes at The Renaissance Club, Thomas Detry and Matt Fitzpatrick share the lead at the Scottish Open on 14-under par.
Detry, one of the overnight co-leaders, got off to a terrific start with a hole-out eagle on the par-4 fifth followed by a birdie on the par-5 seventh, but finished his final 10 holes at even par to post 68.
“Eventful day,” said Detry. “Got off to a really good start. Didn’t quite make the putts that I wanted to but then got a good break on hole No. 5 for an eagle and that kick started the day really.
“Managed to make the turn at 2-under and then played some really steady golf from there on.
“There was a bit of a hiccup on 17 and it was nice to hear some crowds and to see some deer flying around after that shot.”
Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, offset two bogeys with six birdies, including three late gains on Nos. 13, 16, and 17 to sign for a 67 and join Detry atop the 54-hole leaderboard.
“Yeah, very,” said Fitzpatrick. “I didn’t play as solid tee-to-green as I did the first two days. But just putted really well. Chipped it really solid, too.”
One back was world No. 1 Jon Rahm, who carded a 2-under 69, to reach 13 under.
“Yeah, sometimes it’s a bit similar to yesterday, right,” said Rahm. “You see 66, you see a great round, and you see 7-under through ten, and it could have been better, what could have been, and today was the same thing.
“Great ball-striking, hit great shots.
“Just a couple, I wouldn’t even say misfortune, I couldn’t even tell you. Just a couple errors, whether it’s me mentally or technically, whatever it is, it’s a miss, right.”
“Yeah, it was a funny one, I didn’t feel like there was much going on out there,” said Herbert. “I felt like I was almost cruising in third gear and couldn’t quite get things to happen.
“I was watching the boards and everyone seems to be making a bit of a mood, and then finish birdie, birdie, right in the tournament and pretty pleasing to finish like that.”
One further back were a pair of Aussies in Wade Ormsby (69) and Min Woo Lee (65), who were tied with American Scottie Scheffler (67) at 11 under.
Two more Americans in Xander Schauffele (66) and Ryan Palmer (67), along with Irishman Padraig Harrington (68) and Lee Westwood (71) were among a group of nine players tied at 10 under.
Justin Thomas (70), Ian Poulter (70), and Tommy Fleetwood (68) headlined a group of 11 more players at 9-under par.
2021 Scottish Open
Round-3 Leaderboard: Top-10
Pos-Player-To Par (Rd 3)
1. Matt Fitzpatrick -14 (-4)
1. Thomas Detry -14 (-3)
3. Jon Rahm -13 (-2)
4. Lucas Herbert -12 (-7)
5. Min Woo Lee -11 (-6)
5. Wade Ormsby -11 (-5)
5. Scottie Scheffler -11 (-4)
8. Alexander Bjork -10 (-8)
8. Richie Ramsay -10 (-6)
8. Adrian Otaegui -10 (-6)
8. Xander Schauffele -10 (-5)
8. Victor Perez -10 (-5)
8. Ryan Palmer -10 (-4)
8. Padraig Harrington -10 (-3)
8. David Law -10 (-2)
8. Lee Westwood -10 (E)
Notables
Pos-Player-To Par (Rd 3)
17. Robert MacIntyre -9 (-4)
17. Tommy Fleetwood -9 (-3)
17. Ian Poulter -9 (-1)
17. Justin Thomas -9 (-1)
28. Will Zalatoris -8 (-5)
37. Thomas Pieters -6 (-4)
37. Sam Burns -6 (-4)
37. Aaron Rai -6 (-3)
37. Guido Migliozzi -6 (-1)
37. Richard Bland -6 (+1)
48. Matt Wallace -5 (-3)
48. Bernd Wiesberger -5 (-2)
48. Collin Morikawa -5 (E)
48. Tyrrell Hatton -5 (+1)
57. Thorbjorn Olesen -4 (-2)
57. Branden Grace -4 (-2)
69. Billy Horschel -3 (-1)
Material from the European Tour Communications was used to compile this report.
